{"id":3397,"date":"2020-09-19T16:49:31","date_gmt":"2020-09-19T14:49:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/static\/wp\/?p=3397"},"modified":"2020-09-19T16:50:30","modified_gmt":"2020-09-19T14:50:30","slug":"3397-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/3397-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentecost Sixteen"},"content":{"rendered":"

16th Sunday after Pentecost, September 20, 2020. |<\/strong> Sermon on Matthew 20:1-16 | by The Rev. Dr. Ryan D. Mills |<\/h3>\n

[Jesus said to the disciples:]\u00a01<\/sup>\u201cThe kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.\u00a02<\/sup>After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard.\u00a03<\/sup>When he went out about nine o\u2019clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace;\u00a04<\/sup>and he said to them, \u2018You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.\u2019 So they went.\u00a05<\/sup>When he went out again about noon and about three o\u2019clock, he did the same.\u00a06<\/sup>And about five o\u2019clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, \u2018Why are you standing here idle all day?\u2019\u00a07<\/sup>They said to him, \u2018Because no one has hired us.\u2019 He said to them, \u2018You also go into the vineyard.\u2019\u00a08<\/sup>When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, \u2018Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.\u2019\u00a09<\/sup>When those hired about five o\u2019clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage.\u00a010<\/sup>Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage.\u00a011<\/sup>And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner,\u00a012<\/sup>saying, \u2018These 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.\u2019\u00a013<\/sup>But he replied to one of them, \u2018Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?\u00a014<\/sup>Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you.\u00a015<\/sup>Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?\u2019\u00a016<\/sup>So the last will be first, and the first will be last.\u201d (Matthew 20:1-16, NRSV).<\/em><\/p>\n

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son +, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n

A couple years ago I noticed a little storefront not far from our church called \u201cLabor Ready\u201d\u2014a day-labor agency that advertises in big letters out front, \u201cWork Today, Paid Today.\u201d\u00a0 I thought I could go pick up some brochures, talk to some people, and learn something about today\u2019s parable of the workers in the vineyard, workers who were hired to work for the day and were promised to be paid that day at the end of their labors.\u00a0 And so I took off my clerical collar and walked down to the Labor Ready office, and went to open the door–and lo and behold it was locked.\u00a0 And now I have to admit, in the days before the pandemic I was kind of used to going to hospitals or facilities that are locked, and have people see me and open the door.\u00a0 So I knocked on the big glass door, with the manager and secretary standing in there five feet away, and they didn\u2019t look up.\u00a0 I thought, \u201cOh, they must not have heard me,\u201d and so I knocked again, and peered through the glass and waited, and I realized slowly that they would not meet my eyes.\u00a0 Finally the manager just gave me a little shake of his head\u2014\u201cNo\u201d\u2014and then it hit me!\u00a0 Here it was 2 p.m. on a weekday at a day-labor office, and their sign said they opened at 5 a.m.\u00a0 They figured I was there for work, and who wants to hire somebody for a day\u2019s work at 2 in the afternoon?\u00a0 Who wants to hire somebody who shows up 9 hours late on their first day?\u00a0\u00a0 And who knows if there was any work at 5 a.m. anyway, and if there was it probably needed strong backs and useful know-how, and not theological degrees!\u00a0 And I have to admit in that moment that my pride was hurt, and I felt ashamed, and it didn\u2019t seem fair as I stood on the sidewalk a few extra awkward moments.<\/p>\n

Today Jesus tells us a parable about hard work and unfair pay, an earthly story with a spiritual message.\u00a0 Jesus says the Kingdom of God is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.\u00a0 And he agreed with the laborers for the usual daily wage, and sent them into his vineyard.<\/p>\n

But these laborers don\u2019t line up at the office to talk to the secretary! No, this Landowner on his own initiative goes out to find them and to put them to work, and then agrees with them to pay the usual daily wage, called a Denarius, which is actually a very generous daily wage, he\u2019s not paying the state minimum wage, this is a good paying job, with a good generous owner.\u00a0 And they gladly get to work.<\/p>\n

But the harvest is so huge, there\u2019s so many grapes to bring in, that at 9 a.m. the Landowner goes out again, he\u2019s again out and about searching for workers, and anyone he sees standing idle, he hires and says, \u201cJust get to work, I\u2019ll pay you what is right.\u201d\u00a0 And again, he does the same thing at 12 noon and at 3 p.m., and even again at 5 in the evening out he goes, finding anyone in need, anyone idle, anyone hungry, saying \u201cWork for me, I\u2019ll pay you what is right.\u201d<\/p>\n

What kind of landowner is this?\u00a0 What kind of employer is this?\u00a0 This landowner is the living God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.\u00a0 God who doesn\u2019t delegate his love and care out to secretaries, but seeks us all out, coming to us again and again, even right now this morning, to bring us to faith and to put us to work for him.\u00a0 He is generous in hiring us in baptism, in his promised pay of forgiveness, and his retirement plan of eternal life.\u00a0 He has the harvest of the whole world to bring in, people of every race and tongue and nation under heaven to be brought to faith in him, and to fervent love for one another.\u00a0 And he doesn\u2019t want to see anyone of us left behind, or standing idle, or without work, there is no unemployment in his kingdom! No, he has a task, a role, a job, a calling for each of us, everyone can work in God\u2019s kingdom, because the Kingdom is open to everyone in faith. And today he says, I want you! In your life, in your relationships, in your callings, in your church\u2014I want you to bring in my harvest, and I\u2019ll pay you come quitting time.<\/p>\n

So eventually 5:30 p.m. rolls around, and the checks get handed out first to the 5 p.m. hires. And lo-and-behold they open them and there it is in black and white: a full day\u2019s pay, a full fat paycheck, no deductions, no adjustments for not being on the clock 8 \u00bd hours–here it is, more than you deserve, more than you earned, you barely began your new hire orientation, and already your paycheck is bulging.<\/p>\n

And then you can imagine those who have been at work since dawn start licking their lips and seeing dollar signs! \u201cIf these Johnny-come-latelies who worked half an hour get a full day\u2019s pay, just imagine what we are gonna get! We\u2019ve earned it, here we go!\u201d And they open their checks, and they get the same exact dang amount.<\/p>\n

Imagine their faces, imagine your face, as they double-check the math and begin grumbling against the landowner: \u201cThese worked half an hour, and you have made them equal to us, what kind of boss are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFriend,\u201d the landowner Lord says, \u201cMy friend, I\u2019m doing you no wrong, didn\u2019t we agree for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours, but I chose to give to this late group the same I give to you!\u00a0 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what is mine?\u00a0 Or are you envious because I am generous?\u201d<\/p>\n

All our lives we think we want what is fair\u2014we want what we deserve, what we have worked for, what we have coming to us, we want what\u2019s ours by rights!\u00a0 And that might work in the economy of this world, but it does not work for the economy of God.\u00a0 Because God does not deal with us according to what is fair.\u00a0 He does not pay us back for what we deserve.\u00a0 If he did, we would all be in trouble, if we got what we deserved, we would have never been hired by him in the first place, and long ago we would be kicked to the curb, out on our ear, fired for our ungratefulness to the boss and our envy of our fellow workers. If we want what we have coming we would be shown to the door by the Almighty, permanently without a place in his Kingdom, for \u201cthe first will be last!\u201d<\/p>\n

But instead, he is generous, he is full of grace, instead he gives us far more than we could ever ask for or imagine, not only giving us a full unearned paycheck of forgiveness, love, and eternal life, but giving us that because he gave away his own Son. He gave away his own Son, so that he could make you his son, make you his daughter; he gave away his own Son to nothingness, so that he could give you everything.\u00a0 \u201cMy friend,\u201d he says, \u201cthis is what I choose to do, I choose you, I choose to give generously to you, and to make you mine!\u00a0 And if those who came later, if those who have arrived later, get the same generous check as you, why is that a problem for you?\u201d<\/p>\n

The theologian Jim Nestingen tells the story of visiting an elderly couple, where the wife was a faithful every-Sunday church lady involved in every single thing, and the husband was a hard-headed unbeliever who had never darkened the church door.\u00a0 One week she was gone on a church trip, and so the pastor went to visit the husband alone and told him this parable about the workers hired at 5 p.m. \u201cWhat do you think it means?\u201d he asked.\u00a0 \u201cIt sounds to me like you can get in late!\u201d the man said.\u00a0 And the next day he called up and asked to be baptized.\u00a0 At age 80 he came to faith, was harvested in, and he started showing up to worship, sitting in the wrong pew, singing in the wrong places, starting new ministries and projects that weren\u2019t on the list, bringing other outsiders in– and his wife was hopping mad both at her husband, and the pastor.\u00a0 She wanted what she had worked for, what she deserved, and here came her Johnny-come-lately husband who received for free the same riches of the Kingdom as she had. And she couldn\u2019t stand it![1]<\/a>\u00a0 \u201cAm I not allowed to do what I choose with what is mine? \u201cOr are you envious because I am generous?\u201d<\/p>\n

You who have worked hard, and you who have just shown up; you who are old, and you who are new, receive again today not what you\u2019ve earned or deserve, but what God freely gives\u2014his own Son, his generous loving-kindness given for you.\u00a0 There is work for you this day, and this week\u2014the harvest is huge and only together can we bring it in.\u00a0 So be strengthened, be refreshed, and receive an advance up front\u2014his love, his forgiveness and eternal life, given for you, until that great day when, by pure grace, we are paid in full in the Kingdom.<\/p>\n

And the Peace of God which passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Amen.<\/p>\n

The Rev. Dr. Ryan Mills<\/p>\n

New Haven, Connecticut<\/p>\n

Pastor@TrinityLutheranNH.org<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> James Nestingen, \u201cCROSS Talk\u201d (Recording of Weekly Online Lectionary Study, St. Paul Lutheran Seminary).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

16th Sunday after Pentecost, September 20, 2020. | Sermon on Matthew 20:1-16 | by The Rev. Dr. Ryan D. Mills | [Jesus said to the disciples:]\u00a01\u201cThe kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.\u00a02After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2236,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,157,108,110,139,3,109,212],"tags":[],"beitragende":[],"predigtform":[],"predigtreihe":[],"bibelstelle":[],"class_list":["post-3397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-matthaeus","category-beitragende","category-current","category-engl","category-kapitel-20-chapter-20","category-nt","category-predigten","category-ryan-mills"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3397"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3400,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3397\/revisions\/3400"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3397"},{"taxonomy":"beitragende","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/beitragende?post=3397"},{"taxonomy":"predigtform","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtform?post=3397"},{"taxonomy":"predigtreihe","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtreihe?post=3397"},{"taxonomy":"bibelstelle","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bibelstelle?post=3397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}