Text: Matthew 20:1-16
Grace
and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Today’s
parable in our Gospel reading is very scandalous. Yes, today’s parable isn’t ‘fair’ or even ‘just’
according to our way of thinking. It is
rather outrageous to commonsensical reasoning.
It will most likely cause you to fidget and grumble; it may even incite
a bit of rage within you.
With
that stated, you have already heard the parable read in today’s Gospel reading,
but let me give a brief recap of the parable.
There
is a landowner who went into the marketplace to hire people to work in his
vineyard. From the marketplace, he hired
some workers in the early morning hours.
Later he hired some more workers around 9:00 AM. In fact he continued to hire workers
throughout the day; some around noon, some around 3:00 PM, and some around 5:00
PM. This resulted in several of the individuals
working a full-days’ work, whereas others worked only a half day, and others
only an hour or two. Up to this point, there
is certainly no scandal in the story.
At
the end of the day though, the workers who put in a full-days’ work were
compensated for a full-days’ work. Yes,
they put in lengthy hours and received a fair payment for their work. They were obviously not treated unfairly or
short changed. The landowner did not
swindle them, abuse them, or take advantage of them. The landowner said that he would pay them the
typical daily wage and they were compensated that daily rate. So what is the problem?
The
problem occurs at the end of the day when the unthinkable happens. Those who were hired last, yes those who only
worked an hour or so, were paid first, that is, before everyone else. To make it even more offensive, those that
showed up last and only worked an hour or so were given a full-days’ pay.
Does
this not offend you? It certainly
offends me. Who do these freeloaders
think they are? Do they think that they
can just sit around as lazy bums and then be compensated the same rate as those
who put in the real hard work, those that have actually ‘earned’ their
pay? Can we tolerate these lazy jerks
and their cheap grace? Speaking of cheap
grace, who does the landowner think he is, paying workers who do not even work
a full-day? Everyone knows that a
business cannot be run this way. If a
business owner pays people who do not work, everyone knows that the business’s
equity will be drained. This kind of careless
cost accounting will surely land the business in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. All of this is downright scandalous, unjust,
and appalling, is it not?
The
workers in the parable certainly felt this way as well. They grumbled and complained in low tones at
the end of the day, when everyone was compensated. However, what were they grumbling about precisely? As we take a closer look at today’s Gospel
reading, we notice that the main reason for the grumbling, complaining, and
muttering was not necessarily on the amount of pay that was given. Rather the reason why those who worked all
day long grumbled, was because the landowner made everyone equal by lavishing
the same generous gift upon everyone, regardless of the amount of work that was
done. Listen to the grumblers, “These
last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne
the burden of the day and the scorching heat.”
Yes, here is the scandal, those who worked one hour were given a
full-days’ pay; those who worked eight hours were given a full-days’ pay; and those
who worked ten-plus hours were given a full-days’ pay. Everyone was generously and fairly compensated
the exact same rate; everyone was equally gifted and no one was shortchanged by
the landowner. Otherwise stated, everyone
was treated the same, regardless of the amount of work done. There were no comparisons made, no ranking or
classification of workers, and no compensation scales.[1] This resulted in “no room for self-promotion,
no occasion for competition, no basis on which one . . . [could] say to
another, . . . ‘I am more important than you are.’”[2]
My
friends, this story offends us and we grumble with those who worked a
full-days’ wage, because we believe that the more a person does, the more they
should be compensated and rewarded. Yes, even our Midwestern ideals teach us that
hard work should be rewarded greater than idle work. In a word, longer work should be rewarded
more substantially than shorter work. If
one cannot be rewarded with greater compensation for greater work, then we at
least want there to be some sort of differentiation between workers. Maybe one
worker should be labeled ‘senior executive’ and the other work labeled as ‘meager
minion.’ Yes, we want—no we demand—that
compensation and job status be dependent on the amount of work that we do or do
not do. This is the way that it works in
the work force and the way that it works in the vocations in the world.
While
compensation and different levels of status are certainly prevalent in our
capitalistic economic system today, and sometimes very beneficial to
productivity, it could not be further from the way things are in God’s
economy. You see, “God isn’t like
you. He doesn’t think like the way you
think. His ways are not your ways. And He doesn’t owe you, or anyone, anything.”[3] You see, the workers who worked all day,
grumbled because they saw themselves as entitled to more and within a separate
class of individuals. And what set them
apart from the idle workers? They saw
themselves as entitled.
We
too, my friends, are prone to this very sin in regard to the kingdom of heaven,
when we begin to think that the Lord somehow owes us a special status and owes
us grace for what we have done and what we have not done. We too sin when we think that we can somehow
manage, manipulate, control, and domesticate the Lord’s grace, as if His grace
must respond to who we are and what we do.
Contrary
to what our sinful nature may think, the Lord’s grace cannot be confined, controlled,
and dispensed on the basis of our agendas, our ethnic heritages, our church
backgrounds, our spirituals resumes, the length of time that we have been in the
church, our roles in the church, our accomplishments, our community status, and
so forth. Put frankly, the Lord’s grace
is not dispensed in the way a can of soda is dispensed, that is, when loose
change is inserted and buttons pressed on a vending machine so that a soda is bestowed
of our choosing. We cannot purchase
grace with our change and cannot press the Lord’s buttons. That is (to say), the Lord is not so easily
manipulated by us naming and cataloging our good works in order to present them
in exchange for His grace. The reason
why this is so? Like the Great Lion,
Aslan, in C.S. Lewis’ book, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” the Lord
won’t be tied down and won’t be pressed for He is not a tame lion.
Therefore,
if grace cannot be bought off and if we are not entitled to it, one might
wonder if it is even for us. Dear
friends, before we go down this dark road, may it be clear to us that this
parable is not about what mankind thinks is ‘fair’ or ‘just.’ It is not about how we can control grace or
earn it. It isn’t about how we can
self-promote ourselves in the kingdom of heaven in order to warrant special
handouts. It frankly isn’t about us at
all and all of our doings. Rather this
parable is about the gracious landowner and how the landowner’s generosity
consequently infuriates. It is a parable
about the Lord’s rich, abounding, mighty, and powerful disposition towards
those who do not deserve it. It is about
grace that does not depend on works and what people think they deserve, but grace
that is lavished out upon the unworthy—for Christ’s sake. In short, “the Lord rewards those who don’t
deserve it. He loves those who hate and
abuse Him. He gives gifts to those who
steal from Him. He is generous,
merciful, and good despite” the thoughts, words, and deeds of mankind.[4]
The
thing about this parable is that it will always remain scandalous and unfair as
long as we see ourselves as the entitled ones, for that is the default position
of the old Adam, our sinful flesh. But with
that stated, what exactly do we think that we are entitled to? Fleshing this out a bit more, what is ours to
take? What have we earned? Soberly answered, no matter how polished our
good works, no matter how clean our resumes, and no matter how many hours of
devotion we have put in—even if it is a full-day of work—we must never forget
that all we can earn by our own reason and strength is complete and total
damnation. That is our paycheck. That is our wage. The only thing that we can offer the Lord is
our sin; sin though that does not yield life but wages death.
Do
not despair though, for like the jobless people in the market place, you have
been called and placed into God’s vineyard as a worker, some of you early in
the morning, others of you later in the day and others in the evening. Regardless of the time though, you have been graciously
called. You have been placed into the
kingdom of heaven, because you are loved and He is gracious. Most certainly you are welcomed into the
kingdom, but this does not come without a cost.
What is the cost though? The cost
is the expensive and shed blood of Jesus Christ—blood shed for you. Yes indeed, in this vineyard, this kingdom,
Christ’s church, you have learned and will continue to learn that the defining
characteristic of the Lord is unearned and undeserved grace—for you. As a disciple within this gracious kingdom of
heaven, you will work in serving your neighbor and you will walk in the
vocations that the Lord has placed you within, as the Holy Spirit leads and
sanctifies you daily. Yes, these good
works and vocations are given from the Lord’s hand for you to simply walk in. Indeed, being called into the vineyard you
will continually receive undeserved and unearned grace and mercy that has been
gifted to you for Christ’s sake. It is
all pure gift!
Baptized
Saints, in the days to come when you and I find ourselves caught up in the
mindset of entitlement or find ourselves believing that we can earn grace, be
assured that the Lord and His grace will not bend to your or my demands, but rather
will exceed “the desires of our selfish hearts.”[5] Case and point: as you stand shoulder to
shoulder with your brothers and sisters at this altar, you all will all stand
with different lengths and different lists of sins, yet you and your brothers
and sisters will all receive the same body and blood of Jesus Christ for the complete
forgiveness of all your sins. Indeed, in
the days to come when you slip into comparing yourself with others, your
baptism remains steadfast and true reminding you that you and your brothers and
sisters were all baptized into the same name, “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,” from
the same baptismal font, into the same death and resurrection.
Given
the good news that we have heard thus far, it can be faithfully and confidently
asserted that in Christ’s church no one can tame, limit, or legislate the Lord
and His grace. The Lion of Judah will
not be tamed. The flowing grace from Mt
Calvary cannot be dammed up. The cup overflows for you today and for you
tomorrow and the days to come. As the
workers received a full-days’ wage for only an hour of work, it is the same for
you. In fact it is better for you, for
you “are no longer mere workers being overpaid.
By grace we are now members of the family, co-owners of the kingdom, [and]
the bride of the Son. We remain with
Him.”[6]
Blessed
Saints, “May God in His mercy keep this ever new to and for us that our hearts
would not grow cold or take His grace for granted. May He keep us ever mindful of the cost of
His love in the death of the Son and the fulfillment of His love in the resurrection
as He provides once again in His risen body and blood.”[7]
The
peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus. Amen.
[1] Jeffrey A. Gibbs, Matthew 11:2-20:34: Concordia Commentary (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House,
2010), 990.
[2] Ibid, 991.
[3] David H. Petersen, Thy Kingdom Come: Lent and Easter Sermons (Fort
Wayne, IN: Emmanuel Press, 2012), 2.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid, 4.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
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