"Working in the vineyard"
Grace and peace to from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ:
How many of you have brothers and/or sisters? I spent my formative years in a family of 7 with 2 brothers and 2 sisters. Each of us had our own chores to do each day. My younger brother John had what I considered the worst job, that is, cleaning up “ploppers” in the dog run. My job was to burn the trash each night. Although John complained about his job, and frankly I don’t blame him, he usually did it with out fail. I, on the other hand really liked to burn the trash. But there were many times when I wouldn’t do it usually because I wanted to play instead. John or my other brother Bill usually ended up doing it for me. In our gospel text today we have heard about two sons, one who did what his father asked, and the other who didn’t.
However, there is more to this story than whether two brothers were obeying their father’s wishes. Jesus tells this parable to illustrate who was first into the kingdom of God and who was not. Let’s back up a bit and see why Jesus tells this parable. This scene takes place in the temple courtyard of Jerusalem. Jesus has made his triumphal entry into the city and has not only overturned the tables of the moneychangers, but he has also been healing and teaching. In fact the people who listened to his teaching were “amazed” and “hung on his words.” The elders, the teachers of the law, and the chief priests were obviously not happy with this situation. Their authority was being challenged.
And so they come to him and demand by whose authority Jesus is doing these things. They knew it wasn’t by their authority. Notice that Jesus does not answer them directly. Jesus wants to see if these men, who were the supposed gatekeepers and intercessors to God, would identify the authority that was given to Jesus. So he asks them the question regarding John’s baptism: “Where did it come from? Heaven or man?” Although this may seem like a trick question, Jesus is attempting to determine whose authority they really recognize. [We spoke of this two weeks ago regarding our own church, asking the question, who is in charge?] I find it significant that these great leaders within the Jewish community cannot or will not answer the question. They remind me of a school age child caught next to a broken vase saying that they don’t know how the vase was broken. Although the truth is staring them in the face, they refuse to see that truth.
So Jesus says fine, “If you won’t answer me, I won’t answer you”. But he does not leave it there. Jesus is never about leaving things as they are. Jesus will always reveal truth to us even if we do not want to see it. Which brings us to the parable of the two sons. There are several things which I think need to be illustrated. Jesus begins with the fact that there is a man and two sons. The implication is that there is a bond here that is genetic and cannot be broken. This metaphor is used to illustrate the relationship between God the father, or God the creator of the universe in relation to God’s creation. As sons they have a rightful place next to the father that gives them special rights and also responsibilities. The second thing that should be pointed out is the matter of obedience. Jesus asks the chief priests and those in the crowd who were listening to this parable this question, ”Which of the two did the will of the father?” It is obvious which of the two sons was the obedient one. It was the one, who, despite the objections, did the job. In this case Jesus was pointing out that obedience in this case was to believe in the authority given to John the Baptist and therefore to Jesus.
The third subject that needs to be discussed is the matter of the vineyard. In all of the gospels Jesus speaks of the vineyard. We heard a parable about the vineyard last week and we’ll hear another one next week. But what does the vineyard signify? The vineyard in this case is a metaphor for the nation of Israel. The prophet Isaiah in chapter 5 says this” The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight” . Israel was the nation that God had chosen to bring salvation to the world. It was Israel that was supposed to be the light to the nations, and the salt of the earth. However, the vineyard was neglected. The rulers of Israel were more concerned about their own welfare rather than that of their own people or the rest of the world. Again in Isaiah chapter 5 we hear God tell the rulers of Israel: “And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.” Jesus is in fact condemning the chief priests and elders for neglecting their responsibilities in tending to the vineyard, that is, to the people of Israel, so that they too could be the light to the world and the salt of the earth.
The last topic that needs to be quickly explored is the phrase “Kingdom of God”. Bear in mind there are some translations that use the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven” but they both mean the same thing. The scholar N.T Wright, in his book “The Challenge of Jesus” has this to say: This phrase does not refer to some place where God’s people will go after death. It refers to the rule of heaven, which is of God, being brought to bear on the present world. Here in this place we pray each week “Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as in heaven.” In other words God was and is unveiling his age–old plan of redemption for Israel and the rest of the world through Jesus Christ. Jesus always spoke and acted like he knew that God’s plan of salvation and justice for the world was being unveiled through his own presence, his own work, his own fate . However the religious leaders of the day didn’t get it. All they knew was that this man was challenging their authority.
I have given you a lot of information. If I were sitting in your place I would be asking, “So what does this mean for me?” We get our clue when Jesus tells the crowd that the tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God first. Jesus was redefining the rules. No longer would the leaders of Israel or for that matter the nation of Israel be the ones to show the way of salvation. It would now be the gentiles, the outcasts, and the marginalized that would be the light to the nations, and the salt of the earth. Guess what? This means you. You are the son or daughter who is working in the vineyard. The apostle Paul writing to the Galatians, a group of gentiles, says this about our relationship to God: “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons [and daughters] of God through faith. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ” As daughters and sons of God not only do we have the rights and privileges of God’s promises, but we also have certain responsibilities. We are to work in the vineyard, not to earn our salvation which is already guaranteed through the death and resurrection of Jesus, but so that we can bring others to that same salvation. We are called, like the religious leaders of Isaiah’s and of Jesus’ time, to be the light to the world and the salt of the earth. Peace Lutheran Church’s identity statement sums this up nicely: “We are called to prayer, called to care, called to share.” And what I have witnessed in my short time here testifies to that. Your have demonstrated selfless acts of love, whether it is helping out with the clothing share, being a confirmation mentor, hosting the friendship day to the seniors of this area, giving scholarship money to help with education expenses, praying at the flagpole, or volunteering for a Habitat for Humanity project. You have heeded the call to work in the vineyard so that others may know of God’s saving grace, through Jesus Christ. The task is not easy. Like my brother John, there are times when we complain that the job is too tough, too dirty, or too smelly. But in all things we give thanks to God who by the power that is working within us is able to do far beyond all that we ask or think. Amen.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
Genesis 50: 15-21
Who’s in Charge?
Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
First let me say thank you for allowing me to be your intern here this year. I consider it an honor and joy to be able to serve you in this capacity. And from what I understand, you are forgiving of the mistakes that interns make. This is good, as I know that I will probably make many of them this year. Already the issue of names already comes to mind. Believe me, the pictorial directory has already gotten a lot of use.
Now you might think it bold of a raw intern to come in and ask, “who is in charge?” And in one sense you would be right. After all I have not been a part of this faith community. I do not know how things work around here yet. Still I do think that the question needs to be asked from time to time, whether it is an intern, the senior pastor, or from those of you sitting in the pews asking the question. Who really is in charge here? As you may have noticed from the children’s sermon there are differing viewpoints in determining the chain of command of this community of believers.
In our Old Testament lesson from Genesis today we hear, that for Joseph God is really the one in charge. But what has brought him to this point of declaring to his brothers “even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today”. Many of you might know of the story of Joseph. Andrew Lloyd Webber made Joseph’s story into a musical called “Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat”. All of this can be found in the last 15 chapters of Genesis. Joseph was the youngest of twelve brothers born to the patriarch Jacob. As the youngest he also happened to be the favorite of Jacob, which caused his brothers no end of jealousy. And it wasn’t just because Joseph was the favorite of Jacob. Joseph also boasts of the dreams that he had where 12 were bowing down to one. It was the jealousy and the boasting that caused the brothers to want to murder him. We know Joseph was not murdered but was sold into slavery. It was in slavery that Joseph became the head of Potipher’s household because God’s hand was with him. Then Potipher’s wife attempted to seduce him. In her failure she accused him of rape, causing Joseph to be thrown into prison. It was in prison that Joseph again was raised into leadership, because God’s hand was with him. Joseph then successfully interpreted a dream for the pharaoh, resulting in Joseph becoming the 2nd most powerful man in Egypt, because God’s hand was with him. It was because of Joseph’s leadership that Egypt was spared a crippling famine in the Mediterranean basin. It was this same famine that caused Jacob and his sons to migrate to Egypt in search of food. Which brings us to our text today. Joseph, believed to be dead, has been revealed to his father and brothers. Jacob, the patriarch of the family is dead. And now the brothers, wracked with guilt over what they had done to Joseph when he was younger, now bow before Joseph, wondering what their fate will be.
We don’t know if Joseph had heard tales of the mighty Yahweh at his father’s knee. But as we have heard here, Joseph knows that he is not God. Joseph knew something about God’s power in the midst of his circumstances. “Fear not” he tells his brothers. This is a salvation language. Joseph is inverting the situation the brothers find themselves in. Joseph makes the proclamation “…in order to announce that the purposes of God are much larger and more powerful than the grip of guilt” . In essence he says, this is not about you, stop thinking of yourselves, and start thinking of what God has accomplished, despite your intentions and your plans.
Throughout the bible we see that God’s intentions, God’s plans are greater than the intentions, the plans, and the evil of man. Pharaoh planned to kill the Israelites, but God raised Moses up to deliver them. Saul, the first king of Israel planned on killing David, but God raised David up to be the greatest King in Israel. The evil Kings of Israel were intent on oppressing the poor of the land, but God used the other nations to destroy the kings, and in the process spread Judaism further into the known world. The Pharisee Saul was intent on murdering and wiping out the newly formed Christian community, but God met him on the road to Damascus, converting him into the great Apostle Paul. And finally, the Pharisees and the Romans crucified Jesus on the cross. But God raised Jesus from the dead providing hope and salvation for the entire world.
So who is in charge? Well the pat answer, the easy answer, the Sunday school answer would be God. And we would be right. But do we truly recognize that in our daily life? As sinners we are also intent on evil deeds. We may not want to admit it, but it is true. Think about our confessions on Sunday morning; “We have sinned against you in thought word and Deed, by what we have done and what we have left undone.” The apostle Paul himself identified that in his letter to the Romans chapter 7: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do but what I hate to do…for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this is what I keep on doing.”
I experience this in my commute up here every day. Rather than recognizing a child of God in the car next to me, there are times when I get mad and curse that person, if they don’t drive the way I think they should drive. Maybe you have experienced something similar. You may be dealing with a young child who is not behaving, therefore punishing that child far beyond what the actual mis-deed was. Or you may have a co-worker who says something that is considered offensive or rude and so you might end up ignoring them or spreading gossip about them. Maybe it’s your parents, whom you think are treating you unfairly and you begin to think murderous thoughts. You and I become like Joseph’s brothers inflicting pain on others for our own selfish needs and wants.
Then there is the flip side. You might be like Joseph having pain and/or suffering inflicted upon you. You may be going through a difficult time in your relationship with a spouse or sibling. You may be experiencing sickness or disease. You may be grieving over a recent loss in your life. And then there are those in the gulf coast that have had a hurricane upend their lives. These are also evils over which we have no control. These are evils in which we feel like we are the only ones going through them. These are evils that cause us to ask whether God is with us or even if God exists. It is tough to see God if you are deep in the valley of despair, loneliness, or pain. Even Jesus on the cross cried out, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?”
In chapter 8 in Paul's letter to Romans he says this: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called to his purpose.” Did you here that? In ALL things God works for the good of those who love him! What a great promise. Does that mean our suffering or our tendencies towards hurting others will end? No! We repeatedly hear in the NT that there will be suffering in our lives and in the lives of others. But we have a God who is faithful. We have a God that has plans for our lives, both here on this earth in haven afterwards. Listen to what God tell the OT prophet Jeremiah: “‘For I know the plans I have for you’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you plans to give you a future and a hope.’” Some might think that this is a Pollyanna view of life as we live it here. But this is what faith is about. It is about a hope and a promise.
Joseph knew of God’s sovereignty even in the midst of his trials and tribulations. At the end of the text he gives his brothers and their families a promise: Even though you intended to do me harm God intended it for good in order to preserve a numerous people as he is doing today. Jesus came to earth to have a monstrous evil inflicted upon him, namely the sins of the world placed upon him, so that numerous people; you, I and the whole human community would be saved. And with Jesus’ resurrection we have the promise that our lives are preserved fresh daily. So I ask you one more time, “Who is in charge here?” And more importantly, will you ask that question of yourselves in the days, weeks, and year to come.
Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
First let me say thank you for allowing me to be your intern here this year. I consider it an honor and joy to be able to serve you in this capacity. And from what I understand, you are forgiving of the mistakes that interns make. This is good, as I know that I will probably make many of them this year. Already the issue of names already comes to mind. Believe me, the pictorial directory has already gotten a lot of use.
Now you might think it bold of a raw intern to come in and ask, “who is in charge?” And in one sense you would be right. After all I have not been a part of this faith community. I do not know how things work around here yet. Still I do think that the question needs to be asked from time to time, whether it is an intern, the senior pastor, or from those of you sitting in the pews asking the question. Who really is in charge here? As you may have noticed from the children’s sermon there are differing viewpoints in determining the chain of command of this community of believers.
In our Old Testament lesson from Genesis today we hear, that for Joseph God is really the one in charge. But what has brought him to this point of declaring to his brothers “even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today”. Many of you might know of the story of Joseph. Andrew Lloyd Webber made Joseph’s story into a musical called “Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat”. All of this can be found in the last 15 chapters of Genesis. Joseph was the youngest of twelve brothers born to the patriarch Jacob. As the youngest he also happened to be the favorite of Jacob, which caused his brothers no end of jealousy. And it wasn’t just because Joseph was the favorite of Jacob. Joseph also boasts of the dreams that he had where 12 were bowing down to one. It was the jealousy and the boasting that caused the brothers to want to murder him. We know Joseph was not murdered but was sold into slavery. It was in slavery that Joseph became the head of Potipher’s household because God’s hand was with him. Then Potipher’s wife attempted to seduce him. In her failure she accused him of rape, causing Joseph to be thrown into prison. It was in prison that Joseph again was raised into leadership, because God’s hand was with him. Joseph then successfully interpreted a dream for the pharaoh, resulting in Joseph becoming the 2nd most powerful man in Egypt, because God’s hand was with him. It was because of Joseph’s leadership that Egypt was spared a crippling famine in the Mediterranean basin. It was this same famine that caused Jacob and his sons to migrate to Egypt in search of food. Which brings us to our text today. Joseph, believed to be dead, has been revealed to his father and brothers. Jacob, the patriarch of the family is dead. And now the brothers, wracked with guilt over what they had done to Joseph when he was younger, now bow before Joseph, wondering what their fate will be.
We don’t know if Joseph had heard tales of the mighty Yahweh at his father’s knee. But as we have heard here, Joseph knows that he is not God. Joseph knew something about God’s power in the midst of his circumstances. “Fear not” he tells his brothers. This is a salvation language. Joseph is inverting the situation the brothers find themselves in. Joseph makes the proclamation “…in order to announce that the purposes of God are much larger and more powerful than the grip of guilt” . In essence he says, this is not about you, stop thinking of yourselves, and start thinking of what God has accomplished, despite your intentions and your plans.
Throughout the bible we see that God’s intentions, God’s plans are greater than the intentions, the plans, and the evil of man. Pharaoh planned to kill the Israelites, but God raised Moses up to deliver them. Saul, the first king of Israel planned on killing David, but God raised David up to be the greatest King in Israel. The evil Kings of Israel were intent on oppressing the poor of the land, but God used the other nations to destroy the kings, and in the process spread Judaism further into the known world. The Pharisee Saul was intent on murdering and wiping out the newly formed Christian community, but God met him on the road to Damascus, converting him into the great Apostle Paul. And finally, the Pharisees and the Romans crucified Jesus on the cross. But God raised Jesus from the dead providing hope and salvation for the entire world.
So who is in charge? Well the pat answer, the easy answer, the Sunday school answer would be God. And we would be right. But do we truly recognize that in our daily life? As sinners we are also intent on evil deeds. We may not want to admit it, but it is true. Think about our confessions on Sunday morning; “We have sinned against you in thought word and Deed, by what we have done and what we have left undone.” The apostle Paul himself identified that in his letter to the Romans chapter 7: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do but what I hate to do…for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this is what I keep on doing.”
I experience this in my commute up here every day. Rather than recognizing a child of God in the car next to me, there are times when I get mad and curse that person, if they don’t drive the way I think they should drive. Maybe you have experienced something similar. You may be dealing with a young child who is not behaving, therefore punishing that child far beyond what the actual mis-deed was. Or you may have a co-worker who says something that is considered offensive or rude and so you might end up ignoring them or spreading gossip about them. Maybe it’s your parents, whom you think are treating you unfairly and you begin to think murderous thoughts. You and I become like Joseph’s brothers inflicting pain on others for our own selfish needs and wants.
Then there is the flip side. You might be like Joseph having pain and/or suffering inflicted upon you. You may be going through a difficult time in your relationship with a spouse or sibling. You may be experiencing sickness or disease. You may be grieving over a recent loss in your life. And then there are those in the gulf coast that have had a hurricane upend their lives. These are also evils over which we have no control. These are evils in which we feel like we are the only ones going through them. These are evils that cause us to ask whether God is with us or even if God exists. It is tough to see God if you are deep in the valley of despair, loneliness, or pain. Even Jesus on the cross cried out, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?”
In chapter 8 in Paul's letter to Romans he says this: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called to his purpose.” Did you here that? In ALL things God works for the good of those who love him! What a great promise. Does that mean our suffering or our tendencies towards hurting others will end? No! We repeatedly hear in the NT that there will be suffering in our lives and in the lives of others. But we have a God who is faithful. We have a God that has plans for our lives, both here on this earth in haven afterwards. Listen to what God tell the OT prophet Jeremiah: “‘For I know the plans I have for you’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you plans to give you a future and a hope.’” Some might think that this is a Pollyanna view of life as we live it here. But this is what faith is about. It is about a hope and a promise.
Joseph knew of God’s sovereignty even in the midst of his trials and tribulations. At the end of the text he gives his brothers and their families a promise: Even though you intended to do me harm God intended it for good in order to preserve a numerous people as he is doing today. Jesus came to earth to have a monstrous evil inflicted upon him, namely the sins of the world placed upon him, so that numerous people; you, I and the whole human community would be saved. And with Jesus’ resurrection we have the promise that our lives are preserved fresh daily. So I ask you one more time, “Who is in charge here?” And more importantly, will you ask that question of yourselves in the days, weeks, and year to come.
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