"Goofus and Gallant" - Matthew 21:23-32 - (October 15, 2023 - Pentecost 20)

As a child, I was asked to do chores around the house.  I was asked, and then didn’t do them.  But, as a child I enjoyed watching my dad plant the garden, pick fruit from the tree, and mow the lawn with the cylinder blade push lawn mower we had.  I studied how he mowed and collected the grass on the hottest of summer days.  Although I neglected to do chores most of the time, one summer day, when I was around 10 or 11, I decided to work in the yard and be like my father.  My dad was at work, and my mom was not home.  I decided to help mow the lawn.  I got the lawn mower out of the garage and started cutting back and forth across the front lawn, just like my dad.  In part, this illustration may serve to help understand our parable for today.