Vicar Christopher Gillespie
Immanuel Lutheran Church of Frankentrost
Saginaw, Michigan
Septuagesima (January 20, 2007)
Text: Matthew 20:1-16

01-20-2008 audio

Let our hearts and minds consider the parable told by Jesus in today’s Gospel.

Let us pray:
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

“Life is not fair.” I’ve heard it and I’ve said it. Fairness would be the comfort, pleasure, and good health we think we ought to have. Yet we experience far too little of these. Our life is one of labor of discomfort, of abuse, and struggle with family friends in the world. We bear the burdens of sickness and disease.
Life certainly is not fair.

But fairness is a subjective thought. Fairness is only in the eye of the beholder.

From our perspective as Americans, a fair life includes a single-family home, two car garage, one of Detroit’s finest, 2.1 children, a dog, television, and delivery pizza. Without these things we consider life unfair.

But to a Third World person fairness is perhaps a meal a day or a week, any clothes, and shelter from the storm.

Relatively speaking, their standard would be considered cruel and unfair. We say “no one ought to live like that!” Yet to the poor, life is fair with far less than us.

Yes, we with eyes of envy and greed look on our neighbor and judge the wealth he has. We say “no one ought to have that!” or “do you know how much that suit costs?” or “can you believe the size of his TV?” This is the curse of wealth: it begets in us envy and greed.

I can’t help but think of my children at dessert time. I make every effort to dole out the goods in equal measure with a bit of favor toward my wife and child #5, of course. Yet, invariably one of the children complains, “Dad, brother got more than I did! It’s not fair!” Oh, from the mouths of babes we hear that life is not fair!

To understand this week’s Gospel, we need a brief review of its context. Jesus has just told his disciples and the rich young man that it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. (Matthew 19:24)

This young rich man who keeps all the commandments of God but is unwilling to give up the wealth. He leaves in sorrow and torment for he had a great many things.

How quickly this rich young man took his worldly standards of fairness and applied them to the extraordinary gifts of God that he had received.

God benefits all creation recklessly and in excess. He gives us all that we need to support his body and life. The wealth that we have is not an end in itself - given for life’s finer pleasures. The wealth is the means of building the Kingdom of Heaven - the holy Christian Church on earth.

He who has much … suffers the burden of losing it. But he who has little … suffers the burdens of envy and greed for more.

Man cursed by sin is cursed by both wealth and by poverty.

I once knew a man who said to me, “I’ve worked hard for many years. I’ve paid my dues. The company owes me. I deserve some luxury in my life.”

It was never more apparent than at that moment that this friend came from a religion of works. His religion taught that we are justly rewarded for the things we do in this life. Due to negligent teachers, my friend ignored the further teachings of His faith that taught everything he had was a gift of God.

To further demonstrate, let us consider with Jesus our Gospel text for today. We, who have worked hard a day’s labor have received a day’s wage as agreed. But those who are hired in the final hour at the end of the day will receive a day’s wage as well. We who have worked hard in the kingdom of heaven quickly allow our greed and envy to take over -cursing the latecomers and cursing the master of the house. All fairness would dictate that we receive 12 times the pay or the latecomers 1/12 a day’s wage.

But thanks be to God that our greed and our envy don’t drive the Father’s pay scale in the kingdom of heaven. For the father gives freely without any merit or worthiness in me. The gift of the vineyard, a bountiful harvest, the wine from the press is given freely, extravagantly, and not by our standards of fairness.

If God were fair, He would judge us by his standard of law. He would measure up our labor against his command. The fruit of our work would be considered against his own labor.

Under this standard of law, there is no grace. By his measure we are unworthy of the day’s wage, which is salvation and eternal life. By his rule our works have not measured up. At the end of the day our works are nothing but filthy rags.

As the poet Paul Speratus wrote:

What in God and in his law demand
and none to him could render
caused wrath and woe on every hand
for man, the vile offender.
Our flesh has not those pure desires
the spirit of the law requires,
and lost is our condition. (LSB 555)

Thanks be to God that we are not judged by the Law. Blessed be those who labor in God’s vineyard, whose unrighteous works are ignored by unfair and gracious God. Unfair because he places the judgment we deserve upon His Son. Unfair because he took upon himself the wages that we deserve for sin - the wages of death - and places them upon himself in the person of Jesus.

In Jesus we see the ultimate unfairness - God’s fulfillment of righteousness in himself. In Jesus we see what we deserve, what our sins ever earned for us. For Jesus suffered, he was tortured, he was smitten and afflicted, and died the death we deserve. He unfairly took upon himself what he himself did not deserve.

This is grace! Grace is granting us what we do not deserve. Grace is forgiveness of our debt of our sins of our failure, all without expectation of repayment. Grace is God acting on his own accord for our benefit - pursuing us, despite our sloth. He calls us, he pursues us, he draws us into his vineyard, despite our rejection of him. He is a Father who breaks his own rules and forgives us by unfairly placing the guilt upon his Son.

Our God is a gracious God, forgiving the sins of those who love him, even to the third and fourth generation.

But with his grace comes a warning in the parable. The 11th hour approaches. The consummation of all time draws near. The day is coming to a close.

Many of us have received the gift of promise of heaven long ago. We have labored in the vineyard of our Lord’s church. We have suffered mockery of others in the burden of the day. A scorching heat of the sun - years of volunteer service on boards, committees, school, and church, has made the labor difficult and the day drag on.

How easy too is it then for us who received the promise of heaven at our baptism as infants to judge those who receive the gift of heaven late in life - saying that they haven’t paid their dues, or they owe the church labor of Sunday school teaching or volunteer work, talents, or treasure. How unfair is it that they enjoy the gifts of Christ’s church without the sacrifice and suffering of a hard day or whole life’s labor!

To speak so is to ignore the warning of Paul in our Epistle, where he warns that we who share the Good News with others can fail to enter into the kingdom of God.

After running the race and helping others do so, we can neglect ourselves and be disqualified. For receiving the same baptism and spiritual food does not save, if one is overthrown by sin in the wilderness.

Be on guard! Do not let your sinful pride destroy the work of Christ in you. Do not envy those who are saved without extended service to the church. For you too were given the spiritual Rock of Christ without merit. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

The labor of the kingdom of heaven is hard in order to topple our sinful pride. The work is a thorn in our side, full of trial and challenge. But our Lord says to us: “My grace is sufficient for you, and My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor 12:9)

Our lives may appear unfair but we like Paul ought to be “content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.” For when we are weak, then we are strong.

Remember how God humbled Saul, and David, and Peter! The prideful and boastful he brings low. “The last will be first, and the first last.” (Mt 20:16) God shames the wisdom of the world, the desire for material equity, social equality, and entitlement … the fairness we expect in order that His grace might be multiplied in our sight.

Christ’s gift of life everlasting comes freely and completely to all he pursues, apprehends, and brings into his holy labor force. It comes by grace.

Yet how quickly in our last day might we turn to our works, judging our life by standards of fairness - considering our great and mighty deeds done for our neighbors. But in all fairness, these deeds are not great and mighty but fall short of the glory of God. We cry with the Psalmist - “Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me!”

Thanks be to God that in grace he overpays giving us far more than we deserve. Thanks be to God that he has chosen to give himself freely, abundantly, and other generosity. He gives us forgiveness bounteously, calling us into a sanctuary, enlightening with all all his gifts, and sanctifying us in the true faith unto life everlasting.

God’s grace is unfair. All receive fully the gifts of forgiveness life, and salvation.

Whether your labor has been long or you have only been brought in the last hour, you have been washed by the blood of the Lamb. The water of the righteous baptism of Christ falls from his back onto yours and into the font, naming you to as a child of God. The grace of his Son here is unfairly bought for you. His body and blood is here given recklessly for all whether coming in the first the third, the sixth, the ninth or, even the 11th hour - his body and blood is for you.

Come and taste and see that our Lord is good!

Let Us Pray:

By Grace! None dare lay claim to merit;
our works and conduct have no worth.
God in his love sent our Redeemer,
Christ Jesus, to this sinful earth;
his death did for our sins atone,
and we are saved by grace alone. (LSB 566)