I'd like to briefly take you back to March 2020. (Only briefly. It's alright, we don't have to stay there long.) Do you remember the empty supermarket shelves? People were worried about having enough supplies in case they had to self-isolate which made it very difficult to get hold of toilet rolls, flour, pasta, antibacterial gel (well you could buy that but it was100 times the price)), and various other things. The general air of fear brought about by the corona virus caused people to panic and stockpile, just in case.

Nowadays in West London, we're used to being able to get what we want or need quite easily but the people in the Exodus reading are in a totally different situation. They have been wandering through the desert and must find food and drink from their natural surroundings. When studying Exodus a few years ago I remember noticing that there was a pattern: the people did a lot of grumbling and then God sorted things out. Thinking about it, I can see why they grumbled so much and I can definitely sympathise. Being hot makes people grumpy and irritable. Remember the 40 degrees last year? If anyone here says "I wasn't grumpy on that day," I don't believe you. even when there's enough food and water you can be very irritable so when there isn't, that irritability combined with fear would cause a feeling of panic among the group. In the heat of the desert, survival depends on having enough water to drink and if someone is extremely thirsty, or even a whole group, sitting down for a calm discussion isn't really an option.

I also have a lot of sympathy for Moses, trying to lead this constantly grumbling group. "what can I do with these people?" is such a human thing to say. I love that he's saying it as part of his prayer, showing that prayers to God can be conversational. There's definitely no flowery language here. It's the kind of thing a parent, teacher or group leader might say. What can I do with these people? They're driving me mad!" Moses must have been hot, tired and thirsty himself, as well as fearing for his life: "they are almost ready to stone me." he says.

Then God tells Moses what to do, making sure it will be witnessed by "the leaders of Israel", or elders in some translations. Moses strikes the rock and there's water for everyone to drink. Then we are told, in verse 7, "He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarrelled and tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’"

What a human reaction. The modern version in hard times might be "Where is god in this?" I'm sure many people asked that question in 2020 and I clearly remember a discussion on the radio about the presence or absence of God after the September 11 attacks in 2001. The answer, both times, was that, whenever people helped each other, God was there. Not quite as dramatic as striking a rock that pours forth water but, nevertheless, God was there.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul is asking a lot. The people are urged to do many good things, such as looking out for each other's interests and not just their own, but what about them being of one mind? In any Church group, that is not easy to do and this reading can easily be used against people with new or different ideas by those who want things to stay the same.

What's important here is working together to do God's will. That shouldn't involve squashing people's ideas because they don't match mine or yours. Rather, it's about listening to everyone and collaborating. Unity is not the same as uniformity. We can work together, even though some of us will have different views about things. What we all have in common, if we regularly attend Church, is a desire for fellowship and to worship and learn more about God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

In the last two verses of the reading, Paul says: "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure." "it is God who is at work in you." Not outside, or somewhere else, but in you; in me. God among us, always. That is how people within Churches can do these seemingly impossible things, because God is within us and among us, guiding us with that still, small voice.

The keen eared among you may have noticed that I just quoted from a different Bible translation, the English Standard Version. In this morning's reading, it said "Keep on working with fear and trembling to complete your salvation," which I find problematic because it implies that their salvation is incomplete without their work. I much prefer the idea of working out, like a maths equation or a seating plan. You already have what you need: salvation, a formula or the names of all the people attending an event; you just need to work out how to live in community, the answer to the equation or who sits where. Perhaps it sounds easy when I say it but, as I'm sure we all know, living harmoniously in a community can be really really difficult.

When I was at boarding school, , I shared a house with other girls and most of the time, we got on OK. There were occasional niggles, which sometimes escalated. There were people who didn't wash up their dirty crockery and just left it on the side. Those who did their laundry in the middle of the night and kept others awake. There were music clashes with people in different rooms, or the same room if it was a really bad day, playing favourite songs really loudly, trying to outdo each other. Not very community minded! Luckily, didn't happen very often. But we were hormonal teenagers thrown together in order to get the best education we could, as blind or partially sighted students. We hadn't really chosen to be there.

The wonderful thing about Church is that we have decided to be here this morning. However much we may disagree on the smaller things, most of us have the desire to glorify God and work out, or live out, our salvation, or Christian life. To show hospitality towards other Church members and newcomers and be the best we can be in our daily lives, knowing that Jesus is always there and what he has done for us, and that the Holy Spirit accompanies and guides us in everything we do, if we choose to listen. Not always easy.

And what about fear and trembling? Are we supposed to be constantly anxious and nervous as we do our best to live a Christian life? After researching this phrase, various sources suggest that a better translation of "fear and trembling" might be awe and reverence; remembering it is God we're serving, being mindful of the wonderful things God has done and continues to do. After Jesus performed various miracles in the Gospel, we hear about that awe, that reverence and yes, fear. People knowing by his actions that Jesus isn't an ordinary profit; he is Lord.

But maybe there is an element of fear in living a Christian life: the fear of the unknown. God can lead us in all kinds of unexpected directions. In my case, becoming a trainee preacher. I never expected that to be part of my Christian journey, but here I am.

It's a fear for survival that caused the people in the Exodus reading to complain and quarrel with Moses, or to stockpile provisions in 2020, rather than awe and reverence towards God, but that kind of fear could be part of our journey too, making it harder to shine as Christian lights sometimes. Life's struggles get in the way. But, as we heard at the start of the Philippians reading, "Your life in Christ makes you strong, and his love comforts you."

And during those times when that isn't the case, when we don't feel strong or we struggle to pray, it can be incredibly comforting to know that others are praying and worshipping, even if we feel unable to. This sustained me during those uncertain times in 2020. We work out our salvation, praying for one another, messaging to ask how people are doing, helping one another during services and social events when necessary. This week's local preachers' and worship leaders' meeting ended with Holy Communion and the jug of grape juice was passed round so everyone could pour their own because it was a small group. I said "for goodness sake, don't give me the jug to hold! I've had a day of dropping things today," and I knew someone would help, holding the jug for me and pouring my drink. We all had Communion. No-one was left out. Working out our salvation, making sure everyone was included in The Lord's Supper.

Talking of grape juice, what about the reading from Matthew with its parable about the vineyard? I've been reading various translations of this passage. Many of them have the chief Priests and elders asking ‘By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?’ This is a bit different from what we heard earlier, asking what right Jesus had to do these things. To me, authority makes more sense in this context. I hope you can go along with me on this.

Jesus showed all the hallmarks of a good teacher in this passage, as he so often does. Answering questions with more questions to enable people to think for themselves and then using parables to explain his point. The elders and chief Priests weren't only threatened by the fact that he was teaching in the temple. Earlier in the chapter, the previous day, Jesus came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, the procession we celebrate on Palm Sunday. Then, when he went into the temple courts, he turned over the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. The chief Priests and elders saw him healing people and the children in the temple courts shouting "hosanna to the Son of David," and it must have made them even crosser when they asked Jesus if he had heard what the children said. “Yes, have you not read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’ And now, in today's reading, Jesus was back in the temple again!

The elders, or leaders, and chief Priests were in charge of the Temple and, like in the Church, there would be rules about who was allowed to preach and teach there. They were also aware that, if their authority was called into question, this could cause all sorts of problems because they were allowed to keep their positions in the Temple by the Romans, the occupying power at the time. If things started to descend into chaos, the Romans might have come in with a much more draconian regime to make sure they remained in charge and this would be bad news for everyone. So here we have people who are outraged at Jesus teaching with such authority and, to their minds, causing trouble and threatening the status quo. It's a very human reaction.

When Jesus replied to their question with a question of his own, about where John's baptism came from, it's interesting that the elders and chief Priests didn't want to say "from heaven" because Jesus would ask "why didn't you believe him then," or human origin because they were afraid of the crowd, who regarded John as a profit; so their authority only seemed to be valid if they could keep on the right side of the crowd. If the crowd turned against them, where would their authority be then? Their answer seemed to be far more about not saying the wrong thing than what they actually believed. In trying to trap Jesus with their question, they ended up in a bind themselves. That's the trouble with trying to be too clever, others can outsmart you, especially if you're trying to trap the son of God.

Then Jesus told the parable about the two sons being asked to work in their Father's vineyard and doing the opposite to what they said they would. It takes me back to hormonal teenagers being asked to take out the rubbish or tidy their room. I could almost imagine the eldest one, in a modern version of the story, saying "do I have to?" I know I didn't always do jobs as graciously as I might have when I was a teenager, but sometimes I'd say I absolutely wasn't doing that because I was grumpy and why should I and it's not fair! Then I'd go off an think about it, feel bad, come back and get on with the job, and hope nobody said anything because that was a bit embarrassing really, wasn't it? Despite all my protestations, there I would be, loading the dishwasher or whatever it was. Just like the eldest Son. Well, maybe not the dishwasher but you get the point.

The younger one reminds me of the kind of child who often seems to get away with things, saying the words the adults want to hear, and the adults always say "Oh he's such a good boy." But what they don't realise is that then he goes off and does what he likes anyway. The thing is, Jesus sees the difference between the tax collectors and prostitutes who were baptised by John and changed their lives, actually doing the right thing, and the ones in leadership roles who said what the crowd wanted to hear, and probably what Rome wanted to hear, so they could stay in place, but did not repent, which means turn round, and change their lives to follow more closely the will of God.

So, who would we be in that story? The eldest, possibly grumpy, Son who went and did the right thing in the end, or the younger one, perhaps more concerned about looking good to his Father in the moment but not following it through? Maybe there are elements of both in all of us.

What connects today's readings for me is that thread running through them all of God among, or with us. God told Moses where to strike the rock that poured forth water. In the letter to the Philippians, Paul talks about Christ emptying himself for all of us and Christ's love making us strong. Then, in the Matthew reading, the teaching of Jesus, who had a natural, God-given authority, teaching those in leadership roles in the Temple, and now us, the importance of living out our faith, or working out our salvation as Paul put it, not just saying the right things without showing God's love to everyone we meet.