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St Matthew 20:1-16
“The Happy Unfairness of the Gospel”
Divine Service (II)
Pentecost 18, 2005
Hope Lutheran Church, Aurora, CO
Pastor Wolfmueller
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Dear People of God,
We will consider the Holy Gospel for today, the 18th Sunday after Pentecost from Matthew 20 under the theme “The Happy Unfairness of the Gospel.”
A sense of 'fairness' seems built into our human nature. Even the smallest child knows when something isn't fair, and especially when the unfairness is directed against them. When your brother or sister gets two pieces of candy, and you only get one, you know what's going to happen, “That's not fair.” But it's not just children who feel injustice. A work, at home, in the church, we, too, always expect to be treated fairly. If someone gets more attention, a promotion that we think we deserve, a bigger bonus or more Christmas presents, whatever it is, “That's not fair.” We work our whole lives with the understanding that our company will provide for our retirement, and then, there's no money. “That's not fair.”
We could list examples of unfairness all morning. I'm sure, that if I asked each of you if you had ever been treated unfairly, the examples would come quickly. We all have this innate sense of right and wrong, just and unjust, an internal plumb line that tells us what's fair and what's not. And oh how we fuss and demand and cajole until we get what we think we deserve, what's fair. We know fairness and we demand it.
And we know that what happened in the parable wasn't fair. A landowner went out and hired workers for his vineyard. These he agreed to pay a denarius, a fair price for a day's work. These first workers worked twelve hours. Three hours later he went and found others to work. These he agreed to pay them what was right. These worked nine hours. He went three more time to find workers, some worked six hours, others three hours, and the last worked only an hour. At the end of the day they all line up to be payed. The last to come are in line first, and the landowner pays them a denarius. Then the next group comes, the ones who had worked for three hours, and they are paid the same. Then those who had worked six hours and nine hours, they, too, are given a single denarius. Last comes those who had worked all day, twelve hours, and they, like all the others, are paid a denarius. Everyone, no matter how much they worked, is paid the same.
Now, we're thinking, “That's not fair.” This is what the workers think as well. The text says, “And when they had received it, they murmured against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'” [20:11,12] The unfair treatment of the workers is he very heart of the parable, for Jesus is, in this text, teaching us the unfairness of the Gospel, that the reward of the Gospel has nothing to do with earning or working. For if the Master was to reward us for our works and efforts, if Jesus was to give us what we deserve, our reward would be death and hell. That's how St Paul says it, “The wages of sin is death.” [Romans 6:23] Did you hear that? The 'wages' of sin, the paycheck for being a sinner is death. Death is what is fair, what is just, what is deserved. Woe to us if we go to the Master demanding what we deserve, what's fair. For He just might give it to us.
No, the gifts of God come not because we earn them, but because He promised them. Not as payment but as a gift; not wages but grace. Every thing that God gives He gives as a gift. Life, salvation, the forgiveness of sins, the kingdom of heaven, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Baptism and the Lord's Supper, all of this comes as a free gift. And as soon as we start to think that we deserve them, that we've earned them, that God ought or must or should give them to us, the cease to be gifts. But the must always remain gifts, for there is no effort or work that we could ever do to earn such treasures as Jesus' life and death.
Because the Gospel always comes as a gift, we always remain humble and thankful servants of Jesus. Because they come as a gift, they come to all equally. The baptized baby and the tried saint on their death bed have the same gifts, the same Jesus, the same forgiveness, the same heaven. Those who have been Christians all their life and the wicked criminal who is granted repentance by the Lord on death row, all have the same salvation, the same hope, the same gifts of God. All of us, no matter our station in life, whether mother of father or child, whether boss or worker, whether rich or poor, healthy or sick, weak or strong, happy or grumpy, young or old, we all have the same promise of the forgiveness of sins. Jesus is equally near all who believe.
When the first workers grumbled, the landowner said, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good? So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few are chosen.” [20:13-16]
And so, like always when the kingdom of God comes and the Gospel is preached, everything is turned upside down. The last are first, the first last, and there is no room or place for boasting. For everything in the kingdom of heaven (and understand that the kingdom of heaven is the Christian Church), everything in the kingdom of heaven depends and hangs on the goodness of Jesus. The denarii that were given to the workers, from the first to the last, were not a matter of works but depended on the promise and the good will of the landowner.
So it is with us. Everything that we have, all the good both in this life and in the life to come, absolutely everything depends on the goodness of the Lord Jesus. His goodness and love for us drove Him to the cross for us, to die for us and win for us salvation. On the cross He got what we deserved, what we had earned because of our sins: death, hell and the wrath of God. “That's not fair.” It's true, that should have been ours, our cross, our suffering, our death and hell, but He took it in our place. And we, we get what is His, the kingdom and life and salvation and righteousness and perfection. “That's not fair.” It's true, that belongs to Jesus and we have not earned or deserved it. But still it comes as a gift. “That's not fair.” Oh, the happy unfairness of the Gospel, that Jesus gets our suffering and death and we get His life and salvation. Oh, the happy unfairness of the Gospel, that Jesus bears the wrath of God that the Lord might cause His face to shine upon us and be gracious unto us. Oh, the happy unfairness of the Gospel, that Jesus suffers hell that He might give us heaven and eternal life. Oh, the happy unfairness of the Gospel, that all comes to us as a gift, a free gift, with no price, no working, no earning. Oh, the happy unfairness of the Gospel that is our life and our joy and our peace.
May the gifts of the Lord, which come to us without earning or working, but freely from the Lord's goodness and love, be yours in abundance, today and into eternity. Amen.
And now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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