THOU ART A GRACIOUS AND GENEROUS GOD
Both the Old Testament and the Gospel readings for today deal with a paradox: the difference between human ideas of deserving and divine compassion offered to all, knowing that all are undeserving. We see the dilemma between entitlement versus grace. This morning we hear in two of the lessons about a God who is not fair. Rather than being fair we find a God who is lavish in passing out his grace. Look at what happens to the people of Israel, in the desert, when they cry out for food, Then, look at what the householder in the parable of the laborers in the vineyard does. You can see that we have on our hands a God who is definitely not fair, according to our standards. What we see here flies in the face of what has become a hallmark of the American way, the sense of fair play. The idea that you play the game according to the rules and everyone has a chance depending on his or her abilities. I remember quoting this parable in 1974 to some soldier’s we were training at Fort Monmouth, NJ in Computer Technology. They were complaining that there were other soldier’s in the same class who had been drafted in to the Army for only two years, while they had to take three and four year enlistments to get the Computer Technology Training. They said it wasn’t fair. I said to them, didn’t you agree to that, what complaints have you just because they were fortunate to get the opportunity for less time in the service? I heard the same complaint against myself and another guy when we were hired at the Engineers at Fort Gordon in 1982. It seems, our co-workers the other technicians were hired at a lower grade and had to work their way up to their current grade. They didn’t think it was fair that we were hired directly at the grade they had to work their way to.
Children see fairness as the standard. They are especially keen on fairness if they believe that they have been treated unfairly. All of you who are parents are familiar with the cry of outrage, “That’s not fair!” This may be accompanied by that other great ethical benchmark of children, “But all the other kids get to...” All good parents have a set of responses to these statements that they heard from their parents, usually, it’s four words – “Because I said so”. Children seldom raise the issue of fairness when they are being favored. In fact, almost no one raises the issue of fairness when they are favored or privileged.
However, this is not a story of fair play, or a story of labor relations, or a story of some guys who were standing around in the market late one day and still made a day’s wages. The parable as Jesus said in the beginning is about the Kingdom of Heaven. The focus of the parable moves from the laborers to the owner. The owner is in fact the Almighty God and the point of this parable is His Graciousness and His Generosity. The parable is really the third part of a series of episodes that happen as Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. The first thing that happens is a young man comes up to him and says:
“Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” [Matt. 19:16]
Jesus answers, "that if you would enter life, keep the commandments." To which he replies all this I have done what do I still lack? Jesus then hits him with the clincher to find out how sincere he is.
“If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” [Matt. 19:21]
The young man went away sorrowful because he had great possessions. This leads Jesus to give one of his Truly statements.
“Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. “[Matt. 19:231
Jesus then went on to say that it would easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. To which the disciples exclaimed, “Who then can be saved!!” The ultimate answer is that it is in the hands of God through whom all things are possible and not dependent on our efforts alone. The disciples pointed out to Jesus that they had left everything, lands and homes and families to follow him. He pointed out that they would get their reward,
“BUT many that are first will be last, and the last first.” [Matt. 19:3 01
This statement is the reverse of the last verse of our reading this morning. Remember this reversal, for this is what Jesus is trying to do to our thinking. The young man who came seeking eternal life was concerned because he had done all the works as commanded by the law. But Our Lord tried to turn his focus from works of the law and to see in Jesus his true treasure. For he said to him finally, “come follow me.” The disciples then became concerned about their reward, for they had done that and spurned all to follow him.
“Every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my names sake, will receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal life. But many that are first will be last, and the last first “[Matt. 19:29-30]
With that Jesus explains again what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. He uses the metaphor of the vineyard, because the Jews would have instantly recognized that he was speaking of Israel. In Isaiah chapter five we read that:
“The vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel “ [Isaiah 5:7]
And in Psalm 80 we read:
“You have brought a vine out of Egypt; you cast out the nations and planted it “[Psalm 80:8]
“Turn now, 0 God of hosts, look down from heaven; behold and tend this vine; preserve what your right hand has planted.” [Psalm 80:14]
There would be no doubt that Jesus was speaking of Israel, as the owner of the vineyard went out to seek laborers to work in the vineyard. Perhaps the harvest was overly abundant and he needed more laborers than usual. Or perhaps there was some urgent need to get the harvest in, so the owner returns to find laborers through out the day. At the beginning of the day, the men agree for the standard daily wage of a denarius. This was enough for a worker to feed his family for one day. And the Law of Moses commanded that a daily wage be paid at the end of the day, so that a man could feed his family. All the workers hired during the remainder of the day are told by the owner:
“You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.” [Matt. 20:41
So, the remainder of workers go to work unsure of what exactly their reward will be, but hopeful of fair treatment, for the labor they will perform. At the end of the day, the laborers are called out of the vineyard to receive their wages, and they are paid beginning with the last that were hired. They receive the standard “Daily wage” a denarius. They are quite happy I am sure, because they probably thought they would only receive a portion of the daily wage. If they had they would not have been able to feed their families. But now, praise God they would have enough to feed them. Naturally, by the time the men who were originally hired for a denarius get up to the pay table they expect something extra. I must confess, if I had been there, I would have felt the same as they. They start to grumble about how unfair it is to sweat out there all day and still get paid like those guys that only worked for one hour. But now the focus of the parable switches from the laborers and their wages to the owner of the vineyard, as he says in reply:
“Friend, I am doing you no wrong: did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?” [Matt. 20:13-15]
The owner asks, “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?” Have you ever felt upset when someone else got a promotion that you thought you should have gotten? Or how about when someone else wins some prize or lottery that you had also entered? Maybe this is more like when Aunt so-and-so leaves almost all her estate to the cousin that never so much as sent her a birthday card, while you took care of her in and out of the nursing home? Again, a case of the owner doing what they will with what belongs to them. Could be the cousin needs the help more than you? The generosity of God is like that, unfathomable. We just can’t understand how he can do things like that.
This is the character of God that the LORD made known to Moses when He descended on Mount Sinai in a cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the LORD. He passed before Moses and proclaimed;
“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children ‘s children, to the third and fourth generation. “[Exodus 34: 6-7]
We find the same in Nehemiah:
“But thou art a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to
anger and abounding in steadfast love, and didst not forsake them.”
[Nehemiah 9:17/
The same theme is found in Psalm 86 verse 15; Psalm 103 verse 8 and the Psalm we read this morning. The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and of great kindness. Our Lord’s parable reverses our focus from the laborers and their work to focus on the owner, Almighty God and his generosity. The focus of our hearts and minds should be on the grace and mercy that God generously bestows on those that seek him and his righteousness above all else.
The Kingdom of Heaven cannot be achieved by virtue of our human works but is a gift of God, generously bestowed by a loving Father who seeks those who will focus on him with all their hearts and souls and minds. As Saint Paul reminds in us in his letter to the Ephesians:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God- not because of works, lest any man should boast. “[Ephesians 2:8-9]
The graciousness of God is beyond our comprehension, but we can be assured that everything will work out for those who have been called by him. In his letter to the Romans, Paul tells us;
“We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. “ [Romans 8:28]
Today as we go out into the vineyard to labor for the LORD, let’s not focus on the wages or reward’s we will receive at his hand but rather let us focus on the owner of the vineyard and the grace that He bestows on us. Let our purposes here be His purposes, let His graciousness, kindness and compassion be exhibited through us.
Let us look for some Doctrinal points and some Application with
A. DOCTRINAL POINTS
1. God is the Owner of all good; his propriety in it is absolute, sovereign, and unlimited. He may therefore give or withhold his blessings, as he pleases. What we have, is not our own, and therefore it is not lawful for us to do what we will with it; but what God has, is his own; and this will justify him,
2. The incomprehensible goodness of God confronts the narrowness of human ideas of justice and merit. The overwhelming goodness of God completely demolishes our pitiful ideas of fair play.
3. Human beings get upset because the rewards of God are not measured by the length oftime that we have served. We do not like the idea that deathbed converts will have access to the kingdom. After all, where does life-long service and seniority count in the Kingdom? We feel that latecomers do not deserve the same consideration.
4. The Parable advocates broad acceptance into the church that transcends all lines ofdiscrimination (hours of labor or whatever criteria that we set up). Jesus received outcasts and sinners into God’s mercy.
5. The original workers were wrong to compare themselves to others.
Eternal life is NOT A WAGE EARNED on a precise scale but a gift based on God’s generosity. Therefore, the last shall be first and the first last. All that is asked of all is a response whenever the call comes.
B. APPLICATION
1. It is easy to identify with the workers who are angry. After all it does seem unfair that after putting in a FULL day’s work. Seeing the others who only worked an hour get the same pay and then not to get something extra when you expect it.
2. Christ makes the point in the parable that God’s generosity is never unjust. In accordance with the AGREEMENT he had with the workers, the owner paid them; therefore, NO ONE was cheated.
3. The disgruntled workers are chastised for ACCUSING the landowner of being unfair. They expected him to operate on their standards. Rather than feeling happy that the others were sharing in the generosity of the landowner, they proceeded to “bad mouth” him.
4. There’s nothing wrong with being human, but we cannot expect God to operate according to our rules and logic. This parable is an invitation to balance out human nature against the reality of God. We learn in this parable what Isaiah the prophet wrote long ago that “God’s ways are not our ways nor His thoughts like our thoughts”. We have a LONG WAY to go in becoming like Christ.
5. SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT - LATER:
a. Why did Jesus choose to tell this parable when he did?
b. Why didn’t the landowner pay the first laborers first and the last ones last, then no one would have known what the others received?
c. Which group of laborers do you identify with and why?
d. What does this parable say about the tension between works and grace?
In "Show Me the Way," a sermon preached at Willow Creek Community Church in the early 1990s; Bill Hybels used the visual aid of a ladder extended from the floor of the stage upward. The top was hidden from view. Listeners were asked to imagine that it was a ladder of righteousness or holiness, going up to heaven, and were then invited to guess where Christian "all-stars" such as Billy Graham or Mother Theresa would be on the ladder. He attached large cards with their names on various rungs, and then asked the congregation to imagine where a card with their own name would be. To emphasize how low on the ladder they possibly were, he said he thought Billy Graham and Mother Theresa would place themselves down at or near the bottom rung. His point was that no one is high enough on the ladder to make it to heaven on their own merits. Only through the grace of God, shown in Jesus Christ, are we cleansed of the things that "hold us down," and raised up into God's presence.
16th Sunday after Pentecost-Year A [20 September 2020] Proper 20 [St. Augustine’s] Exodus 16: 2-15 Psalm 105: 1-6, 37-45 Philippians 1: 21-30
Matthew 20: 1-16
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