The Church Season of Epiphany,
Septuagesmia,
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (February 4, 2012)
Septuagesmia,
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (February 4, 2012)
Readings:
Psalm 95:1-9
Exodus 17:1-7
1 Corinthians 9:24-10:5
Matthew 20:1-16
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Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen
Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen
The text for today is as recorded in the Gospel Lesson from the 20th chapter of St. Matthew, especially the following verses.
Matthew 20:1-16 (ESV)
1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘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.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”
1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘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.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
Over and over we have been told that the Christian faith is all about grace. But, what is grace? If someone approached you and asked you to define grace, could you do it? Christians talk about grace in practically everything they say and do, but not all Christians agree on what grace is according to Holy Scripture. Grace to you could be what you say before your meals, and you should say grace before every meal, and that would be one definition. Grace could be the extra few days you receive before your bills are really due. And if you know that definition, then you have learned, or may have have been taught how to play a worldly game of financial roulette, but it not the grace of which Christians proclaim.
Grace is God’s attitude in Jesus Christ revealed through the preached Word and the Sacraments to create and sustain faith in order that sinners may be forgiven and justified by faith. That’s an easy definition for you to learn by heart and make a part of your life. Contrary to popular belief by certain Christians, grace is not something poured into a Christian in order to help him or to help prop God up in the work of salvation. That robs Jesus Christ of His glory in His Passion. Let me give you two simple equations…Jesus plus anything is equal to nothing. Jesus plus nothing is equal to everything. As you know this means grace is free, faith is free and when we try to add human acts to grace and faith, then we put ourselves in the place of saying Christ’s work just wasn’t enough.
Also contrary to popular belief by certain Christians is the notion that grace just happens out of the clear blue sky. God does not “zap” people willy nilly with grace as they go about their daily lives. Grace is not a feeling that God gives you through “happy vibes” floating down from heaven. No, God’s grace is tied to stuff. God has promised to reach out to you through the preached Word, Baptismal Water & Word, Communion bread and wine, Body and Blood, and the Word of Absolution pronounced individually or corporately. These are the means of grace and are how God delivers His grace to you.
Another way to define grace for someone who doesn’t know grace is to read with them Jesus’ parable in Matthew chapter 20. The master of the vineyard doesn’t have two equations, but he does ask two questions to one of the grumblers at the end of Christ’s parable. To the grumbler the master says; Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? The lesson is that grace is the exclusive property of God. Grace is God’s attitude toward sinners through Jesus Christ. So what the landowner is really saying to the grumbling worker is; "What gives you the right to grumble about God’s blessings?" The Heavenly Father has given you everything you need to support your body and your life. What could be more? God gives you His forgiveness for your of sins and eternal life in His Son Jesus Christ. Yet you whine about not getting enough grace or getting less grace.
Grace delivers forgiveness of sins won by Jesus Christ when He became sin for you in order that you might receive eternal life. We gripe and groan about God’s relationship toward others and toward ourselves. It’s not fair that so-and-so was a Christian for less time than I was, but they receive the same reward as I receive. If this is how you receive God’s grace, then you must not be a big fan of deathbed conversion accounts. Whether one is a Christian for the last five minutes of their lives with agonizing gasps of breath or for many decades of happily living in this world, all those called by God to work in His Vineyard receive the same wage. That wage is grace.
The second question the landowner asks the grumbler is; "Do you begrudge my generosity?" In a time when equality among people seems to be the most treasured virtue of all, you are caught begrudging a generous, loving God who does not consign us to eternal hell.
So where does that leave you and I, no work to be done, Christ has done it all, now what? Yes Jesus Christ has accomplished all that there is to accomplish with regard to your salvation, this is most certainly true. It’s free. It’s for you. That is grace. God's wrath is turned toward His Son not you. God looks at His you His children with joy. Adam’s fall into sin is cancelled in Christ’s atoning blood.
What a wonderful Savior we have! And that’s the message of mission. The message of mission is the message of grace. This message of grace is spread when and where God wills. This doesn’t mean God rolls the dice and decides to whom He will or will not be gracious. It is not given to you or I to worry about such matters. What matters most is that God is gracious in Jesus Christ. What matters most is that He desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of Truth. That our Father in heaven desires this to be so, is grace.
Grace is the air that you breathe in Christ. Grace is the water that you drink in Christ. Consider the pictures Saint Paul paints in the Epistle. "I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ." That is abundance of grace freely given to you which answers that question I asked moment ago. What do I do?
You have been given much, in fact everything with regard to you salvation. And because you have been given much and you rejoice in what you are given and every other Christian is given, you gladly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In every word you speak, in every action you take, in every minute of your life, by the grace of God you have received, have the desire to proclaim Jesus Christ to all who are around you. The Holy Spirit works when and where He pleases to make disciples, therefore we joyfully speak of what we have been given in Jesus Christ.
You have been given much, in fact everything with regard to you salvation. And because you have been given much and you rejoice in what you are given and every other Christian is given, you gladly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In every word you speak, in every action you take, in every minute of your life, by the grace of God you have received, have the desire to proclaim Jesus Christ to all who are around you. The Holy Spirit works when and where He pleases to make disciples, therefore we joyfully speak of what we have been given in Jesus Christ.
Today is the beginning of pre-lent. Our services begin to shed away the joyous proclamations and to turn to a more somber mode. And as we arrive in Lent and proceed through that church season our minds are turned inward toward our sin and the great price that Jesus Christ paid for us.
By His grace you are saved through faith in Jesus Christ. This is not of your own doing, as Saint Paul tells the Church in Ephesus and to us too. It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. As God's workmanship, your eye no longer begrudges God’s generosity. He gives His grace to you and all His children when and where He wills. He gives His grace to you in order that you might be His own and live under Him in His Vineyard and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. The Christian faith is all about grace. Where would you be without it? By grace you have been saved and that, is an eternal gift.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit
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