Generosity - September 20, 2020 - Sixteenth 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 feelings 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 they 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 and yes they are fictional, made up 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 lived the perfect life for us then 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, that they really are not a part of God’s church like 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.

Forgiveness - September 13, 2020 - Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 19) - Text: Matthew 18:21-35

Last week we listened in as Jesus explained to His disciples and to us how we are to love each other and live with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, as members of His family the Holy Christian Church. We are not to be judgmental nor intolerant, which means we are not to overlook sin and temptation and those things which work to draw us away from our fellowship with those who are tempted by the temptations and sinful behavior of this world, rather we are to call sin what it is, sin. We are to be intolerant of sin. We are to call our brothers and sisters to be accountable for their sins. The loving thing is not to let our brother or sister continue on in their sin lest they be lost from the Christian faith and be doomed to eternal death, rather the loving thing is to confront our brother or sister concerning their sin, or unbelief or false belief, so that there might be repentance and forgiveness.
 

Following this discussion, we move immediately to our text for today where Peter asks for some clarification. Leave it to Peter to be the one to ask for clarification. Well, if it were not Peter, I am sure one of the Pharisees or teachers of the law would have eventually asked the question, if nothing else, at least in an attempt to justify themselves. We begin at verse twenty-one, “Then Peter came up and said to him, ‘Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’” (v. 21). Now understand, Peter actually thinks he is being generous in asking if as many as seven times is okay to forgiven our brother. And I do not know about you, but I think after six times I would be annoyed enough to not want to forgive someone. But Jesus response is, “Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven’” (v. 22). Jesus’ response is that there truly is no limit to how often we are to forgive one another. Then, to help His disciples and to help us to understand exactly what He means, Jesus goes on to tell a parable.
 

“23Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt” (v. 23-27).
 

Perhaps Jesus is giving us a glimpse of Judgement Day with this parable, a reminder of how much we are indebted to Him, or perhaps not. In this parable we are told about a king who set out to settle his accounts. The people of his kingdom owed him money and he was going to try to get that money back. Maybe we are reminded, by this parable of Jesus, of the debts we owe. Some we might not even want to think about or admit. One debt we owe is the debt to our parents for raising us, for feeding, clothing and sheltering us and especially for bringing us to the Lord’s house, bringing us to the waters of Holy Baptism, bringing us to the Word of God through which we were given faith and through which we are strengthened in faith. And of course I am sure that many of us have financial debts, loans to pay for a house, a car, education and the like. Or maybe we do not have any debts now, but we have had some in the past. Anyway, we all understand indebtedness.
 

In our Old Testament Reading for today we see, really, how much Joseph’s brothers owed him after all they put him through, selling him into slavery which lead to more slavery until he became second to Pharaoh, yet Joseph understood that God worked through all the things that happened in his life for his own good and for the good of his family. In his letter to the Romans, Paul tells us that “very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die” (Rom. 5:7). Jesus tells us “greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Anytime we hear stories about someone risking their own life for another we understand that these are what we call stories of heroism and that the person who is the object of such risk, the one being saved, has a great debt toward the one who is taking the risk, the hero.
 

In our text, the debtor, fearing the wrath of the king, begged for mercy. The debtor owed, what in our world today would amount to millions of dollars. He knew that he could be thrown into jail for what he owed and so he did the only thing he knew he could do. He begged for mercy. Perhaps he was hoping to bargain with the king in order to work out a plan whereby he might be able to repay him for what he owed. He was not looking, nor was he asking for the king to forgive his debt. He simply wanted time in order to work out his own debt.
 

As we relate this parable to our own lives we understand that we are in debt. We are in debt, especially to God. We are conceived and born in sin. We daily sin much and add to our sinfulness. If you want to know how indebted we are, think about it this way, if we only sin three times a day, which means we are really pretty good, because we have kept seven of the ten commandments, which is a 70% and we might think a passing grade, if we only sin three times a day, times 365 days in a year, that amounts to over a 1000 sins in a year. Now multiply that 1000 times how old you are and you will get a round number which is more than likely considerably less than how sinfully we really are and how in debt to God we really are. If we were honest with ourselves and with God, I suppose we would have to admit that we sin more along the lines of thirty and more times a day and even here, I use this number for illustration purposes, because it makes the math easier. 30 times 365 days is over 10,000 times per year, times how old we are. Thus, for some our sins of indebtedness runs into the 500,000 or 600,000 and more.
 

Recall as well that God demands perfection from us, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). So we come as the debtor in our text, begging for our heavenly Father’s mercy. We come, not expecting Him to forgive all our sins, but asking if there is a way for us to work out our sins, to work out our salvation. That is how we approach God from our human nature. We  want to bargain with God with an offer to pay back what we own Him. We think we can bargain with God, that we can somehow work off some of our sins. We do not realize their enormity nor do we realize our inability to do anything that would pay for our sins, the cost of which is our life.
 

And yet, the king does not hold the servant accountable for his debt, just as our Lord does not hold us accountable for our debt. The debt we owe God is blood, our life. The king, our Lord, tells us that our debt is forgiven. And please understand, when it comes to our sins, they do not just vanish. The cost, the price for our sins, which is blood and death, had to be paid and it was paid. It was paid by Jesus suffering and death on the cross. When the King, when our Father in heaven forgives us it is for Christ’s sake, it is because of Jesus suffering and death on the cross. But the parable is not over.
 

“28But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart” (v. 28-35).
 

In this second part of our text we come to find out that the servant, instead of rejoicing the in the king’s forgiveness, refuses that forgiveness. You see, the servant immediately left the kings presence and went out to find a fellow servant who owed him a few dollars, really what the other servant owed was nothing compared to what this servant had owed the king. Yet, how often does it happen in our own lives. We go to church. We confess our sins. We hear those most beautiful word, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then we go out and refuse to forgive our brother or sister who has sinned against us. Or, we pray the Lord’s prayer. We pray the fifth petition, “And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” And then we fail to forgive those who have sinned against us. That is gift refusal, that is refusal of forgiveness.
 

We have a debt we owe to God. That debt is a great debt. We owe Him our life. And we cannot and never will be able, in and of ourselves to pay Him back the debt we own. We also have debts to each other. We continually sin against each other, sometimes not on purpose, other times on purpose. We sin against each other and we try to get back at each other. We think that revenge is something that we must do. But if we compare our debts, if we compare what we owe to God, which is our life, to the debt with which we owe each other which is really nothing, there is no comparison or as in the parable in our text, the difference is between millions of dollars and a few dollars.
 

Or, perhaps we do forgive each other, but how often is our forgiveness a conditional forgiveness, “I will forgive, but I will never forget!” We have Jesus’ warning in our text that as we do to others, so His Heavenly Father will do to us, in other words, just as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, if we do not forgive others, we ask that He would not forgive us. This matter of forgiveness, as the matter of sin, has to be from the heart. Sin is not sin only if we do something, sin has its beginning in our heart and in our mind, in our thought and in our intent. So as we forgive, forgiveness has its beginning in our heart and in our mind. We forgive as we have been forgiven. If we refuse God’s forgiveness, then this is seen in that we are then not able to forgive others. But as we are given God’s forgiveness, then we are able to forgive others. Joseph was able to forgive his brothers because God forgave him and gave him the ability to forgive them. We forgive each other as God forgives us and as He gives us the ability to forgive each other.
 

Jesus’ words which we quoted earlier, again, “greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13), were really a foretelling of His great love for us. He is the one to whom we owe our very lives and yet that is not what He requires of us. Instead, what He did was to give what we owe. He was born in perfection and lived the perfect life demanded of us. He gave His life, He suffered and died, He shed His blood, in order to pay the price, the cost, the wage for our sins, which was eternal death and hell. He rose from the dead, defeating sin, death and the devil. And then He announces to us the most precious, the most beautiful words we need to hear, “Your sins are forgiven.” Every Sunday morning we come here and we confess our sins and we hear those most beautiful words, “Your sins are forgiven.” And, with His forgiveness, with His help, by the power of the Holy Spirit we, then, go out and we forgive those who have sinned against us. We love because He first loved us. In loving and forgiving others as He first loved us and forgives us, in so doing we give Him glory. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.