Pentecost 18, 2011
Matthew 20:1-16
“That’s Not Fair!”
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Have you been watching the news lately? Maybe the crowds aren’t as large as the media makes them out to be...but in many large cities throughout our nation are groups of people protesting by occupying Wall Street and other financial districts in our major cities...and even in cities around the world. They say they are taking a stand against greed and corruption and standing up for equality and fairness for all.
Without getting into the politics involved...sinful people... all those gathered to occupy Wall Street, all those working for Wall Street, those owning Wall Street and us...don’t really want equality or fairness...we want what we perceive to be equality and fairness...namely we want what we think we deserve. That is what’s at the heart of our Gospel lesson!
“The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ “But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’” (Matthew 20:9-15)
Did you hear that? They all got the same! It’s a scandal. Is this any way to celebrate human achievement? It goes against everything we hold dear; it goes against all our notions of what is right and fair. One of the first rules of economics is that people get what’s coming to them. If you have worked harder, longer, and more faithfully than others, you get more. It’s what our whole economic system is based on. The more you do, the more you get. If not cash at the end of the day, then influence, power, and position.
Even in the church, where we talk about living by grace alone, we still like to think that we will receive based on what we give. Grace is for sinners. But the folks in the parable are workers. There’s no sin in an honest day’s work. We go to church; we attend meetings; we give generously; we “bear the heat of the day.” We labor long and hard, and do you mean to say that it all adds up to nothing? We reckon that it should count for something, if not here and now then in the grand scheme of things at the end of days when the Owner returns. But did you hear what the Owner said? “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with what belongs to me?”
It’s really a terrifying thought—God does what He wants with what is His! It’s hard for us to accept this all the time. The car you drove here this morning...is it yours? The house you live in...is it yours? The clothes your wearing...are they yours? The fields you plant in and harvest from...are they yours? Listen to these verses: “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” (Psalm 24:1) “For every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.” (Psalm 50:10) “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine...” (Exodus 19:5) “If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” (Romans 14:8) Would you like to change your answer now?
As hard as it is for our sinful nature to accept, our strivings and works count for nothing before God. Some workers do labor from dawn to dusk; they really do bear the heat of the day. Many of us know what it means to work for the Lord all day. How many of you have been Christians since you were baptized as an infant. How many of you grew up going to Sunday School and became long time Sunday School teachers, officers of the congregation, faithful givers, and attend church regularly. We strive...but none of us can say we have given it our all.
We also don’t mind when the Master goes out and hires others later in the day. We delight to look around in the pews this morning and see folks who’ve joined us through adult instruction, at the invitation of friends, by coming to be our guest one day and liking what they’ve heard. We even give thanks to God for those occasional deathbed conversions we hear about. We rejoice…don’t we?
But then look what the master does. He gives the last as much as He gives the first. All of the sudden…what happens to our rejoicing? We start to think “Wait a second! I’m glad these last minute converts scrape by and get into heaven—I think—but they’re not quite the same as I am.” “And what about those freeloaders who just sit in the pew and pitch in their couple of bucks? They’re not the same as I am!” We are all for equality and fairness…but only when we decide what that is. The truth is that if God were “fair” we’d all be in a lot of trouble. If God were “fair” we’d all be found guilty for our sinfulness. If God were “fair” we’d all be damned to hell.
But God does what He wants with what is His. And what God wants above all else is to be generous! God does what He wants instead of treating us as we deserve! Even our best work is soiled with sin. Each and every one of us is a sinner. The wages of sin is death—that is the payment we deserve. But out of His love God is generous with us. “Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.” (Isaiah 55:7-8)
God’s ways aren’t our ways…and for that we should be thankful. For instead of destroying all of us and sending each of us to everlasting condemnation in hell…instead of pouring His wrath on us…He sent His Son…to die in our place…to take our wrath...on the cross. In Christ Jesus, God shows his love and generosity for you.
In Christ, God does—here and now—what He wants with what is His! In Holy Baptism He pours out His generous forgiveness upon us. In His Word He speaks His abundant forgiveness upon our sins. In His Supper He feeds us generously as He fed the multitudes—not just a bit of bread and sip of wine—but His very body and blood given and shed on the cross for you.
Listen to this! They all got the same! Did you hear that? They all got the same! It’s a blessed scandal. It goes against everything we hold dear, against all our notions of what’s right and fair. And praise God for that! He doesn’t operate according to our standards of what’s right and fair. Instead, he does what he wants with what is his! And what he wants above all else is to be generous!
To slightly borrow from the Occupy Wall Street group: If you are truly tired of the greed, darkness, and corruption in America...if you have had enough? It's time to march. It's time to be radical by today’s standards. This Sunday and every Sunday gather in groups, take whatever transportation you can and OCCUPY YOUR CHURCH! Get there early and stay late. Ask questions. Sing. Take the opportunity to learn and discover again what real power looks like…God forgiving your sins. America, the world, is watching. Be there…where Christ promises to be…where Christ comes to you in His body and blood!
Rejoice. No matter if you are rich or poor by this world’s standards…no matter what color your skin is or where you grew up…no matter what sin you have committed…no matter when our Lord called you to faith in Christ: your sins are forgiven. The Kingdom of Heaven is yours…for you have been made a child of God through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen.
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