Sermon Summaries for Year A | 2022-2023
The First Sunday of Advent - November 27th, 2022
“For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of man.” — the words of Jesus
It used to be a regular occurrence for me as a child that, during the holiday season, our dining room table would become filled with a thousand or more tiny little pieces of whatever puzzle we bought for that year. I would frantically begin to separate out the edges from the rest of the inside pieces. Then, I would gather together those pieces that looked like the sky or water or trees or whatever. I would continually make use of the top of the box to help orient myself throughout the process. This is how one does a puzzle after all—you look at the completed picture in order to make sense of where the individual pieces go. Something similar is happening on this first Sunday of the Church Year. We are once again called by the Church to consider the “End” in order to orient ourselves in the present—or as the Collect for this Sunday puts it, “now in the time of this mortal life.” On this first Sunday of Advent, we consider not the first appearing of Jesus, but the final manifestation of his glory—at which time all things, including death, will be shown to be subject to his loving rule! And it is the light of this very present hope that we are called to live and move and have our being.
The Second Sunday of Advent - December 4th, 2022
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophet. This Sunday, the second Sunday of Advent, we will be listening in yet again on the call from the strange man from the wilderness who was called the Baptizer. We will hear his call of repentance, in order to prepare for the one coming not to baptize with water but with Spirit and with Fire. John was no doubt a prophet, and as a prophet, he was “spoken through” by the Spirit—the self same Spirit that spoke through all the prophets—just as the Creed confesses. There is one prophet who stands above the rest in the formation of the Christian understanding of the life of Jesus of Nazareth—especially his birth. This prophet lived in Jerusalem in the 8th century BC. His name was Isaiah, son of Amoz. We will encounter this prophet each Sunday of Advent as well as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. He is the prophet through which the earliest followers of Jesus heard the Spirit testifying to his birth as the arrival of the long awaited King who would bring about a reign of peace throughout all creation.
The Fourth Sunday of Advent - December 22nd, 2022
“Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way…” - Matthew 1:18
We have come to the final Sunday of Advent… we have been anticipating, hoping, longing for God’s kingdom to come. And what we see first is a child, a birth, a beginning. It’s how all things come into the world: small, seemingly insignificant… almost hidden-like. Even God’s kingdom would begin that way—what this child would later refer to as a “mustard seed”. But the birth not only took place in that way, but it also brought with it the threat of public disgrace. The entrance of God’s Messiah into the world would be inseparably wrapped up with a contested, controversial and perhaps even sinful birth. To receive this child those doing so would have to be willing to face the public disgrace in the strength of the truth. But isn’t it always that way with Jesus? “Look he eats with sinners and befriends them!” That was not meant as a compliment to Jesus but as a demonstration of his “shame”. Thank God that the birth of the Messiah took place in this way—a way that doesn’t forget our shame, but rather transforms it into glory by taking our shame into himself.
Christmas Day - December 25th, 2022
“In the beginning was the Word… all things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being… He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.” — John 1:1,3,10
On this most holy of days in the Christian Year, we listen to the Apostle John as he reminds us that the Word who has come into the world, the Word who has come from the Father, the Word who has become flesh is the Word through which all things came into being. What John does in his opening overtures of his gospel is to show the inseparable connection between the one who we celebrate as having been born of Mary in a manger as the One from whom all things have come into being… in short, John demonstrates the deep connection (or better, communion) between Christ and Creation. There was a relation between the two before the “days of his flesh”—the relation of Creator to creation. What this means for John and for us is that what is revealed in the historical life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is what is revealed in Creation and what is revealed in Creation is what is revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. This holy day names and celebrates the beginning of the Creator’s rescue of his creation from the death into which we had plunged it and ourselves—a death from which we could not and indeed did not desire to be delivered. The light that shines on the celebration of the Nativity of our Lord is the same Light that was summoned into existence by the Word of God—“Let there be Light”! That Light, John tells us, is the light that enlightens everyone who comes into the world… May the Light of Eternal Grace shine in our hearts, reverberate on our lips and cause our hands to extend in hospitable love. Merry Christmas!
The Second Sunday After the Epiphany - January 15th, 2023
“What are you looking for?” — Jesus of Nazareth
It’s a great question! Obviously, the context in which this question is asked makes all the difference. If it were uttered by the grocery store employee to the shopper standing befuddled in aisle 15, it would not be all that profound of a question, but, when uttered by a young rabbi just declared to be “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”, it opens the depths of the query! On this Second Sunday after the Epiphany, we are brought alongside these two early “followers of Jesus” to have this question put to us as well… what are we looking for? We have decided to follow. Some of us have been at it for years, maybe decades. What are we looking for? Some of us have followed at a distance or followed in fits and starts. What are we looking for? It’s a great question and worthy of an honest reply.
The Third Sunday After the Epiphany - January 22nd, 2023
“I thank God that I baptized none of you…” — The Apostle Paul to the Corinthians
These are certainly words one would not expect to hear from a minister of the gospel! Thanking God that he hadn’t baptized any of them? What is going on here? When you actually read the context in which these words are found, you discover that Paul says this because he’s frustrated that the Corinthians have divided themselves into “factions”—some of Paul, some of Apollos, some of Cephas. He is saying that he is glad that he hasn’t baptized any of them—except a small handful—so that they can’t say that he was just trying to gather followers to himself. Paul does not approve of the divisions in Corinth. However, divisions are not specific to the Corinthians or to Christianity… or to any religion for that matter. Divisions are everywhere—we experience them in all of life: work, family, friends, political convictions, etc. How should we respond to such divisions? How should we understand them? While I certainly won’t attempt anything like addressing all these matters on Sunday, I do want to look at how Paul counsels the Corinthians with respect to their divisions.
The Fourth Sunday After the Epiphany - January 29th, 2023
“With what shall I come before the Lord?” — The prophet Micah
“Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle?” — ancient Hebrew poet, Psalmist
“Where is the one who is wise?” — The apostle Paul
Three very good questions. Ask these questions of yourself. What would be your answers? This Sunday, we will be looking at the words of Jesus from the mountain—that great “sermon” that takes its name from the “mount”… the New Law from a New Sinai establishing a New Covenant, not just with Israel but with all the World. Perhaps he has an answer to these questions? Perhaps his declarations of Blessing have something to say?
The Fifth Sunday After the Epiphany - February 5th, 2023
“Happy are they who fear the Lord and have great delight in his commandments.” — Psalm 112:1
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets…” — Jesus of Nazareth
The commandments of God get a bad rap. Nobody seems to like them. They suggest to many a stuffy, controlling, stifling, borderline abusive form of religion. The Law of God is usually not atop the “must read” list. Even the word commandment can cause some to enter that anxious world of the “triggered”. No doubt the word has some baggage… it’s seen better days, but I am one of those who aren’t convinced that the word commandment or law should be so quickly removed from our shared vocabulary, and, if Jesus is to be believed and followed, one must reckon with its reality and place in our thinking and living.” With this in mind, I am going to attempt to do what it seems Jesus is doing in this passage from Matthew 5—recover the beauty and power of God’s law and hopefully kindle a desire to search its treasures!
The Sixth Sunday After the Epiphany - February 12th, 2023
“If you choose, you can keep the commandments, and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice. He has placed before you fire and water; stretch out your hand for whichever you choose.” — Sirach 15:15–16
I love this great book of Jewish wisdom, Sirach! It shows up in the liturgy just a few times a year but when it does, I love it. Some of that no doubt comes from the simple fact that I did not enter Christianity in a tradition that would have acknowledged this book in any sense at all, so its relative newness to me is reason enough for me to look forward to hearing it during the liturgy, but it’s also the message it presents. And the text we encounter from chapter 15 keeps alive the main themes from last week’s readings, namely, the commands of God. I had a feeling we weren’t done with this theme just yet… we are approaching that Great Season of Lent, so one more week contemplating and considering the commands of God is not such a bad way to prepare.
The Last Sunday After the Epiphany - February 19th, 2023
“This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” — A Voice from the bright cloud
At the center of the Christian faith is the voice, the word. That means at the center of the Christian faith is the ear, listening. Someone, somewhere once said, “Be quick to hear, slow to speak…”—wise words, but what does it mean to listen? What is required of our attention in the act of listening? What is required of our wills in the act of listening? What happens to us when we listen? The disciples, Peter, James and John, experienced a vision that has been celebrated by Christians for two millennia known by the name of The Transfiguration. An amazing vision indeed! But isn’t it interesting that the point of the vision is to direct the disciples to what they hear—“Listen to him!”? As we enter the Lenten season, to be reminded of the need to cultivate the posture of listening is indeed a gift.
The Third Sunday in Lent - March 12th, 2023
“Is the Lord among us or not?” — The Israelites at Meribah in the dessert (Exodus 17:7)
It’s a question that could be answered by the most cursory reading of just about any Christian catechism—“Of course God is among us!! God is omnipresent, which means God is always everywhere!” Fair enough. That is the right and good and true answer… but…But life doesn’t bow to catechisms. Nor do our thoughts and emotions naturally submit to such abstract doctrine. Perhaps in a perfect world it would, but it doesn’t do that in this world… at least for a vast number of us! Like the Israelites who were up against a severe crisis around access to water, it is easy in times of draught and poverty to question if God is in fact among us. This is part of the Lenten journey… doubt is there, like the apostle Thomas, nestled in the story of the journey with Jesus to the cross and empty tomb. This Sunday, I would like to attempt to address this thorny issue of doubt with the help of an unnamed Samaritan woman and a mid-18th century English poet—that the author of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Samuel Taylor Coleridge) once called “the best modern poet”—a poet who wrote the words to our hymn of the month Decide This Doubt For Me.
The Fourth Sunday in Lent - March 19th, 2023
“Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, “We see,” your sin remains.’ ”
John 9:41
Blindness as a prerequisite for the forgiveness of sins? Is Jesus really saying that unless one becomes blind they cannot inherit the kingdom? It seems that he is—at least if one understands what he means by being “blind”. Our gospel text this Sunday brings us to the very familiar story about the man born blind whom Jesus heals on the Sabbath at the Temple. This episode in the life of Jesus and this young man born blind highlights something deep in the heart of the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth. For as Jesus says, this man was not born blind because of sin, but rather to reveal the works of God. But what are the works of God? One place we read of them is in Genesis chapters 1–3. God makes the heavens and the earth and he forms man from the dust of the earth. Could it be, that what Jesus is teaching with respect to this man is not simply that God has come to “undo the effects of sin” but perhaps just as much to “bring to completion” his creation. Even the “formation of clay” from his own saliva suggests such a connection with God’s making of man from the same “clay”. Could it be that Christ came to bring all creation to its perfection—its completion, namely, the full revelation of the One God: Father, Son and Spirit? And that one of the steps along this journey is the fashioning of our eyes to see. Perhaps we have all been born blind… not just because we are sinners, but also, and perhaps more truly, simply to reveal the works of God?
The Fifth Sunday in Lent - March 26th, 2023
“Out of the depths have I called to you O Lord!” — Psalm 130:1
There are many depths out of which humanity calls to the Lord. Perhaps the Psalmist knew something of the Depth’s seemingly infinite number of nooks and crannies one can find themselves caught in—which lead to the use of the plural depths? However many there might be, no one really knows given the lack of light down there… but the Psalmist captures the soul’s plight—waiting, hoping, longing, fearful that no answer will come. We know these depths ourselves: their varied and cavernous darknesses. We are invited this Sunday through the assigned texts to see our own depths in the nation of Israel’s failed hope, the Psalmist attempts at patient waiting, and the suffering sisters calling Jesus for help, and, in each, we are encouraged to see not just the voices coming out of the depths, but also the Voice calling into the depths.
Palm Sunday - April 2nd, 2023
“Christ is the King, but His Kingdom is not of this world: and in the world He manifests His Kingdom by the meekness and obedience of crucified love. The cross is His instrument, and the crucifixion is His victory. He is the Lord of creation, the Creator and Provider, the Miracle Worker and the Resurrector. He is the King of kings, but He still seeks yet another kingdom in creation—the kingdom not of omnipotence, but of love; not of power, but of sacrifice; not of subjugation, but of persuasion: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. (Zech 4:6).
And the sign of His victory is the cross—the scepter of the suffering God, beneath which all are called…” — Sergius Bulgakov
We will be celebrating the Lord’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem this Sunday. This marks the beginning of what we call in our tradition, Holy Week. Christ desired to reveal himself as King (something he had avoided over and over in the years leading up to this) before he goes to his cross. This was to ensure, after his Resurrection, that his followers would see the cross, not as an unfortunate but necessary step along the way to establishing the Kingdom, but the very manifestation of the Kingdom itself—the Kingdom of Life.
The Second Sunday of Easter - April 16th, 2023
“Then he says to Thomas, ‘Bring your finger here and look at my hands, and bring your hand and put it in my side,
and cease to be faithless, but be faithful instead.’ ” — Jesus of Nazareth
“Peace, doubting heart! my God’s I am…” — Charles Wesley
This Sunday, we will be joining Thomas and the other disciples as they see the risen Christ just days after his crucifixion. The story as told by John shows Thomas absent on Jesus’ first visit and therefore doubting the claim of his fellow friends. This story has been “recorded so that you might have faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that in having faith you might have life in his name.” We read a story about a disciple’s struggle to believe so that we might believe! The grace and condescension of God meets us in our own doubt and disbelief by allowing us to see Thomas’. Though doubt may be necessary and needed at times, it is not the final destination—it may be a way station, but it isn’t where the train stops! So whether you identify and sympathize with Thomas’ doubt or you are like others who apparently didn’t share Thomas’ disbelief, we all share in the confession—“My Lord and My God!”
The Third Sunday of Easter - April 23rd, 2023
God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and for ever. Amen.
These are the words of the Collect for this Sunday: “…that we may behold him in all his redeeming work…” We will open our worship this coming Sunday with a request to open the “eyes of our hearts to see” the Son of God in all his redeeming work. Why do we pray this prayer? Why do we ask to be enabled to see God’s work of redemption in all the places and people it is happening? And what does this mean and perhaps require of us if the prayer is answered? What if you are enabled to “behold” God’s work of redemption in your neighbor? Your friend? Your enemy? What if you are enabled to see it in yourself? Based on our text in Luke 24, beholding Jesus can be a tricky thing. Based on my years as a Christian, when people get this wrong or fail to “behold” the Son of God in all his redeeming work, the goodness of the good news begins to become faint. After all, is there anywhere where God’s work of redemption is not happening? How vast might our vision become?
The Sixth Sunday of Easter - May 14th, 2023
Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things,
may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire… - Collect of the Week
These words are found in our Collect for this Sunday. What could they mean? The fulfillment of the promises of God exceed all our desire!!?? It’s not often that Christianity is presented or thought of as a religion that fulfills our desires. For many of us, it might have seemed the opposite—Christianity calls us away from our desires, commands us to deny them or crucify them even! What I hope to do this Sunday with the help from the words of Jesus himself, is to defend the claim of the Collect which I take to be nothing less than that Christianity is a religion (or better a Way) to the participation in a Desire that not only purifies our desires of their selfish consumptive qualities, but opens them to their eternal capacities in God. In short, the Collect claims that when God fulfills his promises they are in perfect congruence with our deepest and most profound longings and desires.
The Seventh Sunday of Easter - May 21st, 2023
“Why do you stand looking up towards heaven?” These words were spoken to the disciples by the two angels immediately after Christ was taken in glory at what we call the Ascension—the feast we celebrated on Thursday. Why did the angels say this? Because the disciples continued to “gaze” into heaven—frozen.But isn’t this a good thing? Aren’t we supposed to “seek those things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God”? Why would the angels seek to turn their gaze from heaven back to earth? What could this mean?
The Day of Pentecost - May 28th, 2023
“The Logos took flesh so that we might receive his Spirit.” — Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, Egypt
This Sunday, we will be celebrating the Feast of Pentecost—the Gift or Coming of the Holy Spirit. What is this all about? Why are the Eucharistic vessels and the priests vested in red? What is the deal with speaking in tongues? What is the Spirit for? The quote above from the 4th-century bishop highlights what is at the heart of the Gift. The Son took what we were unable to heal (our flesh, our nature) and donated his Spirit to it, so that we might Live—and, by living, Jesus means, knowing the Father—this is eternal life, that they might know You! To Live is to realize that Life itself is Gift not Reward and to begin to live in the freedom of its truth, a freedom for love and humble service of our neighbors. This is what Pentecost made possible again—Life with God and one another in righteousness, peace and the joy of the Holy Spirit.
Saint Barnabas the Apostle - June 11th, 2023
“I want you to deal with your problems by becoming rich.” — Jordan Belfort, The Wolf of Wall Street
“See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” — Jesus of Nazareth. This Sunday, we will be celebrating the feast of St. Barnabas, the early disciple who brought Paul into the community at Antioch—where they were first called Christians. Barnabas was known for his generosity and kindness to the poor. He was sent as a sheep among the wolves and maintained his sheep-y ways through it all! And so, we honor his serpentine wisdom and dove-like gentleness as an example for our own lives.
The Seventh Sunday After Pentecost - July 16th, 2023
“…and he told them many things in parables…” — Matthew 13:3
What is a parable? Why did Jesus teach with parables? Does the method of his teaching tell us anything about the message he preached? For the next few weeks, we will be considering some of the teaching of Jesus recorded in Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 13, in parabolic form. As we prepare ourselves to be hearers of the Word, I wanted to share a helpful quote from NT scholar John Dominic Crossan on the nature of the parable: “Parables give God room. The parables of Jesus are not historical allegories telling us how God acts with mankind; neither are they moral example stories telling us how to act before God and towards one another. They are stories which shatter the deep structure of our accepted world and thereby render clear and evident to us the relativity of story itself. They remove our defenses and make us vulnerable to God. It is only in such experiences that God can touch us, and only in such moments does the kingdom of God arrive.” — taken from The Dark Interval: Towards a Theology of Story pages 99–100
The Eighth Sunday After Pentecost - July 23rd, 2023
“Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” — The disciples’ request of Jesus
Explanations! We want explanations! Tell us what this means!! Make it all visible so I can understand! This is what the disciples wanted after hearing Jesus’ parable about the weeds in the field. This Sunday, I would like for us to take a look at this parable together, listen again to Jesus’ “explanation” and see if we might hear something “like the kingdom of heaven” in his words.
The Ninth Sunday After Pentecost - July 30th, 2023
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field…” — Jesus of Nazareth
“The Spirit helps us in our weakness…” — Saul of Tarsus
I am fascinated with the “hiddenness” of the kingdom—especially in the language and teaching of Jesus. He interprets the kingdom of God as present—at hand… among you… within you!! And, yet, over and over, his parables and life point to its hiddenness. The kingdom of heaven is like yeast in dough or a treasure in a field or a Pearl hidden among other pearls. One of the ways in which this hiddenness of the kingdom shows itself is through our weakness. It’s not that the strength of the kingdom shines so as to eclipse our weakness but that, while in our weakness, God’s Spirit helps us. The help comes while we are in our weakness. The kingdom of God—the Creator—the Sustainer—the Consumater—is manifested in and among weakness. What is this mystery?
The Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ - August 6th, 2023
“Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying,
the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white.” — Luke 9:28–29
With shining face and bright array / Christ deigns to manifest today — excerpt from a 15th century hymn
What is illuminated by the Glory of Christ? What is this Light that came into the world meant to show? What was being revealed? This Sunday is the Feast of the Transfiguration so it is fitting to ask such questions. Is the Light itself the object of one’s sight—or that which is illumined by the Light? What are we meant to see in the glory of Christ?
The Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost - August 13th, 2023
Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. - Collect of the Week
If I remove two words from the first part of this coming Sunday’s Collect it would read: “Grant to us, Lord we pray… to think and do always those things that are right…” A prayer to think and do always those things that are right!!! For many of us, this prayer may be standard fare—we pray something like this every day! For others, this prayer may originate from a place of fear—fear of “thinking and doing” wrong! And for some of us this fear has become the very thing we are seeking to escape—not because we want to think and do wrong, but because we don’t want to be motivated by fear anymore. And we don’t like what always wanting to be “right” did to our souls. And yet here we are—awaiting to be ushered into a prayer this coming Sunday that puts in our mouths a request to do and think always those things that are right… How are we to understand the deep-seated to desire to do right, alongside the clear observation (at least, for some of us) that the experience of pursuing “being right” resulted in our own spiritual deformity as well as the harm to those close to us? I hope to explore these questions through the stories of a prophet hiding in a cave, a disciple walking on water and a song about God’s proclamation of Peace!
The Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost - September 10th, 2023
Jesus said, “if another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone.
If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.” — The Gospel of Matthew
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”
The Book of Genesis
In the beginning, Adam was told to till and keep the garden—or, in other words, to serve and protect it. Adam was meant to serve the land rather than it simply serving him—and to protect it so that it may provide “protection” for him—it was a relationship of mutuality. In answering God’s question to Cain about the whereabouts of his brother, Cain draws on this language of keeping or protecting—“Is that my job? To serve and protect my brother?” What light might this well known exchange between God and Cain shine upon our text for this Sunday in Matthew’s Gospel regarding the correction of a fellow member of the church? Are we responsible for one another? Is there something about sin that is irreducibly social—meaning that it is impossible for sin to ever be a private affair with zero social consequences? What is Jesus saying to his disciples when he demands of us a process for addressing sin among those who have taken the Name?
The Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost - September 17th, 2023
“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth
will be loosed in heaven.” — Matthew 18:18
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.” — Ephesians 4:32
We begin this week where we left off last week. Jesus has told his disciples that they have the power to forgive sins as they saw him forgive sins. He commissioned them to this task and it stands at the center of all Christian mission and life. God has reconciled the world in his Christ not counting their sins against them! This is the declaration—the good news! This is also the way of life for the followers of Jesus—to forgive as they have been forgiven—indeed as the world has been forgiven. Peter was quite clear as to what Jesus was saying which is why he responded, “Lord, if my brother or sister sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Peter puts his finger on the offense… the challenge of it all. We are to perpetually seek to forgive those who have sinned against us?? This is the call of the Christian in the world??
The Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost - September 24th, 2023
Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.…they grumbled against the landowner, saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” — Matthew 20:1–16
Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven was like a landowner hiring laborers for his vineyard. It’s like being hired to work in a field. Jesus goes on to narrate what happens at the end of the day when the landowner pays the laborers their wage. And the laborers who worked harder and longer got the same as those who did a fraction of the work. So, understandably, the laborers who had worked all day were frustrated—Jesus says that they grumbled against the landowner. Wait??!! There’s grumbling in the kingdom?? The greatest threat to the global economic system, to our national economy, to your household economy is not China or the war in the Ukraine or American imperialism or corporate greed or whether the unions or the bosses get the best of the negotiations—but rather is the generosity of God. “Are you envious because I am generous?” The generosity of God calls into question our standards of fairness and justice especially when it comes to the necessities of life: food, shelter, clothing, and honest labor. On what basis ought we to relate to one another if it is not by merit—by what we think the other deserves? What happens when we begin to compare ourselves with others? There is freedom in the generosity of God—but only for those who refuse to judge God for his generosity shown to others—which is why Jonah is our OT text this week.
The Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost - October 1st, 2023
“O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity…” — Collect of the Week
“The way of the LORD is unfair!” — Ezekiel 18:25
Last Sunday, we considered the landowner who paid those who worked for an hour the same as those who worked all day. Jesus said this was what the kingdom of heaven is like. In his parable, those who worked all day were obviously upset at this seeming injustice… “The way of the Landowner is unfair!” This Sunday, we are still considering something similar—namely, the perceptions of God’s people being challenged precisely by God’s mercy and pity shown to others. We are confronted again with the challenge that the kingdom makes to those who claim to be its children—a challenge that seems to call into question God’s justice. In our text for this Sunday, Jesus says something like: “Your mercy and pity are too narrow! Why are you threatened by God’s generosity of grace and compassion? What will you do when the thieves in governmental office (tax collectors) and sex workers (prostitutes) enter the kingdom before you, who consider yourselves God’s people? And therefore the question posed to them is also posed to us—Is this unfair? Or is this a demonstration of God’s almighty power and therefore something to be exemplified in those who follow Jesus?