16th Sunday after Pentecost
Jonah 3:10-4:11 Psalm 145:1-8 Philippians 1:21-30 Matthew 20:1-16 Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, grace and peace to you from the one who gives us what we need rather than what we deserve. Amen. It always astounds me how we as humans can make anything into a complaint, even the most positive of things. Take our friend Jonah for instance, out of his mouth comes a formula of praise we find in the psalms he says to God: “For I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing.” All of these things seem like something we would want in a God and yet for Jonah, these are lamentable characteristics. It is not satisfying to him that God is gracious and ready to relent from punishing. Jonah, the reluctant prophet wanted to see Nineveh, the original Sin City, fry. He wanted them held accountable for their wrong doings to see the fruits of his prophesy, the destruction of a great city. To him it’s not fair that God would just let all that go. How quickly the man so recently tossed into the sea and swallowed by a big fish forgets the grace of God. Likewise in Matthew we have some vineyard workers who are fortunate enough to be hired at the beginning of the day. For their work they will receive the common daily wage and they agree to this before they start. As the day progresses the vineyard owner hires more and more people who agree to work for what is right, there is plenty of work for all to do. The end of the day comes and those hired last are paid first. The workers who started at the very beginning see them get the common daily wage, as do the next to last hired and they start to get excited, what will they get for doing eight times the work? When it’s their turn, they get what they agreed to, the common daily wage. But, but, that’s not fair they complain we worked all day in the heat and we don’t get more than the guys that only worked an hour? How quickly workers who might not have had a job forget they were hired for the day. In the kingdom of heaven people get what they need rather than what they think they deserve As we listen to these stories it is easy to see the foolishness of Jonah and the workers who presume to be entitled to what are ultimately gifts from God Jonah is a laughable character, his preaching achieves what most prophets only dream of, people paying attention to their message and changing their ways and the workers, they shook on a contract, why would they expect more than what they agreed on with their employer? That’s just silly And yet, if I am honest with myself If I place myself in the shoes of the workers (Jonah is a little more difficult to imagine) I am actually no different than the workers. How many times have I thought that I would receive more than what I agreed to just because I was fortunate enough to be hired at the beginning of the day or became jealous when others seem to accomplish more with less work or are compensated in a way that doesn’t seem fair. And that’s the whole point Grace isn’t fair We don’t deserve grace The key to this whole discussion I think comes out of the mouth of the vineyard owner. To the grumbling workers he says “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” In the vineyard of this world all belongs to God And God is generous, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Everything we have is from God, given as a generous gift. and those hired first again If I am really honest with myself I am more like the people of Ninevah than Jonah, in need of repentance and the mercy of God and I am really more like those hired last, who are grateful for just an hour’s work and astounded at the generosity of a whole days pay than I am like the ones hired first. Martin Luther, the great reformer was one who was well aware of his failings and the grace of God on his death bed it is reported that his last words were “We are beggars, this is true.” We are beggars but we are beggars with a God who is generous beyond reason, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love who gives us everything that we need and more and calls us to share what we have been given with those who hunger and thirst for food and water, grace and mercy. And God’s actions are not fair, if the vineyard owner were concerned with equal treatment of his employees the last hired would have been paid less than the first hired. But God’s concern is justice, what is right. God gives us what we need rather than what we deserve The vineyard owner agrees to pay what is right to those hired later, for God what is right what is just is that all have enough to eat, a place to live. Fulfilling labor Medical care And the way God does this is through God’s people who are called to work for God’s justice in the world, to be generous with what they have been first given to give people what they need rather than what they deserve We are called by God to start living out the kingdom of heaven now And that means at all levels of our lives On an individual level, in our local communities, in our country and in the world We are called by God to make sure that people get what they need rather than what they deserve And if it doesn’t seem fair Remember, It’s not It’s grace The grace of God, the creator of the universe Who is merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. Amen
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AboutPastor Emily Johnson preaches weekly at Christ Lutheran. These are manuscripts of her sermons given at Christ Lutheran. Feel free to engage with them in the comments section of the blog. Archives
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