Doing the Father’s Will - September 25, 2011 - Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 21) - Text: Matthew 21:23-27 (28-32)

Last week we were reminded by Jesus Himself that He came to save all people of all places and especially at all times, even up to the point of death. What follows our reading from the Gospel last week and the events that come before our reading this week is this: Jesus again predicts His suffering and death and immediately after Salome, the mother of James and John, requests that her sons be allowed to sit at Jesus left and right in His kingdom, in other words, she is seeking places of honor for her sons. Jesus then heals two blind men on his way Jerusalem. Continuing on His way to Jerusalem, at Bethphage, Jesus arranges for his triumphal entry into Jerusalem and after His triumphal entry He cleanses the temple, throwing out the money changers. Now, in the first part of our text for this morning we have Jesus’ authority being questioned and His response that He will reveal from where He gets His authority if the Pharisees and teacher of the Law will tell from whom they believe John the Baptist got his authority. I know that is a long way to go to get to the second part of our text for this morning and the part on which I would like to focus our attention, but I believe these events are not random events, but that they fit together to help us get a better understanding of what is happening.

All during His time of public ministry Jesus has had to deal with the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. The second half of our text, where I want to focus our attention this morning is the parable of the two sons, and Jesus tells this parable right after His authority is questioned. I believe it is significant that this parable comes at this point because of the fact that the Pharisees would not answer Jesus’ question concerning John’s authority, because they did not want to admit that Jesus’ authority might be from the same place as John’s authority that is from God. If John and Jesus had the same authority, if their authority came from the same place, from God, then that would mean that they would be left without authority and that did not fit their paradigm of life.

The parable is this, Jesus begins by asking the question of the Sanhedrin, picking up at verse twenty-eight, “28‘What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” 29And he answered, “I will not,” but afterward he changed his mind and went. 30And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, “I go, sir,” but did not go. 31Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. 32For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him’” (v. 28-32).

Jesus begins by asking their objective opinion. What do they think? He gives two different scenarios. In the first scenario we have the father asking his son to go and work and his son rudely answers that he will not go, but later he repents and does go. Is this son doing what his father asked? In the second scenario we have the father asking his other son to go and work and his other son kindly answers that he will, but you does not go. Is this son doing what his father asked?

Again, the question Jesus asked is this, “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” Notice that the father wanted the same thing of both his sons. He wanted both of his sons to go out and work in his vineyard. Which son did what his father wanted? The answer given by the Sanhedrin is that the first one did what his father asked. Now, before we go on to Jesus explanation, I would ask you to think about this, which son are we?

Jesus’ answer to the Sanhedrin is this, “‘Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. 32For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him’”

The objective answer is that the first son, even though he refused at first to go and work, did do what his father asked, because he repented and went out to work. The subjective application of this parable is this, those who are considered to be the outcasts of the Jewish society, mostly by the Pharisees and teachers of the law, and those who repent will be included in the kingdom of heaven. They are the ones who appear to refuse at first and yet repent and believe in the end. Those who refuse to repent, because they believe they are doing the “father’s” will and are not, namely the Pharisees and teachers of the law will miss out. A mere head and mouth Christianity is really no Christianity at all. To confess Christ with your lips and yet to refuse Him with your heart is actually denying Christ.

God the Father’s will is that we all believe and respond living lives of faith. His will is that we say what we mean and we mean what we say. We come across this constantly in our world today. When I speak with someone who has decided to absent themselves from divine service, at times I get the “right” answer. “Yes, pastor, I know I have not been in church lately. I have every good intention to go. I promise I will be there next week.” And then they fail to show up. How often do we volunteer to help serve on a board or a committee, or to serve in some other way and then fail to do what we have said we will do. Unfortunately, if we do this often enough then people will begin to know us as a person who does not keep our word. I believe there is a saying that goes something like, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

God calls all people to Himself. His will is that all people are saved. He keeps His Word. He kept His word in that He sent His only Son Jesus to give His life for all people. He kept His Word because His Son gave His life for ours, so that we might have forgiveness of sin, so that we might have eternal life. There are some who do not have a part in God’s kingdom and it is not because it is someone else’s fault or even God’s fault, rather it is because they refuse and reject the gifts God gives, only paying lip service to Him. Have you ever thought about how your excuse for missing divine service sounds before God?

“Not everyone who says, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.” And just because someone goes to church does not necessarily mean they will go to heaven. Being religious does not save a person. It does matter, not only that you have faith, but in whom you have faith. The object of faith is important. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were a very religious bunch. They did a lot of religious things. They said, “yes, father we will work in your vineyard,” and yet, their hearts were far from the Lord. They did not go and work instead they did their own thing. Their faith really was a faith in themselves, not in God. They had become their own gods.

The “tax collectors and prostitutes,” on the other hand were not very religious. Why should they be religious? They were chased out of the temple as being unworthy. They felt and believed themselves to be shunned and looked down upon, even judged by the likes of the Pharisees and teachers of the law. They said, “no, father we will not go and work in your vineyard.” Yet, they repented for their sins. They believed in Jesus. He was the object of their faith and the reason for their repentance and Jesus says, they will enter the kingdom of heaven ahead of the religious leaders.

Jesus continues to remind these religious leaders that they had a chance. They saw John the Baptist, the one about whom they were not sure of from where he received authority and yet they did not believe and repent.

Again, the question, “who are we in the parable?” Are we the son who says that we will go and work? Do we say that church is a priority, that our faith in Jesus is the number one priority in our lives and yet, live otherwise, letting the things of this world get in the way of our regular divine service and Bible Class attendance? Do we wear the name Christian, and act like a Christian, yet have our hearts far from the Lord? Do we tell others we are members of a church, but fail to attend? Do we make excuses and blame others for our lack of attendance? Do we say “Yes Lord,” with our lips, but live “No Lord,” with our actions?

Or are we the son who, at first seems rather rebellious, saying “no” we will not go and work and then repent and do what is asked? Do we quietly live our faith and show through our lives, our actions and our words that our faith in Jesus is what is most important to us? Do we strive, with God’s help, to live lives of faith, attending divine service and Bible Class as often as we can, not making a big deal about it, but simply living our faith?

The Old Testament reading for this morning reminds us that we will be held accountable for ourselves, if we do not repent or if we do repent and God’s desire is that we do repent. In the Epistle reading Paul reminds us of from where our forgiveness comes, it comes from Jesus “who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!”

Forgiveness is ours. Jesus came to pay the price for sin, for all sin, for your sin and my sin, for the sins of all people, of all places, of all times. Jesus even paid the price for those sins we have yet to commit, those sins we will commit as soon as we walk out those doors. Yes, Jesus forgives our sins even when we act like the second son, even when we fail to live according to our faith. All sin, all our sins, the price for all our sins has already been completely paid, not that this fact gives us a license to sin, but that gives us the motivation to repent. Our only option is that we might refuse and reject the forgiveness He has earned and paid for and we do that, we reject forgiveness when we fail to repent and confess our sins, when we refuse and reject the gifts He gives through the means of grace He gives especially in divine service. To fail to repent is to reject Jesus’ forgiveness, which has already been paid for and given to us. Yet, as the Holy Spirit works in us and comes to us through the very means He has given to come to us, namely as we have been given this morning, through our remembrance of our baptism, through confession and absolution, through His Holy Word, and in a little bit through His body and blood in, with and under the bread and wine in His Holy Supper, through these very means the Holy Spirit works in us to be given all the gifts and blessings our Lord has purchase and won for us, forgiveness of sins, life and salvation.

Last week Jesus reminded us that salvation is a free gift, neither earned, nor deserved, but certainly a gift we might refuse by thinking we have somehow earned or deserved it, or are somehow entitled to it. This week Jesus continues to remind us that salvation is a heart issue which shows forth in our lives through our thoughts, words and actions. Thus, we are once again pointed to Jesus, just Jesus. Jesus has earned forgiveness and through the Holy Spirit working through the means of grace He gives forgiveness, faith and eternal life. Our only response to the gifts God gives is gift refusal, or rejoicing in the gifts He gives. My prayer is that as the Lord calls, He will stir in our hearts to answer, “here am I, send me, send me,” and then also stir in our hearts to do the work that He gives us to do. Finally, may the Lord also stir in our hearts to do His work to the praise and glory of His holy name. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Generosity - September 18, 2011 - Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 20) - Text: Matthew 20:1-16

We pick up our Gospel reading from Matthew a few verses after last weeks’ reading. In our text, Jesus ends his previous words, from chapter nineteen, with the statement: “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” His words come in connection with His discussion of salvation and in particular with His words with the rich young man. The rich young man had asked the question, “what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” Jesus’ answer to him was to keep the commandments, which he believed he had done. Jesus then suggested to him that he sell everything, give the money to the poor and follow Him. After which we are told, “when the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possession.” The disciples then became concerned for their own eternal life and after reassuring His disciples Jesus ends His words with the statement: “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” At the same time with these words He continues His discussion of salvation and moves us into the next parable which is today’s text.

The parable in our text is often called the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard and, although this parable convicted the Pharisees and teachers of the law in their thinking, it also, very often convicts us in our thinking even today.

The parable begins at the first hour of the day, probably between six and seven in the morning. The landowner went out into the marketplace and hired some workers. Now, right off at the start, there is something different about the hiring of this first bunch of workers and the hiring of the rest of the workers through the day. Verse two of our text says, “After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.” There was an agreed upon contract for these hired first. It was a verbal contract, but it was a contract nonetheless. The agreement was that the workers would work for a set wage, a denarius for the day.

The parable continues at the third hour of the day, about nine in the morning. The landowner went back to the market place and found some others standing around not hired. These also he hired to go and work in his vineyard. This time, notice what is their agreement. They agree to work for “whatever is right.” Their contract is open ended as far as how much they would be paid.

The parable continues at the sixth hour of the day, that is about noon and again at the ninth hour of the day, that is about three in the afternoon. Both times the landowner finds those who have not yet been hired and again, notice the contract, the verbal agreement which he makes with these later workers. They agree to work for “whatever is right.” Their contract is a verbal agreement based on an unspecified amount of payment.

The parable tells us that even up to the eleventh hour, about five in the afternoon, about an hour before quitting time, more were hired for “whatever is right.” Now, so we get the picture of what is going on, remember that the very first ones hired were hired for a specific amount, an agreed upon contract of one denarius for the day, that is for their work from between six and seven in the morning until six in the evening, about a twelve hour day. And remember, even though theirs was a verbal contract, it was still a contract. The rest of the group, those hired from nine in the morning until five in the afternoon, those who worked anywhere from nine hours to one hour, were hired for an unspecified amount, namely, “whatever is right.” Their’s too was a verbal contract which was a contract.

The work is done, the day is over. The second part of the parable is the part of making compensation, that is the part of paying the workers. The paying part begins at evening, about six o’clock. Rather than pay those who were hired first, the landowner instructs that those who were hired last be paid first. Interestingly enough, if those who were hired first would have been paid first and had gone on their way they may never have seen that those hired last received the same pay. It almost seems like a slap in the face the way they had to watch as the others were paid as much as they were paid and for a lot less work. But let us look at the parable.

Those who were hired last were paid first and they received a denarius for their one hour of work. In other words, they received a day’s wage for their one hour of work and I am sure that they were quite pleased with their pay. Would we not like to be paid a days wage for working only one hour. Those hired second to last received a denarius for their three hours work and down the line the paying goes. Here again, if we were one of the ones hired later in the day we would appreciate the wage of “whatever is right,” because that would mean we would be getting more per hour than those hired before us. And even for those being paid a little less per hour than the ones hired last, those paid first, they had no beef, no hard feeling toward those being paid a little more per hour. As a matter of fact, everyone hired, except those hired first, were very pleased at their pay, no matter how much per hour it was.

But, those who were hired first, those who were hired and contracted with the agreement to be paid a specified amount, a denarius for the days work, when they were given only a denarius, they expected more. And why should they not expect more? They worked the longest and in the heat of the day. The ones who worked less hours were given a denarius. If we were one of those hired first we would certainly expect more, but they received the same as everyone else, a denarius. They grumble because they believed that they were being treated unfairly.

The question of those hired first is a question of fairness, at least it was a question of fairness in their own eyes. Yet, the answer they get is one of generosity and inclusion. According to the account of the events of this parable, they do not realize that they are not included in the grace and generosity of the landowner. As a matter of fact, they exclude themselves from the grace and generosity of the landowner because they believe that they are entitled to what the have earned. And they believe the others should not have been given that to which they were not entitled. Here is where we see that this is a parable of grace and generosity. The others are included by the grace and generosity of the landowner. Those who were hired first for an agreed upon contract are not included but are really the outsiders.

The last statement at verse sixteen brings us back to these words, “So the last will be first, and the first last” (v. 16). The question I will now ask is this, “where do you and I fit in this parable?” Are we a part of those who were hired first, second, third, or last? To help you decide, I want to introduce you to several people.

Grandma Schmidt has been a member of the same Lutheran Church for all of her life. She has been a Sunday School teacher for many of those years. She has been a member of the LWML and served in various positions of the LWML. She has always been available to help and serve in any and almost every way possible. According to our calculations, if anyone deserves to be acknowledged and rewarded, she is greatly deserving.

Harry has been a Christian only for about ten years. He has served on a couple of boards and committees. He helps out around the church as much as he can. Sometimes he is unable to be a part of what is going on, but again, if anyone deserves some recognition, everyone would agree that it would be Harry.

Mr. Evashephski is sixty and he became a Christian just last year. He likes to attend divine service and some of the social functions as well as carry in dinners, but he feels he is not sure of himself enough to serve on any board or committee. Everyone agrees that he is a nice person. Certainly everyone agrees that he is a deserving person.

Carla became a Christian on her deathbed. She came from what some describe as a pretty well to do family, but no one ever told her about Jesus or her need for forgiveness. Last fall, when she was taken into the hospital she met a pastor while he was visiting one of his members there. The pastor visited Carla and after a while she asked if she could be baptized. Not too much later she died. While not everyone agreed that she should have a church funeral, the pastor assured everyone of her faith and of God’s gift of eternal life for her.

Now, what do these people have to do with our parable, everything. In His parable Jesus reminds us that just as the landowner went out to hire workers for the vineyard and especially as he went out several times in the day and even up to the last hour of the day, so it is that God calls all people at all places and at all times to be a part of His kingdom. Yes, there are some who feel that they have contracted with God to be a part of His kingdom, that they have earned their spot, but they are unaware of the fact that they are the ones who have excluded themselves because of their refusal of God’s free grace and favor. God’s gifts are free and are freely given. To believe that one is entitled to what God is giving, that is to expect to earn what God is giving is to refuse His gifts.

Most important of all is the fact that God has given His Son for all. Jesus came. He humbled Himself. He put Himself last so that others might be first. He gave His life for ours. He gave His life so that we might have forgiveness of sins and life, eternal life. God is the great gift giver. He gives and we are given to. He calls all people to Himself and as we said, at any time in life and at any place in life. His call has nothing to do with our being deserving or undeserving. As a matter of fact, we are the ones who are undeserving and yet He calls us anyway.

The difficulty in the parable is the question I asked earlier, where are we in the parable? Are we those hired first and think we are deserving of heaven, is this something to which we believe we are entitled, or are we those hired after those hired first and appreciate God’s grace? Do we begrudge anyone who comes into the church at a later time in life thinking that they are not as deserving of God’s gifts as we are, or do we rejoice, as the angels in heaven, when anyone is brought to faith? My prayer is that we are the second, that is that we rejoice in those who are brought to faith at anytime in life. My prayer continues with the prayer that we are also the ones who are out and about sharing the Word of God with others so that they too might be a part of His kingdom.

Although God might allow us to be witnesses of all His good gifts and blessings, we are in no way entitled to nor deserving of any of them. It is only by His grace, through faith, which He has given to us, that we have forgiveness and have a part in His Kingdom. He is the one who earned everything for us, through His life, suffering, death and resurrection and He is the one who freely gives everything to us.

God is gracious and giving of all His good gifts and blessings and we are thankful for all He does and gives. When the landowner comes to give us what is actually Jesus’ reward I pray that we might all together stand and rejoice as He counts us worthy, by His grace, through faith in His Son, to be given a share in His kingdom and that we might respond and say, to Him be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.