Life isnt Fair

Mathew 20:1-16 September 24, 2017 Year A Life isn’t fair It isn't Fair Matthew 20:1-16 Exegetical Aim: To illustrate the fact that life may not always seem fair, but we should not let that make us bitter towards others, but happy for others who do well. Props: Some kind of candy to give the children that they can eat in the sanctuary and that will keep them occupied; e.g., m&m’s. Children will be called down according to hair color or gender. You will have to decide which works best with your congregation. Lesson: I want the children to remain in their seats because we are going to do things differently. I want to ask all the children with blond hair to come down and sit on my right. The rest stay in your seats. Once the blond children have gathered hand out the candy to them. Go ahead and unwrap your candy and eat it. As they begin eating call down the other children. Now, I would like the other children to come down and sit on my left. You will not be giving the other children any candy. Sit down with the children and wait 30 seconds before speaking. The silence is crucial. You want to make everyone a bit uncomfortable to underscore what is happening. I have a question to ask. Is this fair? (response) Why? (response) You know, it was my candy. Don’t I have the right to do with it, as I please? (response) If I want to give it to them, why is that unfair to you? (response) Have you ever thought that your mom or your dad did something that was unfair? Maybe they gave your sister something and you didn’t get anything? (response) What did they do? (response) It may seem to you at times that your mom and dad are unfair . . . because they gave your brother a bicycle . . . or because they bought an ice cream cone for your sister after she made that “A” in math. It may seem to you at times that your teacher is unfair because she gives special treatment to one of the other kids and not to you. It may even seem to you at times that God is unfair because he made her a blond, or made him with big muscles, or made her tall and thin, or made him good looking. But we shouldn’t think that way. When your mom and dad do something special for your brother or sister next time try and be happy about it. You know something...you will actually have a good time watching someone else be happy. Enjoy it when someone else gets a present or does well and tell them that you are glad for them. Let’s Pray: Father help us not to complain when others do well. Deep in our hearts, we know that you care for us as much as you care for them. Amen. ChristianGlobe, , by Brett Blair Matthew 20:1-16Common English Bible (CEB) Workers in the vineyard 20 “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 After he agreed with the workers to pay them a denarion,[a] he sent them into his vineyard. 3 “Then he went out around nine in the morning and saw others standing around the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I’ll pay you whatever is right.’ 5 And they went. “Again around noon and then at three in the afternoon, he did the same thing. 6 Around five in the afternoon he went and found others standing around, and he said to them, ‘Why are you just standing around here doing nothing all day long?’ 7 “‘Because nobody has hired us,’ they replied. “He responded, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ 8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and give them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and moving on finally to the first.’ 9 When those who were hired at five in the afternoon came, each one received a denarion.10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more. But each of them also received a denarion. 11 When they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12 ‘These who were hired last worked one hour, and they received the same pay as we did even though we had to work the whole day in the hot sun.’ 13 “But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I did you no wrong. Didn’t I agree to pay you a denarion? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I want to give to this one who was hired last the same as I give to you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or are you resentful because I’m generous?’ 16 So those who are last will be first. And those who are first will be last.” Footnotes: a. Matthew 20:2 A denarion was a typical day’s wage. Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Life Just Isn’t Fair Have you ever noticed how sometimes life just isn’t fair? It’s one of the hard realities we learn early on. No one has to wait for adolescence or old age to find it out. You can learn it in nursery school. Sometimes life just isn’t fair. Little brothers and sisters seem to get such special privileges. The things my little brother and sister got away with! There were times when I really felt like the prodigal son story was some kind of Jungian archetype for familial systems down through the centuries. Well, I didn’t exactly put it that way when I was 15, but that’s how I felt. It’s the way older employees feel when young hot shots come into the workplace and the older ones get shoved out into unemployment lines. It’s the way veteran athletes feel when rookies get drafted with multi-million dollar contracts while the veterans have been slugging it out at smaller salaries all these years. Some coaches even treat these rookies differently from the rest, giving them special privileges the way we sometimes do with our children or our employees or our students. Of course there was one coach who never did that. Once in commenting on Vince Lombardi’s fairness, one of the Green Bay Packers noted that Lombardi treated every player the same. "He treats us all like dogs," said the player. Some coaches are fair, but many are not in their treatment of players, just as parents are not with children, employers with employees and teachers with students. Sometimes that’s just the way life is, which is in part the point of the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. William J. Carl, III, Church People Beware!, CSS Publishing Company. A Cod Liver Oil Parable In her memorable sermon on Matthew 20, Barbara Brown Taylor says that this parable is a little like the cod liver oil that mothers used to give their kids to cure what ailed them: you know it's good for you, you trust the one who is giving it to you, but that doesn't make it very easy to swallow even so! Most of us are born into this world with a huge sense of infantile entitlement followed by, at a very early age already, a seemingly intuitive sense of fairness and unfairness. It's like Charlie Brown's little sister, Sally, in the classic "Charlie Brown Christmas Special." You may recall that at one point Sally is writing a letter to Santa Claus and in the process generates an enormous list of toys she wants. Then at the conclusion of her North Pole-bound missive she writes, "But if that is too much to carry, just send cash." When Charlie Brown sees this and despairs over his own sister's greed, Sally indignantly responds, "All I want is my fair share. All I want is what I have coming to me." Scott Hoezee, Great Laughter The question is, what is it that we really deserve. We have to come to church, and read to the bible to be reminded that our understanding of what is fair and God’s version are different. Both the Hebrew bible and the new testament are full of stories of what God is like. Our story for today starts out by saying the Kingdom of Heaven is like….. If you were to summarize all of the stories of the bible, they are teaching us that God has several basic personality traits: God is always loving, just, faithful, everlasting, self sufficient, omnipotent, in control, holy, merciful, wise, and unchanging. In other words God will always be God no matter what. The question for many of us is how does an unchanging God adjust to an uncertain life. Why is it that God never goes out of style, when our lives are continually moving and changing. The short answer would be that our ways are not God’s ways. There is no way that we as humans can every be able to understand and explain God. Stepping on Toes Let's face it: some folks come to churchon Sunday morningwith the expectation that, sooner or later, if they pay close attention, the preacher is going to step on their toes. It's unavoidable; it's inevitable; it just can't be helped. In fact, it's something some folks look forward to, in a masochistic sort of way. I heard a friend of mine say from the pulpit one Sunday, "Well, folks, I've been here about 5 years now. And if I haven't stepped on your toes yet, be patient - I'll get around to you sooner or later." The Gospel of Matthew is a lot like that. I have little doubt that the writer of Matthew was a perfectionist, a real stickler for rules and regulations. Actions have consequences for Matthew, and if you play you'd better be prepared to pay. That's why you go to church - to be reminded of the rules, right? Do what Jesus would do, read your Bible every day, pray for your enemies, take your vitamins, say a little prayer for good luck before you leave for work each day, keep your nose clean, and you'll be alright. Grace? Yes, of course there is grace, and God's grace is truly amazing; but if you step out of line, God's going to get you, grace or no grace! I wonder if Matthew was a hall monitor when he was in school. Isn't it curious how grace doesn't feel so gracious when we have to share it with someone else - especially if it's someone we don't think is deserving of equality with us? Isn't it curious how the more amazing God's grace becomes, the more we grumble about it? Writer Robert Capon says that, if the world could have been saved by bookkeeping and settling accounts, God would have sent Moses, not Jesus. The law was okay, as far as it went. But about all that a thousand years of the Law proved was that, in the words of Paul, "No one is righteous, no not even one" (Romans 3:10). Johnny Dean, Exasperating Grace, Sermons.com The good news for us is that God is always God. God always maintains God’s integrity. God never changes God’s personality. God is just in all situations. God is a jealous God, God judges us when we do wrong. But somewhere in between justice and wrath – there is mercy. No matter how hard we try – we are righteous some days, and some days not so much. God judges us, but God also has mercy on our circumstances. We can be grateful that in between justice and wrath is a beautiful place called grace. And God sent Jesus into the world to invite us all to that place. This is a story in Matthew 20 is a story of God’s grace at work. I don’t see it so much here in this area, but when I was in Cicero, there was a shopping mall where the parking lot served as a gathering place. This was the place to come in order to catch the bus travelling to Mexico. But there was also a corner that would be particularly filled every morning. This was the place where day laborers would gather to be picked for work everyday. A temporary agency would come every morning and pick the men up in a bus and take them to work. The agency must have come more than once, because it was not unusual to come to the strip mall at 3 in the afternoon and people would still be hanging out waiting. Now most of us have been trained to get where we are going we must be the first in line. We would get there early and expect to be rewarded for our hard work. But obviously those who are out there in the afternoon are still desparate for work. Embrace the Sense of Community There’s a play by Timothy Thompson based on this parable in which he depicts two brothers vying for work. John is strong and capable; Philip is just as willing but has lost a hand in an accident. When the landowner comes, John is taken in the first wave of workers, and as he labors in the field he looks up the lane for some sign of Philip. Other workers are brought to the field, but Philip is not among them. John is grateful to have the work, but feels empty knowing that Philip is just as needful as he. Finally, the last group of workers arrive, and Philip is among them. John is relieved to know that Philip will get to work at least one hour. But, as the drama unfolds, and those who came last get paid a full days’ wages, John rejoices, knowing that Philip – his brother – will have the money necessary to feed his family. When it comes his turn to stand before the landowner and receive his pay, instead of complaining as the others, John throws out his hand and says with tears in his eyes, “Thank you, my lord, for what you’ve done for us today!” God’s justice arises out of a sense of community in which we see the “eleventh hour” workers as our brothers and sisters whose needs are every bit as important as our own. Philip W. McLarty, The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard Life is not always fair. But neither is God. Our definition of fair is all of us being equal, when in reality none of us are equal. We are each unique with unique situations. God is not concerned about fairness, God is concerned about justice. In order for us to have the same opportunities, sometimes God has to understand. One of my personal pet peeves, is when people say that they are blessed. For centuries, we have equated being blessed with having all that we need. If we are comfortable in life, that must mean that we are doing something right and God is in favor with who we are and what we are doing. So if we are blessed when good things happen to us, what about the people who have been affected by the hurricanes, what about the people of Mexico dealing with 3 earthquakes within a month? Does God not love them? Are they not blessed? They are children of God and God loves them the same. As a matter of fact, God may determine that they need more than we do – and God may be even more present with them in their time of deep need. And yet God is graceful, merciful, just and loving to us all at the same time. Being equal in God’s eyes does not mean that we are all treated the same. We are all in need of God’s grace. I want to play a little game with you. It is called getting into heaven. 100 Points! A man dies and goes to heaven. Of course, St. Peter meets him at the Pearly Gates. St. Peter says, "Here's how it works. You need 100 points to make it into heaven. You tell me all the good things you've done, and I give you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 100 points, you get in." Okay, " the man says, "I was married to the same women for 50 years and never cheated on her, even in my heart." That's wonderful," says St. Peter, "that's worth three points." Three points?" He says. "Well, I attended church all my life and supported its ministry with my tithe and service." Terrific!" say's St. Peter. "That's certainly worth a point." "One point? Well I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans." Fantastic, that's good for two more points," he says. "Two points!" The man cries. "At this rate the only way to get into heaven is by the grace of God!" St. Peter smiled. "There's your 100 points! Come on in!" Where would you be without God’s grace in your life? Additional illustrations….. The Rules of a Family The parable of the vineyard workers (Matt. 20) offends our sense of fairness. Why should everyone get equal pay for unequal work? Back in Ontario when the apples ripened, Mom would sit all seven of us down, Dad included, with pans and paring knives until the mountain of fruit was reduced to neat rows of filled canning jars. She never bothered keeping track of how many we did, though the younger ones undoubtedly proved more of a nuisance than a help: cut fingers, squabbles over who got which pan, apple core fights. But when the job was done, the reward for everyone was the same: the largest chocolate-dipped cone money could buy. A stickler might argue it wasn't quite fair since the older ones actually peeled apples. But I can't remember anyone complaining about it. A family understands it operates under a different set of norms than a courtroom. In fact, when the store ran out of ice cream and my younger brother had to make do with a Popsicle, we felt sorry for him despite his lack of productivity (he'd eaten all the apples he'd peeled that day--both of them). God wants all his children to enjoy the complete fullness of eternal life. No true child of God wants it any other way. Robert De Moor Traditional race and Generosity Dr. William Power, a professor at Southern Methodist University, describes an experience he had in Sunday school when he was a boy. His teacher was trying to explain to him and his rowdy friends the meaning of grace, but wasn’t getting very far. She tried definitions and abstractions, to no avail. Finally, she realized something the boys had known from the start. She was not connecting. She was not getting through to them. They didn't have the foggiest notion what she was talking about. So she took a deep breath and tried again: "Look boys, grace is the break you get when you don't deserve it. That's the simple explanation. But you won't really understand it till you experience it." James W. Moore, Some Things Are Too Good Not to Be True, Dimensions, 1994, p. 95. Fairness This parable goes against the business mentality that dominates our lives. We have always been taught: You get out of something directly in proportion to that which you put in it. Yet, that is not what happened in Jesus’ story. In our way of thinking, the laborers who came to the field late got something for nothing. This parable challenges us not to look upon the Kingdom of God, or the church, as a business community. Yet, that is difficult for us to do, because that is our point of reference. What do you think would happen if a person joined the church this morning and immediately after receiving the vows of profession of faith I suggested to the congregation that he or she be nominated as the next chairperson of the Administrative Board. What do you think the reaction would be? Well, I think I know what the reaction would be. The laity would protest as loudly as Simon Peter is protesting to Jesus. You see, we live in a world of tenure and seniority and it goes against our grain when we hear Jesus say: The first shall be last and the last shall be first. God's grace is not based upon what is fair, but rather what helps. God’s Time I was seven years old when my family immigrated to the United States, but I remember the exact moment I knew I had become a true American. It wasn’t the day I received my citizenship; it was the day I thought to myself: We gotta do something about all these foreigners coming into this country! Yeah, I think I was about twelve years old then. Recently, I watched Martin Scorsese’s latest film called “Gangs of New York,” a fascinating story about immigrant gangs at war with one another in the mid 1800s. In one scene, “Nativist” gangsters of Anglo-Saxon and Irish stock are at the docks, greeting the new immigrants with flying garbage and verbal abuse. Imagine that – American-born Irish showering utter contempt upon Irish-born Irish. There is something about human nature that equates longevity and tenure with a sense of rightful claim. In how many churches do the longest running members, those who “put in their time,” feel the greatest claim on the identity and mission of their congregation, regardless of the issue of faithfulness, vision or maturity? I believe this passage in Matthew 20 gives us a corrective to that view. Should those who put in their time from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM be rewarded differently than the ones who worked only an hour? This parable is ultimately about the difference between our time and God’s time, what the Greeks called chronos and kairos. The modern business world tells us that “time is money,” but this phrase seemed just as current to the setting in Palestine some 2,000 years ago. Jin S. Kim, The Last Shall Be First Rewards After serving as a missionary for forty years in Africa, Henry C. Morrison became sick and had to return to America. As the great ocean liner docked in New York Harbor there was a great crowd gathered to welcome home another passenger on that boat. Morrison watched as President Teddy Roosevelt received a grand welcome home party after his African Safari. Resentment seized Henry Morrsion and he turned to God in anger, "I have come back home after all this time and service to the church and there is no one, not even one person here to welcome me home." Then a still small voice came to Morrison and said, "You're not home yet." Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com God’s Grace One time a Sunday school superintendent was registering two new sisters in Sunday School. When she asked them how old they were one replied, “We’re both seven. My birthday is April 8th and my sister’s is April 20th.” That superintendent replied, "That’s impossible girls." The other sister then spoke up and said, "No it’s true, one of us is adopted." "Oh," the superintendent said, "Which one?" The two sisters looked at each other and one said, "We asked Dad that question a while ago, but he just looked at us and said that he loved us both equally, so much so that he couldn’t remember which one of us was adopted." (from God’s Little Lessons on Life for Women, Honor Books) That is a wonderful analogy of the love of God. God loves us all, equally. We are loved, not because we have earned God’s love or deserve it, but because of God’s grace. Keith Wagner, Me, First! The Job God Would Take One time there was a man named Horville Sash. Horville had very humble job in the basement of the largest corporation in the world. He worked there as a gofer who did a lot to help other people become successful in their jobs. But Horville always wondered and thought about the floor just above him. One day, Horville saw a bug scurrying across the floor. That may not seem like a lot, but remember, Horville worked in the basement. He started to raise his foot to squash the helpless bug. "Spare me." The little bug begged. Horville couldn’t believe that a bug was talking to him. But he spared the little bug. As a reward, this marvelous little creature gave Horville a wish. "I wish to be promoted to the second floor," said Horville. "Granted," said the little one. Horville’s boss told him that very day, and so he marched to the second floor like MacArthur and Patton rolled into one. But it started again. Horville heard footsteps on the ceiling. There was a higher level, more power, higher wages. The next day, Horville rose to the third floor, but he was never satisfied, and so up he went one floor at a time, higher and higher and higher until he reached the 96th floor. He was sitting by the indoor pool on that floor, when he spotted a stairwell leading upward. "Is there yet another floor above me?" He wondered. He ran up the stairs, but only to find that it led to the roof. He started to head back down when he noticed a small boy near the edge of the building with his eyes closed. "What are you doing?" Horville asked. "Why I’m praying," said the little boy. "To whom?" Asked Horville again. Pointing a finger to the sky, the little boy answered, "I’m praying to God. Horville was overcome by the idea that there might be a floor above him. He couldn’t see it. He only saw clouds in the sky. He couldn’t hear any shuffling of feet up there." But this God must be above him. So he summoned the little bug and said, "Make me God. Make me the highest I can be. Put me in the kind of position that only God would accept." It was granted. And the very next day, Horville began work as a gofer in the basement helping others to be successful in their jobs. (from William J. Adams, Deacon Sil) Keith Wagner, Me, First!, adapting William J. Adams A Strange, New Arithmetic In Frederick Borsch's book, Many Things in Parables, he writes: "When my wife became pregnant, I found that I had an inordinate desire to have a son. I feel apologetic about that now. It seems rather sexist ... But I had two sisters and no brothers as I was growing up ... I wanted to have a brother ... But when you want something that much, you figure it probably will not happen. But it did! Benjamin was born, and all my parental heart went out to him with more love than I knew I had inside me ... So much so was this true that, when two years later my wife was pregnant again, I discovered that I had a very worrisome problem. When the second child was born and as it grew, how was I going to hide from it the fact that I could never love it as much as the first? ... I must have thought that love was like a pie. The more people that came to share it, the smaller the slices had to be. Then, as though to make matters worse, we had twins! But most will have guessed what then happened. It was like a miracle to me. Suddenly I loved Matthew and Stuart with the same love with which I loved Benjamin, without taking any love from him. This was a strange new arithmetic. The pie seemed to have become larger. This is what the loving of a parent is like - to love in this reckless and even-handed way." Richard J. Fairchild, The Sun to Shine and The Rain to Fall Jealousy: Sadness in the Heart of God There is a Jewish parable that both parallels and illumines Jesus' story, and it has helped to clarify my understanding greatly. This one is about a "farmer who lived in Poland. For generations before him, his family had been very poor. One night he was awakened by an angel of the Lord, who said: "You have found favor in the eyes of your Maker. He wants to do for you what he did for your ancestor Abraham. He wants to bless you. Therefore, make any three requests that you will of God, and he will be pleased to give them to you. There is only one condition: your neighbor will get a double portion of everything that is bequeathed to you." The farmer was startled by this revelation and woke up his wife to tell her all about it. She suggested that they put the whole thing to a test. So they prayed. "Oh, blessed God, if we could just have a herd of a thousand cattle, that would enable us to break out of the poverty in which we have lived for generations. That would be wonderful." No sooner had they said these words than they heard the sound of animal noises outside. Lo and behold, all around the house were a thousand magnificent animals! During the next two days, the farmer's feet hardly touched the ground. He divided his time between praising God for such great generosity and beginning to make practical provisions for his newly acquired affluence. On the third afternoon, he was up on a hill behind his house trying to decide where to build a new barn when he looked across at his neighbor's field, and there standing on the green hillside were two thousand magnificent cattle. For the first time since the angel of the Lord had appeared, the joy within him evaporated and a scowl of envy took its place. He went home that evening in a foul mood, refused to eat supper, and went to bed in an absolute rage. He could not fall asleep because every time he closed his eyes, all he could see were his neighbor's two thousand cattle. Deep in the night, however, he remembered that the angel had said he could make three wishes. With that, he shifted his focus away from his neighbor and back to his own situation, and the old joy quickly returned. Digging deep into his own heart to find out what else he really wanted, he began to realize that in addition to some kind of material security, he always wanted descendants to carry his name into the future. So he prayed a second time: "Gracious God, if it please thee, give me a child that I may have descendants." With that, he and his wife made love, and because of his experience with the cattle, he was not too surprised shortly thereafter to learn that she was expecting. The next months were passed in unbroken joy. The farmer was busy assimilating his newly acquired affluence and looking forward to the great grace of becoming a parent. On the night his first child was born, he was absolutely overjoyed. The next day was the Sabbath. He went to the synagogue, and at the time of the prayers of the people, he stood up and shared with the gathered community his great good fortune: now at last a child had been born into their home. He had hardly sat down, however, when his neighbor got up and said, "God has indeed been gracious to our little community. I had twin sons born last night. Thanks be to God." On hearing that, the farmer went home in an utterly different mood than the one in which he came. Instead of being joyful once again he was filled with the canker of jealousy. This time, however, his envy did not abate. Late that evening, he made his third request of God: "Please, gouge out my right eye." No sooner had he said these words than the angel who had initiated the whole process appeared again and asked, "Why, son of Abraham, have you turned to such vengeful desirings?" With pent-up rage, the farmer replied, "I cannot stand to see my neighbor prosper. I'll gladly sacrifice half of my vision for the satisfaction of knowing that he will never be able to look on what he has." Those words were followed by a long silence, and as the farmer looked, he saw tears forming in the eyes of the angel. "Why, O son of Abraham, have you turned an occasion for blessing into a time of hurting? Your third request will not be granted, not because the Lord lacks integrity, but because God is full of mercy. However, know this, O foolish one, you have brought sadness not only to yourself, but to the very heart of God." John Claypool, Stories Jesus Still Tells p. 28, 29 Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day My mother was a teacher who loved to read to her class. One of her favorites was Judith Viorst's book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Alexander awakens in the morning and says: I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there's gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. After a bad day at school and an even worse time with the dentist, Alexander continues his book of lamentations: Lima beans for dinner and I hate limas. There was kissing on TV and I hate kissing. My bath was too hot. I got soap in my eyes. . . I bit my tongue. The cat wants to sleep with Anthony, not with me. It has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. I think I'll move to Australia. Do you ever have days like this? Days when nothing seems to go right, days when life appears to be unfair? David Beckett, That’s Not Fair Set Expectations A story is told of the lady who had a stranger appear at her door and simply handed her a $100 bill. She was dumbfounded! Then the same thing happened the next day….and the next…and the next. For thirty straight days this stranger gave her $100 without explanation. On the 31st day the lady was waiting at the door when she saw the man coming down the street. But then he passed her house and walked up to her neighbor’s house, and gave her a $100 bill! The first lady was indignant and yelled at the guy, "Hey, where’s my $100 bill?" It’s easy to think that when life is going our way that somehow we deserve it. We come to expect it. We even plan for it. This parable is not so much about the injustice of workers getting paid the same for different amounts of work. It is about God and God’s mercy and grace. Sometimes it appears that some people are receiving more of God’s grace than others. But as Christians we live, not in a world of justice, but of grace. David Beckett, That’s Not Fair! The Right Spirit This story is told of Yogi Berra. The New York Yankees were at their peak and were negotiating contracts for the next year. A group of reporters interviewed players as they emerged from the owner’s office, and one of them asked Yogi Berra about the terms of his contract. In his characteristically, plain-spoken style, he said, “I’m gonna get to play baseball again next year for the Yankees, and would you believe it, they’re gonna pay me besides!” That’s the spirit of gainful employment, doing what you love to do and do well and getting paid for it besides. If the workers who’d worked all day had this attitude about their work, they wouldn’t have resented those who only got to work one hour. When you’re in the right vocation and you’ve got the right spirit, then the longer you work, the better. God’s justice arises out of a gracious invitation to use your innate gifts and abilities to the glory of God and to the benefit of others. In the long run, money or recognition or praise has little to do with it. Philip W. McLarty, The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

Can't we all Get Along?

September 10, 2017 Matthew 18:15-20 Can’t we all Get Along? 14th Sunday After Pentecost Children’s Sermon: object: A referee’s whistle. Lessons: Boys and Girls, I have with me this whistle (blow on the whistle). This is the kind of whistle a referee would use to stop play in a ball game. I’ll bet sometimes your mother would like to have a whistle to blow if you have brothers or sisters in your home together not just because you’re noisy, but because brothers and sisters sometimes fight with each other. Do you know of any brothers and sisters who fight with each other? I’m not going to ask you if you fight with your brother or sister, but sometimes that happens. Sometimes we can have problems with brothers and sisters; sometimes there are jealousies between younger brothers and sisters when they want to wear something that is yours. Maybe you’re tired and they get in your way or you get in their way, and you get very angry with each other. That is simply part of being in a family it is not good and we hope to outgrow it. We have to really try to be patient and loving and kind, but we can do it. Our lesson today is about maintaining relationships. One way we do this is to forgive one another. When your brother or sister does something you don’t like, do you stay angry for a long time? I hope not. I hope you can forgive them and let whatever made you mad slip from your memory so you can be loving again toward your brother or sister. That’s the way God wants us to be. I hope you never let your anger get out of hand, but that you keep loving each other in spite of the little difficulties that are just part of being a family. Matthew 18:15-20Common English Bible (CEB) Sinning brother or sister 15 “If your brother or sister sins against you, go and correct them when you are alone together. If they listen to you, then you’ve won over your brother or sister. 16 But if they won’t listen, take with you one or two others so that every word may be established by the mouth of two or three witnesses.[a] 17 But if they still won’t pay attention, report it to the church. If they won’t pay attention even to the church, treat them as you would a Gentile and tax collector. 18 I assure you that whatever you fasten on earth will be fastened in heaven. And whatever you loosen on earth will be loosened in heaven. 19 Again I assure you that if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, then my Father who is in heaven will do it for you. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, I’m there with them.” Footnotes: a. Matthew 18:16 Deut 19:15 Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible For the most part, I am a pretty easy going person, so I am a pretty easy going pastor. I try not to get into habit of arguing with parishioners. One of the worst disagreements that I had at a was at a church council meeting, when one of the leaders stated that she did not need to come to church in order to be a Christian. She loved the church, but she did not love the people in the church, so she would just as soon live on a deserted island and still worship God. I told her that you cannot be a Christian without some connection to the church. The whole point of Christianity is about learning to live with people that you would not ordinarily associate with. If at some point in your churchgoing you have not had the little nerve at the core of your being touched and disturbed, then you are not doing it right. Jesus’ whole message to us, is the way in which we respond when we have been irritated is what determines whether we are a Christian. Did we use the tools of human nature to respond, or did we use the lessons that we learned in the bible to deal with the situation? Human nature tells us to be hurt and angry, God’s nature tells us to be loving and understanding. In order for us to achieve our mission as the church, we have to rise above our personal hates. Conflict is a part of life – it happens all of the time. Disharmony in Worship There was a church where the pastor and the minister of music were not getting along. As time went by, this began to spill over into the worship service. The first week the pastor preached on commitment and how we all should dedicate ourselves to the service of God. The second week the pastor preached on tithing and how we all should gladly give to the work of the Lord. The director led the song, "Jesus Paid it All." The third week the pastor preached on gossiping and how we should all watch our tongues. The music director led the song, "I Love to Tell the Story." With all this going on, the pastor became very disgusted over the situation and the following Sunday told the congregation that he was considering resigning. The musician led the song, "Oh Why Not Tonight?" As it came to pass, the pastor did indeed resign. The next week he informed the church that it was Jesus who led him there and it was Jesus who was taking him away. The music leader led the song, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com Conflict is a part of the church. As we all gather together we have to learn how to be a united body. United to serve Christ. For us to be Christ for the world. The mission of the church is to make disciples for all nations. But in order for us to achieve that mission, we have to rise above our individual differences. In order to do that we have to have a system for dealing with those differences. In the modern world we live in illusion that we are individuals and that we have complete control over our lives. Corporate Effects of Sin A man is on a boat. He is not alone, but acts as if he were. One night, without warning, he suddenly begins to cut a hole under his seat. The other people on the boat shout and shriek at him: "What on earth are you doing? Have you gone mad? Do you want to sink us all? Are you trying to destroy us?" Calmly, the man answers: "I don't understand what you want. What I'm doing is none of your business. I paid my way. I'm not cutting under your seat. Leave me alone!" What the fanatic (and the egotist) will not accept, but what you and I cannot forget, is that all of us are in the same boat. Elie Wiesel, Parade Magazine. That is why we gather together every Sunday to sing and worship and to hear the gospel and a sermon. Today we really can sit at home and read the bible, and watch tv and say that we have been to church. That was not the case in Jesus time. The letters that we read as scripture were not written to individuals, they were written to the community. In the early days, people gathered togetherto hear the words of the bible and to compte,plate what it means for them. When we hear of spiritual gifts, gifts and resources are not given to persons, they are given to the community. There is no I without a we. What happens to one affect what happens to all. I exist because we exist. We have heard the world shalom. Shalom means more than peace. Shalom means where there is justice amongst the people there will be peace, and where there is peace and justice there is wellbeing. Peace, justice and wellbeing go hand in hand. The only where you can get shalom is in the presence of God. As long as God is the center of community everything else falls into place. That is what church is – a community in which God is the center. Are You Willing to Live in Hell? In his book The Great Divorce, C. S. Lewis, the great Christian apologist, draws a stark picture of hell. Hell is like a great, vast city, Lewis says, a city inhabited only at its outer edges, with rows and rows of empty houses in the middle. These houses in the middle are empty because everyone who once lived there has quarreled with the neighbors and moved. Then, they quarreled with the new neighbors and moved again, leaving the streets and the houses of their old neighborhoods empty and barren. That, Lewis says, is how hell has gotten so large. It is empty at its center and inhabited only at the outer edges, because everyone chose distance instead of honest confrontation when it came to dealing with their relationships. “Look, she’s the one who said that about me. Let her come and apologize!” “We may go to the same church, but that doesn’t mean I’ve got to share a pew with that so-and-so!” “It’ll be a cold day in July before I accept his apology.” That’s all well and good, I suppose... if you don’t mind living in hell. Are we really so willing to give up our relationships with others – relationships that have come about and been forged by our desire to follow Jesus? Nowhere, and I do mean nowhere, in the New Testament gospels will you find Jesus saying that the first order of things is always to be right. But he does have a great deal to say about forgiveness, about relationship, about reconciliation, about service and humility and vulnerability. He makes it sounds like family, doesn’t he? Randy L. Hyde, Two or Three A lot of people miss the context of this verse in Matthew 18 – where two or three are gathered I am with them. We tend to use this verse as an excuse. When an event was not as well attended as we anticipate we say it does not matter because where two or three are gathered. This verse is telling us to trust in the presence of Christ. To make sure that we make Christ the focus of all of our gatherings. The presence of Christ brings peace, justice and wellbeing to even the most difficult of situations. Jesus says what you bind or loose here in heaven you bind or lose on earth. In other words who we are and how we treat people makes a difference. There is a saying to never judge a person alone – to trust the judgement of the community. A lot of people actually criticize this verse and wonder how Jesus could have said this. He is talking about bringing our problems before the church – but there was no church in Jesus time. But there was community. And jesus encourages us to truly be a community with God in the center. Jesus also tells usto treat those who don’t listen to the community as tax collectors and gentiles. But how does Jesus treat taxcollectors and gentiles? Does he kick them out and never speak to them or does he understand them love them and never give up on them? As we continue in chapter 18 the directive gets even harder. Peter asks if there is a limit to how many times we forgive a person. And Jesus says no. You keep on forgiving and being understanding. And there is no person who is beyond forgiveness. I have grown pretty mellow in my years as a pastor. In my first church I was in constant battle with the congregation. But that took a toll on me. For the last 20 of my 22 years in ministry I have worked with the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center on dealing with church conflict. In order to keep getting my money – they remind me that we never graduate from conflict. But that forgiveness is a gift that we give ourselves, not the other person. Where there is justice there will be peace and where there is peace there will be wellbeing. And we can only have peace, justice and wellbeing when God is in the center of what we do. What is it that you need to be whole and complete? What is it that you need to say and get off of your chest? Who is is that you need to be reconciled with? Where do you need the community of Christ to help you to move forward? You know a lot of us are distressed at how individualistic our society has become. You can almost live isolated on a deserted island. You can interact with people all alone in a little room, without ever talking with someone else. Using your computer can teach you to talk to others, it can even teach you a little bit about community. But the one thing that you cannot learn from the internet is how to love one another, how to be a supportive community, or how to be reconciled with someone that you need to forgive. How many cyber bullying incidents have ever been solved through an email. As a matter of fact, impersonal communication makes our differences worse, not better. Jesus is teaching us how to live face to face together. Building Bridges Once upon a time, two brothers who lived on adjoining farms fell into conflict. It was the first serious rift in their 40 years of working together. It began with a small misunderstanding, and grew into a major difference, and finally exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence. One morning, there was a knock on John's door. He opened it to find a man with a carpenter's toolbox. "I'm looking for a few days' work," he said. "Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there that I could help with? Yes," said the older brother. "I do have a job for you. Look across the creek at that farm. That's my younger brother! Last week, there was a meadow between us, but he took his bulldozer and dug a small river between us. Well I'm going to do him one better. See that pile of old lumber? I want you to build an 8 foot high fence between us. Then I won't need to see his place or his face anymore." The carpenter said, "Show me the nails and the tools, and I'll do a good job for you." The older brother had to go to town, so he left for the day. At sunset, when he returned, this eyes opened wide, and his jaw dropped. There was no fence there at all. The carpenter had built a bridge that stretched from one side of the river to the other, with handrails and all! And his younger brother, was coming toward them, his hand outstretched. "You're quite the guy," he said, "after all I've said and done." The two brothers met in the middle, and shook each other's hand. They turned to see the carpenter leaving. "No, wait! Stay a few days. I've a lot of other projects for you," said the older brother. "I'd love to," the carpenter said, "but I have many more bridges to build." When you and I come to the end of our days, just remember this: God won't ask what kind of car we drove, but He will ask how many people we helped get where they needed to go. He won't ask how big our house was, but He will ask how many people we welcomed into our home. God won't ask what neighborhood we lived in, but He will ask how we treated our neighbors. And He won't ask how many fences we made, but He will ask how many bridges we built. Bob Tasler, Restoration: Confronting the Brother What bridges do you need to build? Other illustrations…… Corporate Effects of Sin A man is on a boat. He is not alone, but acts as if he were. One night, without warning, he suddenly begins to cut a hole under his seat. The other people on the boat shout and shriek at him: "What on earth are you doing? Have you gone mad? Do you want to sink us all? Are you trying to destroy us?" Calmly, the man answers: "I don't understand what you want. What I'm doing is none of your business. I paid my way. I'm not cutting under your seat. Leave me alone!" What the fanatic (and the egotist) will not accept, but what you and I cannot forget, is that all of us are in the same boat. Elie Wiesel, Parade Magazine. Discipleship in Community Very few people are expert in anything all by themselves. They need a supporting community. Do you know a good musician who was not trained, nurtured and sustained by the music community? Show me an athlete who achieves excellence all alone, apart from the athletic community. Very few wise men become so without the accumulated wisdom of the centuries as expressed in colleges and universities and libraries. Medical people are more like ensembles and symphonies than soloists. What business tycoon does it all on his own without dedicated experts in finance, engineering, personnel, and marketing? Excellence requires participation in, and support of, a community of like-minded people. Likewise in the church -- a forerunner of the new kingdom. Very few achieve Christian maturity all by themselves. Seldom is the Bible studied diligently without the aid of scholars and teachers. Rarely are people led to generosity by their own impulses. Maurice A. Fetty, The Divine Advocate, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. _______________________________________________ Forgiveness: Never does the human soul appear so strong and noble as when it forgoes revenge and dares to forgive an injury. E. H. Chapin A congregation is not to be like the secular world. Instead of suing or chastising, the faithful are to give the offender a chance. Yes, they are to be confronted, but not humiliated in public. Rather than be judged or prosecuted they are to be given a chance to repent. The church is to avoid embarrassment and help people feel less ashamed. This requires great sensitivity. The way of the church is through reconciliation. For to be redeemed means to help a person return to wholeness and to be at peace with one’s self and one’s neighbors. Therefore, the church is to make every effort to give those who stray an opportunity to right their wrongs. Yes, we have standards. Yes, there are things that people do to one another that are harmful. Yes, even some behavior can damage the life of the church. Nevertheless, the church is being faithful when its people make every effort to offer love, forgiveness and support. In Matthew, Jesus describes a process that is different from the tradition of the times. Instead of casting stones, rushing the accused off to a local authority and making a person’s shameful act front page news, the faith community makes an intentional effort to give the offender a chance to turn their life around. Keith Wagner, Living Without Shame An 800 Year Grudge Many years ago, Colonel Jeff O'Leary served as part of the UN peacekeeping forces in the Sinai Peninsula region. While there, he encountered a number of Bedouin people, a nomadic people who travel this desert region. One afternoon, Colonel O'Leary had tea with a group of Bedouin men. Colonel O'Leary couldn't help but notice that his host kept staring at a man who was tending his camels. The host pointed out the man and hissed at Colonel O'Leary, "Do you see that man? He is a camel thief." Colonel O'Leary wanted to know why his host would hire a camel thief to tend his camels, so he began asking questions. Turns out that in his host's eyes this man was a camel thief because he came from a family of camel thieves. Why were they a family of camel thieves? Because one of their ancestors had once stolen some camels from this man's family. How long ago, O'Leary asked. Eight hundred years ago, the Bedouin host replied. For eight hundred years, the hosts' family and this man's family had hated each other, because one man had stolen the other man's camels. For eight hundred years, the host's family had passed down the story of the camel thief. Forgiveness was not an option for them. In the Bedouin host's mind, the crime was just as horrible as if it had occurred yesterday, and this man was just as much a thief as his ancestor who had actually stolen the camel. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com Healing in Your Heart Penelope J. Stokes tells about her reaction to a scene in the motion picture, Waiting to Exhale. A woman, victimized by her husband's infidelity, gathers up his clothes, his shoes, his personal belongings, and stuffs them into his expensive Mercedes. When the closets and drawers are empty, she returns to the car, sets a torch to the contents, and stands there with tears streaming down her cheeks as the evidence of her marriage goes up in flames. "Most people in the audience cheered," says Penelope Stokes. "I cried," she says, "because her defiant gesture of closure did nothing to heal the woundedness of her heart." A bit of revenge may have lifted that woman's heart for a moment. But to move toward healing, she would have to learn--as we all must learn--how to forgive. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com A congregation is not to be like the secular world. Instead of suing or chastising, the faithful are to give the offender a chance. Yes, they are to be confronted, but not humiliated in public. Rather than be judged or prosecuted they are to be given a chance to repent. The church is to avoid embarrassment and help people feel less ashamed. This requires great sensitivity. The way of the church is through reconciliation. For to be redeemed means to help a person return to wholeness and to be at peace with one’s self and one’s neighbors. Therefore, the church is to make every effort to give those who stray an opportunity to right their wrongs. Yes, we have standards. Yes, there are things that people do to one another that are harmful. Yes, even some behavior can damage the life of the church. Nevertheless, the church is being faithful when its people make every effort to offer love, forgiveness and support. In Matthew, Jesus describes a process that is different from the tradition of the times. Instead of casting stones, rushing the accused off to a local authority and making a person’s shameful act front page news, the faith community makes an intentional effort to give the offender a chance to turn their life around. Keith Wagner, Living Without Shame We Must Be Saved by Hope Reinhold Niebuhr, in The Irony of American History, writes, "Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime: therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone, therefore we are saved by love. No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint. Therefore we must be saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness." Jerry L. Schmalenberger, When Christians Quarrel, CSS Publishing Company, Inc.