The sermon for January 27 was based on Matthew 20:1-16.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner. And the landowner pays an unfair wage. He pays more than his employees deserve. It is hard to imagine any employer paying his workforce so foolishly. But that is the case in this parable. Yet the landowner is no fool. He knows what he is doing. He is not stupid; he is generous.

God is generous. In giving you His Son, He gives you what you have no right to demand, what you have not deserved or earned. He freely gives to you His most priceless Treasure, His beloved Son. God is no fool. He gets nothing out of this except the pleasure of giving His gifts, of defeating Satan and hell and death, that is, of being God. His generosity is not of this world and therefore is utterly beyond comprehension. It is a stumbling block and foolishness to men, but to you who have been called by the Gospel it is Life. This Life comes freely, even though you did not ask. Indeed, you were incapable of asking, and did not even know that you needed it. He left His celestial throne, with smoke in His nostrils and power in His limbs, He came down. He denied Himself and took the form of a servant in order to die for you. In His weakness, in His suffering, in His death He overcame weakness and suffering and death for you.

And so consider pay day. You go to the line and there you see a crowd gathered together. There is God, recklessly bestowing great things on His people. Some were notorious and terrible sinners of the worst sort. Adulterers, murderers, drunkards, and blasphemers are at the front of the line. The temptation is to think, "Ah! I will get a greater reward than these! For I have labored for many years in His kingdom. I am an active member of Bethany Lutheran Church. I volunteer to help whenever I can. I cook for every pot-luck. I sing in the choir. I serve as janitor. I fold newsletters. I am on the Church Council." Or, for some of you, "I studied at Concordia Theological Seminary." But you do not get a greater reward. Rather, whether you cook or clean, whether you sing or study theology, you get the same unfair wage as everyone else.

Do not grumble because of this. Dare not think you can stand upon your own labor and demand a fair wage - for that fairness is the rule of hell, not heaven. You yourself confessed what is the fair wage you deserve: God's punishment, now and forever. Your fair wage is death and damnation. You cannot demand anything of the God of grace. The gifts belong to Him and He gives them as He pleases. Therefore, rejoice in the forgiveness He gives to you for His Son's sake. Look not to your own works nor to the sins of others, but to the unfair grace of Almighty God in the Flesh. And rejoice, too, that you are not alone, but in the company of a great and holy people who have been brought out of darkness and into His marvelous Light.

Some of the workers in the vineyard thought themselves more worthy than the others. But it is also possible to err in the opposite direction. You might never volunteer to help around church. You might be acutely aware of your many sins. But you must not think yourself more UNworthy than the others, though you only worked an hour. Though you are a poor, miserable sinner, the Father loves you, even you. And if in His generosity He chooses to pay you the same as those who committed less grievous sins and did more good works, then it is not to your credit but to His. Do not despair. Be neither haughty and demanding nor despairing and terrified, but stand in line, steadfastedly and confidently trusting in the words and promises of God. Await the goodness of God which passes all understanding and receive the gifts which He gives. Let Him be God and you just be the one whom He loves.

And by way of explanation to all of this the Lord adds, "So the last will be first, and the first last." It is more about fairness. Fairness says, "First come, first served." Not so in the Kingdom of God! In the Kingdom of God it is "First come, last served." For the Firstborn over all creation did not come to be served but to serve. It is not fair. The kingdom of hell is ruled by the exactness of fairness. For every sin there is a punishment. The fair wages of sin is death. If you march to the front of the line and demand a fair wage then that is what you receive. Better to wait in line and throw yourself on the mercy of God, not demanding, not expecting, but quietly receiving what He gives. And you receive the princely wages that He, who sinned not, deserves. You receive the unfair wage of God's lavish grace to you in Christ.

So come this day to the Altar and receive what God so freely gives - His very Body and Blood given and shed for you. Now is the eleventh hour, you are the idle beggar, and you have no right to make demands. But this is what He desires you to have - life and salvation, the forgiveness of sins, union and peace with Him. It is the unfair wage He has determined for you, not by any merit or worthiness on your part, but from His own deep love and compassion. Here are the Landowner's stewards, distributing the Landowner's own things to you. Here is the Landowner Himself, giving His Body and Blood for you. Here, then, is the kingdom of heaven. Take, eat; drink of it, all of you. His Body, His Blood - these are your unfair wages, given and shed for you. Amen.

The Peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Last Updated: 7/15/2008