Epiphany Lutheran Church
St. Louis, Missouri
Septuagesima
February 20, 2011
Matthew 20:1-16
Work in the Lord’s Vineyard
"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.” (Matthew 20:1 ESV)
Dear Fellow Redeemed,
Today is Septuagesima, seventy days until we celebrate the Resurrection of
our Lord. Starting today, we celebrate three Sundays which prepare us for the
Lenten journey which begins on Ash Wednesday. These Sundays are important
because just as we wouldn’t go on a trip without making proper preparations; so
these three Sundays prepare us for the Lenten journey by calling us to labor in
God’s vineyard, teaching and training us in His school, and finally
enlightening us to enter Lent with our eyes wide open.
Now the Kingdom of heaven is unlike anything on earth. That’s what Jesus
had been trying to teach His disciples. That’s what He had been trying to teach
the scribes and Pharisees. That’s what He had been trying to teach to all who
heard Him. And that’s what He would teach us today.
Now it’s all too easy to focus on the wrong things in today’s Gospel. It’s
easy to identify with the laborers and not with the Master. It’s easy to focus
on the seeming unfairness of the master paying all the laborers the same wage
no matter how long they worked. And, indeed, in the kingdom of God, we do see
just that unfairness. After all, we are all sinners. We all are idle,
good-for-nothings, standing in the market place of the world with no hope of
work. But God, in His great mercy has come to us and called us to labor in His
vineyard. We don’t deserve such kindness and yet He would make use of the likes
of us for work in His vineyard, His kingdom. Yes, working in God’s vineyard is
a gift of grace.
And as long as we’re on the topic of unfairness in the kingdom of heaven,
let’s consider the greatest unfairness of all. The holy Son of the living God
comes to earth to live among us sinners. He sees the poor and the sick, but He
also sees how selfish and self-centered we can be. He sees the utterly
sin-darkened condition of our hearts. He sees that by nature we are enemies of
God and hate Him. And what does He do? He calls sinners to repentance and
faith. He heals people of diseases and gives people life. And then, in the
greatest unfairness of all, He submits Himself to be beaten and tortured,
mocked and betrayed, and nailed to a cross. He gives Himself as the sacrificial
Lamb to atone for the sins of the world. Talk about unfair! It’s unfair that He
would die in our place, suffering the death we deserve. It’s unfair that He
covers our sins with His holy, precious blood. It’s unfair that He comes to
forgive our sins and bring us into His family. And it’s that unfairness which
should be the cause of our rejoicing - certainly for ourselves and for all who
receive our Lord and His forgiveness.
But, alas, we tend to focus on the wrong things. Instead of focusing of
God’s gracious and generous gifts, we focus on ourselves. Like the Israelites
in today’s Old Testament reading (Ex. 17:1-7) and the laborers who were hired
first, we grumble and complain. Oh, how we like to do that! We aren’t satisfied
with the daily bread our Lord provides. We love to compare ourselves with
others, thinking we are better than they. We don’t like that someone else gets
as much as we do, especially because we’ve worked longer and harder. That’s
also why the scribes and the Pharisees don’t like it one bit that Jesus opened
the kingdom of heaven to Gentiles, and tax collectors and sinners. After all,
*they* had borne the burden of the work. *They* had done great things in the
kingdom. They didn’t think it fair that these others should receive the same
reward as they. Like those laborers hired first, they begrudged the Owner’s
generosity toward others.
The same is true of the older brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son.
He begrudged his father’s generous treatment of his younger brother. Listen to
his response, “Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never
disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could
celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your
property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!”
(Luke 15:29-30).
And this is where we need to listen to our Lord Jesus and take His words to
heart. For wages in the Kingdom of Heaven are given only by Grace and not by
Law. Indeed, if God paid according to Law, *all* the workers would die. After
all, “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). That’s what we all deserve. “But
the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). You see,
forgiveness, life and salvation, the reward for work in the kingdom, is a gift.
It is given by grace alone and is received by faith alone.
The problem is that many people reject this reward as a gift and think of
it as payment for services rendered. Like the rich young man, many think
forgiveness or eternal life is something to be earned. Others think it is what
they deserve as a result of their service. They see God’s gifts as something
that is owed to them. They turn from grace to the law. That’s what those who
were hired first did. They didn’t want to be paid under grace, but under law.
That’s why they were upset that those who were hired later than they were,
especially those who were hired last, were paid the same amount they were. They
viewed things from the earthly perspective of labor and wages, thinking only of
themselves and what they had done and thought they deserved.
But Jesus tells us that the Owner chooses to pay all the workers the same
wage. His grace is His to do with as He chooses. Thus it is that when Jesus
died on the cross He died for the sins of everyone. No one was excluded, for
everyone was and is equally guilty. When He forgives sins, He forgives them
all. Everyone receives the same wages.
You see, that’s the way it is in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus, the Vineyard
Owner’s Son, has borne the burden of us all and paid the only wages that we
truly have earned and deserved, that is, the wages of our sin, which is death.
Early in the morning He was hauled before Pilate; from the third hour until the
sixth hour He suffered in our place upon the Cross; and at the eleventh hour He
was buried in the tomb - whence He rose to life everlasting. Indeed, Christ
paid the wage of sin, not with silver or gold, but with His holy and precious
blood, His innocent suffering and death.
So it is that God’s grace is given generously to us all. God took the
initiative and came looking for you. When you were Baptized, He called to work
in His Kingdom. In that Holy Washing your sins were washed away and you were
given a position in the vineyard. You were given this position by grace alone.
You did nothing to deserve it. You didn’t seek it. Rather, Jesus came and
sought you. He offered you a place in His kingdom. And more than that, He has
given to you riches beyond your wildest dreams. For when He makes you a worker
in His vineyard, He also makes you His child. You are an heir to all that is
His.
So rather than compare ourselves with others, rather than think we deserve
more or better than someone else, for whatever reason, let us remember that
God’s Kingdom is one of Grace and that He delights in giving His grace in
abundant measure to everyone. And when He does that, we are not somehow cheated
or deprived. Rather, we can rejoice that He has called other workers to labor
with us in His Kingdom of Grace. And when payday comes we can rejoice in what
He gives us, the denarius from His hand, according to His promise. For He gives
it to us by grace and by grace alone. Indeed, His grace *is* His to do with as
He pleases. And He pleases to give it liberally to all, and especially to you.
To Him alone be all glory and honor and praise, now and forever.
Amen.
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.
Pr. Timothy J. Landskroener
Epiphany Lutheran Church (LCMS)
4045 Holly Hills Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63116
(314) 752-7065
http://www.epiphany-stl.org
