Sermon 08182011 Matthew 20 1-16
- This is a stewardship sermon
o The focus ends up being on what each person receives, not on how much they work
o That is, Jesus reorients us from a “quid-pro-quo” fairness into a “distribution-for-need” justice
- Describe the story, and build slightly upon its outrageous value-reversal
o Especially in our world, in which we equate “Christian” with “hardworking, committed to fairness” (eg “Protestant work ethic”), even to the point of “getting people their due”, this story grates on us.
o Many Christians hate the idea of welfare, of social justice programs that take care of people who haven’t done anything to deserve it. Many Christians feel that it is unfair, even unhealthy, to go to somebody who hasn’t worked for it, since that will teach them to sit back and wait for handouts instead of working for their own keep.
o So tell me, why is it that this story that Jesus tells lifts up the landowner who pays people the same no matter how much work they did? Won’t that teach people that this is the guy you go to if you want to get something for nothing?
- Well… yeah.
o Because the story is teaching us about how justice works. In Jesus’s idea of the Kingdom, justice is not about fairness. Justice is about survival and suffering.
o Under the surface, asks us some very troubling questions:
§ Am I more angered that someone earns the same as me or that someone goes hungry?
§ What if my belief in what’s fair leads to someone else’s family being hungry?
§ Am I more concerned about my rights or the world’s injustice?
§ Which appeals to more to God’s sensibilities, my sensitivity over my own personal rights or a man who works but cannot feed his family?
- Give the context
o This parable is given as an illustration to a point that Jesus is making to the disciples. In the story right before this, Jesus meets somebody that Matthew calls a “rich young man”. [Go through that story, and the Disciples’ response]
- The context turns the story into one about stewardship
o We give because there is enough, and because our Lord is unendingly generous
o We give because it brings us closer to God
o We give because there is need, and we are to respond to human suffering with compassion
o We give because we have been promised the greatest gift: life unending, life completely fulfilled
- What is deserving?
o Do the laborers deserve their denarius?
o Do the poor deserve welfare/kindness?
o Do we deserve salvation?
o “I have kept all these [commandments]; what do I still lack?” 21Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”