The sermon for January 23 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 landowner chooses laborers to work in his vineyard. God has chosen you to work in His Church. Lutherans are often uncomfortable with such a statement, "God has chosen you to work," so listen to a very Lutheran passage from God's Word, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." And here is the next verse, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." [Eph. 2:8-10] Even in today's Epistle, St. Paul exhorts you, "Run in such a way that you may obtain [the prize]." [1Cor. 9:24]

What is the work that you are chosen to do? Some would suggest that the only truly good works are those done in the congregation, such as being a member of the church council, or being a Sunday school teacher, an organist, a member of the choir, or otherwise being active in the congregation. Some might believe that truly good works must involve becoming a pastor, or missionary, or a seminary professor or staff person. Some would say that good works are about attending church every Sunday or giving really big offerings. All of these works can be good works, and I certainly encourage you to make use of the gifts God has given you in any of these ways you are able. But though these works may all be good, most of the good works of a Christian are done outside the walls of this building.

It has been said that true Christian worship is really carried out between the benediction at the end of the Divine service, and the invocation of the next service. That turns things around, doesn't it? So, what are you doing here this morning? Proving the worth of your God, as the very word "worship" suggests? Is your presence here this morning your good work in the vineyard for the Landowner? No. This is the Divine service, God's service to you. Here He is serving, and you receive His gifts of Word, forgiveness, Body, Blood, Spirit. Here He prepares and strengthens you for your Christian life. You are sent forth from here by God's blessing, and the fruits of His Divine service extend themselves through your life into the places where you live and work and study and play.

The world falsely values the good works associated with church. The majority of your life, lived outside these walls, is not considered the place for Christian works. This false valuing neatly gets all that holy stuff out of the world's hair. But when God tells you to work in His vineyard, those works are to be done in every facet of your life, and not just here at Bethany. This week you've been laboring in your fields, or employed in a business, or keeping house for your family, or studying as a student. Whatever it is that you have spent the week doing, that is the main place for you to do the good works God has prepared for you.

Whatever works flow from faith in Christ and from love for your neighbors are good works. The faithful farmer harvesting his crop, thinking of those who receive the produce as their food, is doing a good work. The faithful employee, as he considers his boss and strives to serve him well, is doing a good work. The faithful student, as he seeks to study hard, that he might be of some use in society, is doing a good work. The faithful housewife, as she cares for her family, is also doing a good work. Indeed, all these works are far holier and more precious in God's sight than ten thousand prayers offered by the highest churchman if he does them with no love or regard for his neighbor. As you do whatever work is yours for love of God and neighbor, you do the Lord's work and He is working you.

Compare this to the parable. The laborers were working for someone besides themselves. A Christian works, not because you shall benefit from your labors. Rather, as you work for the good of your neighbor, God blesses him through you. You are to do that which you are given to do. If it is to preach and administer the holy Sacraments, if it is to build your neighbor's shelter, or if it is to fix a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for a child, that work is a good work if it flows from faith in Christ and from love of your neighbor.

How well do you do such good works? How much of your work is actually done for other, more selfish reasons? When work is done for selfish gain, then it is not good work. When service is rendered to your neighbor only because you are expecting profit, that is not good work either. When you find yourself thinking how to do the least amount of labor while still keeping your job, your work is not good at all. The student satisfied to perform at the lowest possible level he can without failing, is not doing good work. I am sure that you have been motivated by selfishness, greed, or laziness more than once in your life. Your inborn sinful nature robs you of even the simple joy God would give you in a job well done.

Although you may have been a Christian for many years, you may have long forgotten this new life in Christ as your old, sinful nature has struggled to take control of all that you think and do. Your sinful nature regards work only as a painful necessity. That thinking is demonstrated in those who were hired first in the parable. When they came to the end of the day, they saw that those who had only worked an hour still gained a full day's wage. If one hour's labor was enough to gain a denarius, then those who had worked twelve hours ought to receive a dozen! They thought of their time and labor as something they owned and so they sold themselves for the day. Thus, they wanted everything they could wring out of the exchange. Sadly, all too often, this is the way you regard the work you do. "What can I get for myself out of this arrangement?" Thinking like this makes you little better than a slave-a wage-slave!

What is the relationship between the work you do and the reward you look forward to receiving? Outside the grace of Christ, the relationship is absolute, and this is a sad fact. You can never earn your way into eternal life. But in the parable there is revealed another relationship between the work you do and the reward you receive. The landowner went out and called men to come into his vineyard. So your Lord calls you to come into His kingdom. The landowner set before them work to do. So your Lord has prepared work for you to do. Each man in the vineyard, from the last to the first, received the same reward. And you also shall certainly obtain the prize, the reward of eternal life, peace, and blessedness. But the reward received is not tied to the labors you have done. The man who labored an hour received the same as the man who worked twelve. The reward came NOT from the landowner's obligation, but from his grace. The reward you receive far exceeds what you have earned, for it flows NOT from God's justice, but from His love and grace toward you. In the end, the work you do, you do because it is given you as your true worship, thanksgiving, and service. The reward you receive was not at all earned by your labor, but by your Lord Jesus Christ, who suffered upon the cross for you. And this prize He gladly gives to you through the preaching of His Word and through His holy Sacraments.

Regardless how long each man worked, the landowner gave each a day's wage. The work itself turned out to have nothing to do with the reward. Oh, that you could see this in your own life today! Your heavenly Father loves you, and He has provided you with all the wealth of heaven! He washes you clean from selfish motives in holy Baptism. He strengthens you for daily life with His own Body and Blood. These gifts are freely given to you because of the perfect labor and death of Jesus in your place. As you consider your day's work it can be with joy! God loves you; He forgives you; He provides your daily bread and sets you free! Your needs are met through the cross of Christ, not through the paycheck. Even the paycheck you receive is not the fruit of your hard labor, but another blessing sent to you from your heavenly Father because of His love for you in Christ. Everything you have been given comes from God, either directly or through your neighbor's hand.

When you understand that your whole life is a good work flowing from faith in Christ and from love of your neighbor, and that what you receive from God does not depend on your work, you are set free. Your work becomes a pleasure-if not in the labor itself, then in the satisfaction you gain in seeing the benefit it gives your beloved neighbor. No longer a wage-slave in competition with your neighbor, you become refreshed, as you were when you were a child at play. Free, pleased, satisfied, and refreshed, you are enabled to do works that surpass anything you've done before. Moreover, you begin truly to enjoy the labor God has placed in your hands to do!

With such a life, joy-filled and freed by the Gospel, every labor is a labor of love. Every service rendered is a continuing song of thanksgiving to your Savior. Those you serve are those through whom you pour out your joy and thanks to Jesus. In this way, as Luther said, even the milkmaid who cares for the cows under her charge, even the stable boy mucking out the unnoticed corners of the barn, are providing in their labors the holiest worship of all. God serves you freely by His Gospel, and thereby you work in His kingdom, through faith in Christ and for the love of those around you. Amen.

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

Last Updated: 7/15/2008