The LCA provides this sermon edited for lay-reading, with thanks to the
original author.
Sermon for Year A Proper 20
Text: Matthew 20:8-10
Apparently, it was the custom in Jesus’
time for those people who relied on work on farms or labouring jobs to go to
the town square early in the morning and wait for work. Sometimes there was an urgency to harvest
grapes and grain before bad weather rolled in and destroyed the lot. A builder may have needed to get a house
built quickly. Of course these landowners, builders, or whatever, would pick
the youngest, fittest and strongest workers.
Getting work
was important. It was a matter of
survival. Those who were given work first thing in the morning were certain
that at the end of the day to have a day’s wages to spend buying wholesome food
for their household and everyone would go to bed with full tummies.
For those who were left standing in the
town square things were less certain.
Waiting and hoping and praying for some work was nerve wracking. Landowners and others offering work would
come and go all day and each time those workers in the square would hope that
they would be picked. How frustrating it
must have been, knowing that the well-being of their families depended on a
stranger, a landowner, who may or may not choose them to do some work and who
didn’t know or care much about the consequences of not having work on their families.
It’s not that the workers in the town square were lazy, in
fact, they wanted to work. But if they were
still in the town square when the sun went down at the end of the day they would
have to go home and say to their families that they had nothing to give them to
eat that night.
In Jesus’ story just as the workers were about to give up
hope someone comes and hires them and tells them that they will receive
whatever pay is fair. Something is
better than nothing and a small amount might be just enough to get the family
through to the next day.
But then the landlord does something completely crazy,
completely unexpected, completely and totally generous, something beyond their
wildest dreams. He gives them a full day's wage even though they haven't earned
it. He gives them enough to live
on. He gives them enough to take home to
their families and if they are careful this will be enough for tomorrow as
well.
We know that those who had worked all day were unhappy with
this kind of generosity. The landowner
explained they had no right to be unhappy because they were paid the agreed
wage and besides, what right did they have to question his generosity.
This kind of generosity flies in the face of everything that
we would consider good work practice. Both trade unions and employers’
associations would be up in arms. It
hardly fosters good relations among the workers and between workers and their
bosses. But this isn’t a story about
what is fair, just and right. It’s a story about generosity that is unbelievable.
And Jesus says that is what the kingdom of heaven is like. This
is what the generosity of God is like.
Jesus, beaten, whipped, mocked and nailed to a cross is
evidence of the generosity of God. The
Son of God had come from heaven to earth, not because he was looking for a nice
place to have a break from heavenly chores, but because he was part of a divine
plan set in motion when the first man and woman disobeyed God in the Garden of
Eden. God became human, born in a
stable, laid in a manger, raised in an out-of- the way country town, Nazareth,
was misunderstood and rejected, falsely accused and wrongly sentenced to die on
a cross.
Why? Why did God go to
such extremes? Because of his extravagantly generous love for each one of
us.
There is nothing fair about the way Jesus was treated. There
was nothing fair about his trial. There was nothing fair about the way this
totally innocent man was executed as a criminal. There is little doubt that the
man who could command the wind and waves to stop, walk on water and raise the
dead could have given his executors (and that includes us) what they truly
deserve but instead he is able to say with such generosity of spirit, “Father, forgive them. They don't know what they are doing”.
This generosity of God has confused people for centuries.
In today’s Old Testament reading we find Jonah sitting on a
hill overlooking Nineveh. He is very unhappy, even angry. Why is he so upset? After all the people of Nineveh had given up
their wicked ways and God had decided not to punish them.
Jonah thought this so unfair.
He considered himself a God fearing man always doing his best to follow
God's ways and he slipped up just once. Just once he disobeyed God and ended up
in a storm, thrown overboard and then in the smelly belly of a big fish at the
bottom of the sea. And now here are the
Ninevites, wicked through and through and they get off scot free. Where is the justice in that?
That day Jonah learnt some valuable things about God's
generous love not only for the Ninevites, but also for himself and for all his
creation. The Ninevites might have been
some of the most perverse people on the face of earth but his love for them was
no less generous than his love for the often cranky and self-righteous Jonah.
Just before our Gospel reading Jesus is asked by Peter, “Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning
against me, how many times do I have to forgive him?” Peter suggests seven times but Jesus is far
more generous. His answer implies there
is no limit to the number of times that forgiveness is to be given.
That sounds extremely unfair. By our human way of reckoning,
there must be a limit to the times we forgive another person. There must be a
time when we say, “That’s it. You’ve hurt me for the last time. Just watch me
give you back some of what you have dished up to me!” Jesus totally shatters our human standards of
fairness and justice by giving each one of us his love and grace without us
having to work for it or deserve it. He sets a new standard for our
relationship with others.
There’s more to forgiveness than counting how many times we
should forgive. Let’s not forget that God's generosity toward us is totally
undeserved and unconditional, so it follows that we extend the same kind of
generosity toward others.
This can be expressed in any number of ways.
·
We can be generous in the way we give a person
encouragement and a kind word when they are feeling down even though that
person might not be one of our best buddies.
·
We can be generous in the way we give of our time to
help someone going through a rough patch.
·
When someone says something that offends us we can be
generous in our reaction and sympathise, understand and appreciate what has
made the person respond in the way they have rather than give back as good as
we had given to us.
·
When we have fallen out with someone or believe we
have been unfairly treated we can be generous in our willingness to reach out
and make amends and restore friendships.
·
When someone really annoys us and gets under our skin
we can be generous with our patience and kindness and deal with that person in
a way that reflects the generous nature of God.
This happens in reverse as well. When we are tired and worn down and depressed
and feeling alone I’m sure we would appreciate someone being generous toward us
and patiently taking the time to talk with us and help us see the brighter side
of things.
It’s nice to talk about generosity in this way and how our
lives ought to reflect the generosity of God, but we all know how hard it is to
do just this. As the workers experienced
in the parable, the biggest barriers to generosity are envy and
selfishness. It’s that part of us that
wants to be first and foremost over and above everyone else. And it is just at that moment that we look to
the generosity of God to forgive us again, renew us once more and redirect our
attitudes to be more Christlike.
The generosity of God toward us is summed up in one word
‘grace’. That’s what Jesus’ parable is
all about and that’s what Jonah experienced that day outside Nineveh—the grace
of God.
The workers who received a full day’s wages for only a
half-day’s work or less were surprised and no doubt appreciative of the
landowner’s generosity. This unexpected
gift was a source of hope for the workers that would bring happiness to their
families and hope for a better tomorrow.
The generosity of God is what gives us hope when it seems that only gray
skies and dark clouds colour our days.
It is this hope that changes the grey into the bright colours that only
the grace of God can bring into our lives. Amen.
And the peace of God that surpasses all understand keep your
hearts and minds forever in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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