September 18 Sermon

Its not fair.

Parents have heard that phrase from their children, for a long time. I know I have!

Its not fair. It’s the cry of one who feels wronged. That someone else got something they didn’t deserve or that they should also get something, it should all be equal! We may laugh as adults at how children can react but we adults do it too.

Its not fair. He got the promotion and I didn’t; its not fair I am sick and so many are healthy, my neighbor has power and I don’t. Even our history speaks of those moments.

Consider the Israelites. Moses had helped them escape from Egypt. Believe in God of your ancestors, follow me. He said and they did. Now they are in the wilderness. Are they grateful? Well they were but the harsh reality of being away from the civilization they knew makes them regret the decision.

“You have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."

Its not fair, in Egypt we had it all, but here we have nothing. Now Moses could have pointed out that they were enslaved in Egypt and reminded them of the horrific conditions that existed for these now liberated people. What did God do? Set them straight? No, what God did was give them meat and bread, quail and manna. Out of the abundance of God’s love, God gives them food to eat in the wilderness. When they wonder about who did this, Moses tells them,

"It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat."

It is God’s abundant love that sets his people free, a freedom from the scarcity that entrapped them and instead to see the love of God abundant for them, & God feeds them. Likewise, in the parable Jesus tells in the Gospel for today, it is about God feeding his people grace. The parable tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner…

Its time to harvest the grapes, so the landowner hires workers early in the morning, but he doesn’t stop there he goes out again and again and again. Each time hiring those who are standing idle, who haven’t been hired, and he tells them they will get paid whatever is right. When evening comes, all those hired get paid, those hired last were paid first, and given the daily wage. Those who worked all day must have expected more, but when it came there turn, they also received the daily wage. So no matter if they worked all day or if they worked 1 hour, they all got the same pay.

It’s not fair. Many of the laborers cried out! We worked harder than anyone else, why should those who didn’t work as long earn the same as us? That’s no way to run a vineyard! And the landowner replies,

“Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?' So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

This is a parable about the kingdom of heaven; and there God’s generosity and abundance knows no bounds. The parable speaks to the open invitation to God’s kingdom, an invitation to all, first or last, we all receive the same pay, the same salvation, we are free. Such generosity is not earned because of working all day, it is a gift from God, it is grace, it fed the Israelites in the wilderness and it feeds God’s people now. We can reject it or accept it and live. So what does that mean for us today? Let me tell you an Arabian folk tale:

A man walking through the forest saw a fox that had lost its legs. He wondered how the poor animal could survive. Then he saw a tiger come into the clearing with game in its mouth. The tiger ate its fill and then left the rest of the meat for the fox. The next day God fed the fox by means of the same tiger. The man began to wonder at God's great goodness and said to himself, "I too shall just rest here in full trust in the Lord that he will provide me with what I need." The man remained in the forest for several days. But nothing happened. The poor man was almost at death's door with hunger when he heard a voice: "Oh, you poor fool. Open your eyes to the truth. Stop imitating the disabled fox and, instead, follow the example of the tiger." [From The Song of the Bird by Anthony deMello, S.J.]

It’s not fair! How could God care for a disabled fox and not a human being? And yet the voice of God keeps coming back to us, a voice that speaks of God's generous and abundant love and grace for us. Much like the generosity of the landowner, and the care of that tiger for the fox, the call to discipleship demands that, like the tiger & landowner, we seek to embody such abundance in our lives. It isn’t about fairness.

It is about a God who so abundantly loved us, that he sent his only Son to help us be free. A God who continues to feed us here at this altar and invites us, begs us, pushes us by the Holy Spirit to bring that love and grace that we feel here out into a world that shouts out “It’s not fair!” May we open our hearts to the wisdom that God offers us today, so that without concern for the cost of discipleship or the reward of our labors, we may grasp the honor of working in God’s vineyard at whatever time we arrive. Amen.

Sermon: September 21 (Stewardship)

Greed is good, Greed is right, Greed works! And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA…

words of Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko in the film Wall Street (1987)
watch the clip here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaKkuJVy2YA

How times have changed since 1987!

Our country would not be in this financial mess, if some of our financial institutions did not get greedy over mortgages and risky loans. But the fault also lies with us, as we have lived into this greed too with our own over consumption of goods getting too debt ridden ourselves, and our mortgages to boot. We are in the same boat together, you and I. Living in a culture that like that movie character says - Greed is good, Greed is right, Greed works - it has been part of our financial landscape for a while...

We know that greed will not save us. We have tasted that greed and found it isn’t good, it destroys lives, it isn’t right and it doesn’t work except for a few who are indeed becoming richer in this mess.

So what should we do?

Get supplies, run for the hills and wait ‘til it’s over.
or
Hunker down, spend less, and live in fear of what might happen next.

No. I think we should soar. Let me explain…

As I watched the financial mess unfold these past couple of weeks, I kept thinking about stewardship. For it is stewardship, (as the dictionary defines it) “the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care” that we each have responsibility. Those big heavy weights in finance failed to be good stewards of their investments, instead taking on risky loans and mortgages and they have paid the price.

We too have been entrusted with our time, talent and our treasure. Not to hoard or store them up here on earth, nor to lose them in frivolous living but we are called forth to use them as good stewards. Good stewardship is about using our resources wisely, to give thanks for the blessings in our lives and to live as generously as we can with what we have. When we do that, we soar because we are set free!

I hear that in the parable of the landowner, a parable of God’s generosity.

Its time to harvest the grapes, so the landowner hires workers early in the morning. But he doesn’t stop there he goes out again and again and again. Each time hiring those who are standing idle, who haven’t been hired, and he tells them they will get paid whatever is right. When evening comes, all those hired get paid, the daily wage. No matter if they worked all day or if they only worked since 5, they all got the same pay. Those first laborers cry foul. They worked harder than anyone else, why should those who didn’t work as long earn the same as them? That’s no way to run a vineyard. But this vineyard is the Lord’s, and it is a parable of the kingdom.

The generosity of our God knows no bounds. The parable speaks to the open invitation to God’s kingdom, an invitation to all, be they first or last, for we all receive the same pay, the same salvation, we are free. Greed will not save us. Fear will only hold us back. But the generosity of God reminds us that we need to place our hopes elsewhere…

Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. (Is. 40:31)

As we think about that generosity, let me end with this tale…

Once upon a time, a monk, in his travels, found a precious stone worth a great deal of money. The monk kept it wrapped in a cloth in his traveling bag. As he continued on his way, he met a traveler, and offered to share his meager lunch with him. When the monk opened his bag, the traveler saw the jewel and asked the monk if he could have it to feed his family. The monk readily gave the jewel to him.

The traveler departed, overjoyed with the unexpected gift of the precious stone that would give him and his family wealth and security the rest of their lives. But a few days later, the traveler sought ought the monk at his monastery and gave him back the stone. "I have come to ask for something much more precious than this stone," he ex­plained. "Give me whatever enabled you to give it to me."

Today let us soar. Let us open ourselves to hear God’s Word. Let us open ourselves up through prayer, caring for each other, and doing the little things like the “three ways to soar” stated in the brochure you received this week. Let us open our hearts and be generous like that monk, like that landowner, like God! and give of ourselves. Amen.