Good News: God Isn't Fair!

[Below, you can find live stream video of both of yesterday's worship services with the people and friends of Living Water Lutheran Church in Centerville, Ohio. Also below is the prepared text of the message shared during the services. God bless your week with faith in Christ and the certainty of Christ's presence with you now and of the eternal life with God He has secured for you through His death and resurrection.]

Matthew 20:1-16

In one of his sermons on today’s gospel lesson, Matthew 20:1-1-16, Martin Luther said, “This [lesson] is intricate, and very difficult for the young and the simple…”

But it’s not just the young in faith or the simple in thought who find the parable that Jesus tells us today difficult. In fact, I doubt that Jesus ever said anything more offensive to good church-going folks than what He says to us today.

Let’s set the scene.

Just before this parable in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus tells a rich man confident of his place in the kingdom of God that, because he relies on his wealth and his good works for salvation, he must sell all that he has, give the proceeds to the poor, and follow Him. The rich man walks away sad, knowing that he will be damned in eternity because of his unwillingness to let go of his favorite god. money, and his favorite sin, covetousness.

The disciples think, like many people falsely think today, that wealth is a sign of God’s favor. They ask Jesus if a rich person can’t enter God’s kingdom, who can? Jesus tells them that anything is possible with God; anyone who turns from their idols and sins and turns instead to Him for forgiveness and new life can have life with God.

Then Jesus tells them that in the kingdom of God, unlike the kingdoms of this world, “many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” (Matthew 19:30)

Maybe in response to the troubled looks He sees around Him, Jesus then tells today’s parable. You know it well.

At the beginning of the workday, about 6:00 in the morning, a landowner goes out, presumably to the town square, and agrees to pay a group of men a denarius, the going rate for a day on the job, to work in his vineyard. This is the only time in the parable when Jesus mentions the landowner making any agreement on the rate of pay.

There’s apparently a lot of work to do because, Jesus says, the man goes out at 9:00 AM, at noon, at 3:00 PM, and, finally, at 5:00 PM, the final hour of the work day, promising only that he will pay “whatever is right,” (Matthew 20:4) literally, whatever is just, correct, or righteous, to the late-hires.

At 6:00 PM, when the workday is over, the owner has the foreman call the last men hired, the ones who have worked an hour or less, to receive their pay. They’re given a denarius.

The anticipation undoubtedly must be rising among the first-hired. If the latecomers are getting a denarius from the pleased landowner, how much more might they be able to expect?

But anticipation turns to anger as all the workers hired at different times of the day are given the exact same pay, a single denarius.

“These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ [the first-hires in Jesus’ story say], “and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.” (Matthew 20:12) But the landowner says: “Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?” (Matthew 20:13-15)

At my first parish, a man approached me after worship when I preached on this text and told me, “I’ve always hated that parable.” “It isn’t fair,” he went on, “Is Jesus saying that someone who’s led a sinful life and shows up at church in their old age, all repentant and confessing faith in Jesus, is going to get the same reward as me? I’ve always believed. I’ve always given offerings. I’ve always helped when the church needed help.”

I was a young pastor and a bit afraid of offending this man I loved. But I silently prayed, then told him, “Yes, that’s exactly what Jesus is saying. In His Kingdom, all believers are equal.”

You see, friends, the old sinner who repents and trusts that Jesus died and rose for them is equal to all of you in the kingdom of God, no matter how long you’ve believed or how many good things you’ve done.

So, is the newly baptized baby.

So is the believer who has never been able to put much in the offering plate.

So is the believer who’s disabled.

The reason for this is simple: The God we know in Jesus Christ is NOT fair. Instead, He is righteous. In His kingdom, God doesn’t do the fair thing; He does the right thing, the good thing, the loving thing, the compassionate thing.

He gives the reward of eternal life not on the bases of what we do or how long we’ve been doing it, but on the bases of the grace He bears for all who, by the power of the Gospel Word about the crucified and risen Jesus, daily turn from sin and death and instead, turn in trust to Jesus for forgiveness and new and everlasting life.

Jesus tells us this parable in order to show us the difference between life in “the kingdoms” of this world–be it, the organizational structure of a congregation, a place of work, or a government–and life in His kingdom.

As long as we live in this world, there will be inequalities. It doesn’t matter whether as a people, we adopt the motto, “All people are created equal.” The simple fact of the matter is that in this fallen world, there are and will always be inequalities.”

Some people will be wealthier than others, some more powerful than others, some smarter than others, and some, even, more spiritually gifted than others.

But, as Luther points out, “...in the kingdom of Christ it is otherwise; there is no distinction there among believers; they are all alike, whether they be kings, princes, governors, masters or servants. All have the same Baptism, Gospel, Faith, Sacrament, the same Christ and God. They all attend divine worship in perfect equality; the servant, the mechanic and the peasant hear the same Word as the mightiest lord. The Baptism [by which] I was baptized belongs to every other child, whether rich or poor. Magdalene and the [thief] on the cross have the same faith which St. Peter and St. Paul had; yea, the [same] faith which you or I have, if we are Christians. All sinners, if converted, have the same God and Christ whom John the Baptist had. There is no difference here, though one may by far excel the other in his station in life, in his calling, or in his talents.”

If you and I are intent on nudging our ways past others in the kingdom of God, we will be disappointed. God does not bless and life with God does not come, to those with sharp elbows and unrepentant hearts, only to those who are like the repentant tax collector in another of Jesus’ parables. Jesus says the repentant man “stood a distance” from the altar of the temple out of trembling fear of God’s goodness and holiness, and “beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner..” (Luke 18:13)

There is good news, friends! God has had mercy on us sinners.

“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

And whoever and whatever sinner who heeds His invitation to life in His eternal vineyard–all who repent and believe in Him–will, on the last day, after Jesus has returned to the earth and raised the dead, receive the same reward: life with God that never ends!

And, in the meantime, just like Saint Paul, writing to the Philippian Christians, from a prison cell, his crime being his faith in Jesus and his proclamation of the forgiveness of sins and new and everlasting for all who repent and believe in Jesus, we know that God is with us even now.

It’s hard to understand God.

Hard to understand why He loves us, why He hasn’t given up on us, why He forgives us no matter how many times we come back to Him in repentant faith.

But thank God that He is Who He is.

God is not fair; He’s only right and righteous and good.

Because the God you know in Jesus is good, you can also live each day knowing that “it is by [His] grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

No one can boast, no matter how hard or how long God allows us to work in His vineyard on this earth.

But all who turn to Jesus can rejoice, for the grace He gives us freely in Jesus.

No matter our circumstances in this life.

No matter our position.

Friends, each day, you can claim the inheritance of your baptism and trust Jesus to be with you now AND to give you your eternal reward.

Amen

Our Good Samaritan

[Below you'll find video of the live stream presentations of both the 8:45 AM traditional and 11:00 AM modern worship services of Living Water Lutheran Church, Centerville, Ohio, from earlier today. There were some audio issues during at the beginning of the early service, meaning that you may have to turn up the volume to hear it well. You'll also find the text prepared for the message. Have a good week!]





Luke 10:25-37

Near evening on the first Easter Sunday, you’ll recall, two disciples of Jesus headed for a village called Emmaus. They were saddened by Jesus’ crucifixion and baffled by claims from some of Jesus’ female disciples that Jesus was risen. The two disciples encounter a stranger. This stranger, it turns out, is the risen Jesus. Before revealing Himself, Jesus chastises the disciples for not believing that their Lord, once crucified, was now resurrected. Then we’re told: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, [Jesus] explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27)

Jesus teaches that the whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is about Him. One pastor has said that the Old Testament is about anticipation of Jesus; the Gospels are about the manifestation of Jesus; the book of Acts is the proclamation of Jesus; the letters of the New Testament give us the explanation of Jesus; and Revelation gives us the consummation of life in Jesus’ kingdom.

There are two main ways in which the Bible points us to Jesus. In the Law, we’re confronted by the will of God for human beings to which none of us measures up. In the Gospel–or God’s grace given in Jesus–by which Jesus, through His death, pays the price for our sin, and then rises to open eternity to all who believe in Him. The Law then shows us our need of Jesus, simply because we’re incapable of keeping God’s holy Law, and the Gospel gives us Jesus because Jesus has kept God’s Law perfectly for us. The Gospel assures us that, “...it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

So, what to make of today’s Gospel lesson, Luke 10:25-37? In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus tells the story of a man, presumably a Jew who is beaten and robbed by thieves on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Two Jews come upon the wounded man: a Levite–the Levites were charged with taking care of the temple in Jerusalem, and a priest–the priests were in charge of offering sacrifices at the temple. Even though God’s Law commands love for neighbor, both of the men walk away from their wounded countryman. But a foreigner, a Samaritan, happens upon the man, and takes extraordinary measures to save his life and provide for his recovery. At the conclusion of His parable, Jesus says, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:37)

On the face of it, Jesus seems to be saying, “Love your neighbor and you’ll have everlasting life.” We might think that because remember, Jesus told this parable in response to man who asked Him, “[W]hat must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25)

But if we can be saved by obeying God’s Law of love, by doing good deeds like the Samaritan did, then why did Jesus have to die on a cross for us? Is Jesus rescinding John 3:16? Or is He saying that we don’t need to take up our crosses and follow Him? (Luke 9:23) Is Jesus saying that the Law can save us?

We know none of that is true. So, let’s put our thinking caps on to understand what’s going on in our Gospel lesson. “Let Scripture interpret Scripture” is an important principle for understanding God’s Word. To understand a particular place in the Bible, it’s important to remember what the whole of the Bible tells us. The Bible, taken as a whole, presents us with coherent picture of God and the way to eternal life with God.

So, consider several truths gleaned from the rest of Scripture. First, consider who Jesus was responding to in our lesson. At the beginning, we’re told that an expert in God’s Law stood up to test Jesus. This man knew about every Law of God as given in the Old Testament, including the Ten Commandments, the Holiness Code–part of which makes up our first lesson today, and all the civic and ritual laws in the Bible. He presumably would have also known the 600+ additional laws recognized by the Jewish Pharisees. Believing that a human being could be saved from sin and death by obedience to the Law, the man asks Jesus what laws he needs to keep to have eternal life. (And by asking who his neighbor is, he wants Jesus to tell him who he can hate or ignore.)

The man clearly doesn’t believe that Jesus is the Savior of the world. He believed, like many do and all of us secretly want to believe, that he could save himself by being a good person. Jesus always told unbelievers like this man, parables, explaining, “This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’” (Matthew 13:13) Jesus told parables in order to get unbelievers, not yet ready to follow Him, to perceive their need of Him and the salvation only He can bring. Honesty should have compelled the man to say, “If self-sacrificing love like that, the kind of love that looks out for people I hate or of whom I’m suspicious, is what I have to do to be saved, how can I possibly be saved?” The man wasn’t ready to admit, “I am in bondage to sin and cannot free myself.” The Law in Jesus’ parable should have caused the the expert in the Law to cry out to Jesus, “[H]ave mercy on me, a sinner.” (Luke 18:13) Instead, a man of doing, of action, apparently satisfied that he’s done enough good to earn eternal life, says nothing when Jesus tells Him, “Go and do likewise.”

The second thing to consider to understand Jesus’ parable is what comes next in Luke’s gospel. In Luke 10:38-42, we meet another person who thinks that good works and being a good person will gain them eternal life, Jesus’ friend Martha. You know the incident well. Jesus has come to the home of sisters Martha and Mary and their brother Lazarus. Jesus is teaching. Mary sits and listens to Jesus as He shares His Word of life. Martha though, is like the expert in the Law, a doer busy serving. Resentful, she asks Jesus to tell Mary to get busy too. But Jesus tells her, “Martha, Martha,...you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42) Jesus is telling Martha, a believer, directly, what He told the law expert indirectly through the parable of the Good Samaritan: You could never do enough good or be a good enough person to merit eternal life with God. But those who turn to Jesus and receive Him and His Word of love and forgiveness with faith, will be given the gift of eternity with God.

All of this helps us to see Jesus’ parable in a different light. Yes, we’re called to be good neighbors, but not to earn eternal life. That comes to us as pure gift. You don’t deserve a gift. It springs entirely from the undeserved love the giver bears for us. You, friends–you and I–are the man left for dead by the side of the road in Jesus’ parable. The devil, the world, and our sinful selves constantly accost us and tempt us, luring us to death and away from God. We sin, violating God’s Law, even when we resolve to love Him completely and love others as we love ourselves. This past week, I posted on Twitter, “My name is Mark and I’m a recovering sin addict.” A  follower replied, “It’s been 17 seconds since my last sin…” To which another responded, “17 seconds? You’re GOOD!” We are, as Saint Paul puts it, so “dead in our trespasses” that we would have no hope for life with God were it not for our Good Samaritan. This good Samaritan, Jesus, comes to us, heals the wounds caused by the sin within and around us, scoops us up, and freely carries us into the eternal arms of God, kept in God’s grace today despite our sins and faults: forgiven, saved, freed from sin and death. But even more than that, like the good Samaritan of Jesus’ parable who promises to return for the wounded man, Jesus promises ti return for us. Right now, He says, He’s preparing an eternal place with God for His people: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:3)

Jesus does what you and I cannot do for ourselves. He obeys God’s law of perfect love for God and for neighbor. Then, He takes all our sin into Himself so that He can give all His righteousness–everything that could fit a person for eternity with God–to us. As we turn to Jesus in our desperate helplessness and trust, He gives us an eternity with God we could never earn. Friends, Jesus is your Good Samaritan and He loves you into everlasting life with God. Trust in Him. Amen

When Bad Things Happen

[This message was shared with the people and friends of Living Water Lutheran Church in Centerville, Ohio, during worship on Sunday, March 24, 2019.]

Luke 13:1-9

Why do bad things happen to people? 

We ask this question, in many different ways. The main reason we ask it, it seems, is because we want the world to make sense. 

Often though, it just doesn’t. 

Marriages end. 

Spouses and children die. 

Tragedies occur. 

And we wonder why.

This question seems to be on the minds of people who approach Jesus in today’s gospel lesson, Luke 13:1-9. Let’s look at it together. 

Verse 1: “Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.”  

Apparently, pious, believing people from Galilee, the region where Jesus grew up, had been offering sacrifices to God at the temple when Pilate set Roman soldiers on them, murdering them and, showing added disrespect to the Jews, polluting their sacrifices by mingling the blood of the worshipers with them. 

We have no record outside of the New Testament of this particular incident. But we do have independent records of Pilate doing equally awful things. Pilate was a well-documented thug.

The unspoken question of Jesus’ interlocutors here, of course, is, “Why?” 

Now, it’s possible as you read their words to Jesus to think that they wondered how an omnipotent and loving God could allow worshipers to be killed in the Lord’s house. But, it’s apparent from Jesus’ reply to them that He reads their question differently. He sees that they already had their own explanation for what happened to the murdered Galileans and were there just to get Jesus to agree with them. 

He doesn’t

Verse 2: “Jesus answered, ‘Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.’”

The unspoken assumption of the people who approach Jesus is that, somehow, the Galileans murdered in the temple deserved to die. And mentioning what must have been another bit of recent news, Jesus says that eighteen people who had been killed by the collapse of a tower built into Jerusalem’s city walls didn't deserve their tragic deaths either.

As we read this passage, we may be horrified by the suggestion that the victims of these tragedies and the family members who mourned for them deserved these horrors. 

But don’t we hear people say similar things in the face of tragedy that befalls people today? 

Don't we, sometimes, looking for a rational explanation of irrational events, say such things ourselves?

When Alabama was hit with flooding recently, some claimed that it was God’s punishment for voting for Trump in 2016.

Back when much of California was ablaze with fires, some people on Twitter claimed it was  God’s punishment for filthy movies that came from California.

Ideas like these appeal to human ego because they say that if we’re doing the right things in life, nothing bad will touch us and that if bad things like these happen to other people, it must mean that they’re not good people like us, not right with God like us.

But, as disciples of Jesus, we know that we are, every single one of us, and that, at best, Christians can only claim to be sinners saved from sin and death not by how good we are, because we could never be good enough to be counted righteous, but only because of what God has done for us through the crucified and risen Jesus and through the faith in Jesus that has been set in us, not through our effort, but by the Holy Spirit. 

In Jesus, true God and true man, we have a Savior Who endured poverty, pain, and death even though He was sinless and deserved none of the bad that happened to Him. Do we want to say that Jesus deserved the horrors that befell Him? 

I hope not! On the cross, Jesus got what we deserved and what we deserve! 

As God’s Word teaches, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).” God doesn’t give human beings the punishment we all deserve, but eternal punishment comes to those who choose to follow sin rather than Christ.

Bad things happen in this world simply because we live in a fallen, imperfect creation that is haywire with sin and death. 

Jesus says that God the Father “causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45).” God isn’t out to get anyone. 

And Jesus tells those who follow Him, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33).”  God loves us and He makes all baptized believers in Jesus part of His new and eternal creation, but as long as we live in this old creation, every one of us is subject to its difficulty, pain, and death. 

Thugs will order soldiers to kill worshipers. 

Towers will fall on people standing in the wrong place. 

Wildfires will rage in wooded areas. 

Floods will come to coastlands and river valleys. 

There may be things we can (and should) do to prevent some tragedies, but the possibility of tragedy is baked into the cake of a creation groaning under the weight of sin and death.

And so, the first question we need to ask in the face of the tragedies that befall others or could befall us at any moment in our lives isn’t why. It’s what am I going to do about it? What will we do once we come to terms with the reality of our mortality and susceptibility to tragedy? 

Jesus has already told us how we should respond to that question twice in our lesson. He says, “unless you repent, you too will all perish” and, again, “unless you repent, you too will all perish.” 

In other words, don’t make judgments about others that make you feel superior; focus instead on daily seeking the forgiveness and new life that God offers us through Jesus. 

Daily repent: turn each day away from sin and turn each day to Jesus. 

We might take as our model the man in Jesus’ parable who prays, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner (Luke 18:13)!” God will renew us in His charitable, forgiving love, when we offer up prayers like that. 

In Psalm 51 in which David confesses his sins to God, he also confesses his faith in God’s receptivity to the repentant: “...a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise (Psalm 51:17).”

In our gospel lesson, Jesus underscores His call for us to daily repent, to turn to Him and live with God as part of His renewed people, in a parable. Verse 6: ““A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

Here, Jesus tells the story of a fig tree that deserves to die. A fig tree that doesn’t produce fruit is only taking up space, just as a disciple who knows Jesus, but never repents or seeks to follow Jesus is taking up space. 

So, the owner of the fig tree orders that it be cut down. 

But the caretaker asks that the owner let him spend a year trenching around the fig tree to ensure that it gets plenty of water and putting lots of fertilizer on it, just as God showers us with grace so that we can know Jesus, grow in Jesus, and show Jesus to others. So that we can bear the fruit of a life filled with Jesus. 

God’s intention for us when He claims us in Holy Baptism, feeds us on His Word, gives us Holy Communion, and places us in the fellowship of the Church is clear: As long as we live in this earth, whether a long time or a short time, God means to fill us with and means for us to share with others, the life that only comes to those who trust Jesus Christ! 

Our lives are meant to be displays on which God daily writes the message for all the world to see: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).”

A moment ago, I said that the first question we need to ask in the face of life’s tragedies is not why, but what am I going to do about it? Am I going to turn to Christ and live? 

I think that in the parable, Jesus suggests a second question, the answer to which, when I remember it, sustains me and encourages me with hope in an often hopeless world. It’s this: Why me? Not “why me” as in why is bad stuff happening to me, but “why me” as in why am I still around? Why is God still pouring His grace on me?

When I suffered a heart attack nine years ago, it was the "widow maker": a 100% blockage of the left anterior descending artery that often leads to sudden death in its victims. More than two weeks after the cardiac event, a cardiologist was able to push a stent through the blockage.* Later, during my overnight stay at the hospital, the night duty nurse entered my room. She'd looked at my chart. "You're lucky to be alive," she told me. "God must have plans for you."

I'm convinced that God has plans for you too! That's why you're still drawing breath on this planet.
I can’t explain why tragedies befall some people and not others. I don’t know. 

But I do know this: God keeps us around until further notice because He wants us to let the world know about the new and everlasting life all people can have through faith in Jesus Christ. 

The apostle Peter writes to we Christians in one of his New Testament letters (this translation is from The Message): “...you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference [Christ] made for you (1 Peter 2:9-10, The Message).”

The victims of tragedy in this world don’t need misinformed “Christians” piling on, telling them that their pain is punishment from God. Our call is to share Jesus. Our call is to live for Jesus, Who lived, died, and rose for us and for those who don't yet know Him. 

May God help us to do just that. Amen

[I'm the pastor of Living Water Lutheran Church in Centerville, Ohio.]

*Why this happened two weeks after the heart attack is another story too long to go into here. But the fact that I survived after losing 40% of my heart function and still having 100% blockage in a critical artery is something which both I and my cardiologist regarded as miraculous. And that's not a term I throw around lightly.