Readings: Isaiah 55:6-9 | Philippians 1:12-14, 19-30 | Matthew 20:1-16
Text: Matthew 20:1-16
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The text is the Gospel which we just heard.
Our Old Testament lesson often comes to mind as a reminder of the power of God’s Word. But it’s especially noticeable when you read the verses that come before it, which were in this morning’s Old Testament lesson:
6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
7 let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have
compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
This is the content of what comes down from heaven and gives growth to what is on the earth.
So, it’s true that the Lord’s thoughts are not our thoughts. In fact, we’re in danger if we ever find that God agrees with us too much. Because if God agrees with how we would run things, then it’s likely we have a golden calf situation and we’re just calling it the Lord. But you can see in today’s readings how starkly in contrast His ways are to our ways.
- The Workers in the Vineyard
If the events of the parable of the workers in the vineyard were to happen in the world today, the workers would have unionized and caused massive disruptions in the name of fair wages. It would have been rightly seen as deceitful to offer these latecomers a bargain.
But Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like…” And when He says that, He’s making an announcement that this message that He’s going to give describes His work toward us. The parable describes the foreman that every manager would love and every day laborer would despise. Just last week, we heard of a rich man who had lent out a ludicrous amount of money to his servant. These parables can’t be immediately compared to the world because they’re talking about the kingdom of heaven.
What we’re hearing is that the amount of labor is not what leads to the reward or the wage, just as an inheritance, which is so often used to describe the Gospel, is not funded by your labor but that of the generation before you.
So the kingdom of heaven, better known as the Church, is a fellowship of souls on earth who vary very much. And their position, or their ability, or how long they’ve held it—things like that—are off the table for consideration.
- The Greatest of the Least
So I’d like to consider this 11th-hour addition to the workers in the vineyard as the greatest of the least. What made this guy who showed up at 5 p.m. and worked until 6pm?
It evokes this picture of great riches being showered on someone who doesn’t deserve it and might even misuse it. It’s this picture that is given so often in the Gospels and in the New Testament of riches being given to criminals. The everlasting riches of forgiveness of sins and eternal life are granted without one ounce of merit on our part.
And yet these very unworthy people in the kingdom of heaven are not immediately transported to bliss. We heard this line in the Epistle reading:
“For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake.”
We do still live in God’s world with all of its needs. But we’re also, because of His work, a renewed people—a renewed people whom the Master has sent to work. Each one of us, according to our appointed position in life, is given a place to work. Whether that place is small or great, whether it’s flourishing or seems to be on its last legs, it doesn’t matter, because it is the Master, our God, who benefits, and the recipients of His Gospel that benefit eternally.
- The Vineyard as a Picture of the Church
So think about this vineyard that is pictured in the parable as a picture of the Church. Some areas in the vineyard are tougher than others. Some we might think is just an easy day’s work.
Sometimes we envy and despise one another, but we must not let our carnal minds spoil the noble work of God. He knows how to appoint people to share His Word, whether or not it meets our measurements of what’s going to work. Sometimes those measurements look like having a congregation within driving distance, or our ideas of a ministry that really meets the needs of the people.
This picture of the Church is that it is God’s work, and He puts His Church in it to do that work.
- Why Christians Give Offerings
Yet the earthly needs still do need to be met, and Christians know this best of all, because if we valued the gifts of the Church according to their eternal wealth, we wouldn’t hesitate to provide for the earthly costs of this Word going out. And this is precisely why Christians give their offerings.
The model of this was actually given even before the Law by Abraham and Jacob, who dedicated a tenth of their goods—a tithe—to the Lord. And it’s given not in some way to appease God. It’s not given to buy forgiveness, but it’s given for the benefit of our neighbor.
In a congregation, it looks like supporting a pastor or having the upkeep of this property. It also looks like the support of the wider support of the Northwest District and Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, or other ministries that come along, like Issues, Etc.
But lest we compare our congregation or compare ourselves to more of the visible works of giving to the needy, we need to remember that our neighbors need the Gospel most of all. Because yes, we do have earthly needs. Yes, food banks and dental clinics and all sorts of things meet temporal needs.
But the thing that every soul needs is the preaching of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
- The Gospel Takes Many Forms
And that takes many visible forms. It comes in the form of one friend sharing with another, teaching in Bible class, or an offhand question by a bystander. It also takes the form of having a congregation with an address, a congregation that has a pastor and a growing community such as Lebanon.
The people who find themselves in this position, knowing this Gospel, we actually have a wealth that the world could never understand. And we are able to share that wealth with our neighbors, which makes every other temporal need pale in comparison.
- Our Gifts and the Work of the Church
This time of year, the church council is tasked with figuring out the budget for the upcoming year. And it’s probably no accident that the date for this voters’ meeting is in the same month as Thanksgiving. Today, a few of you will be asked to help, or there will be an opportunity at the end of the service to know that you can help with the budget committee. And there may be an instant cringe reaction because it involves money, and whatever reasons you might have.
It is the behind-the-scenes business of what enables this to happen. You have been given gifts, and I don’t just mean financial, but we also realize that God is the one who has given these gifts. And we offer them in service the best way that we’re able to, in prayer.
So each one of us has a different part of the vineyard that we’re tasked with. Some of us aren’t of hardly any means, and so we give of our devoted service, like taking care of the grounds or cleaning the church. Or we give a portion of what little we have to live on.
Some of us are bestowed with skills and love, and it’s a good thing to share. So if we have things that we can share for the good of our congregation, then feel free to do so.
- The Scope of the Field
There’s another parable that tells us about the scope of the field. With His vineyard analogy, you might wonder, “Well, what does that look like?” Well, in Matthew 13, Jesus talks about the wheat and the weeds, and He talks about the field being the world. But we can’t reach the world. We can reach where we are. We can reach where God has placed us.
First, as a wonderful place to worship, to learn, to direct our friends and neighbors. And in that field, the field that we know is Bethlehem Lutheran Church, there is fruit being born by the Gospel.
Notice the new faces who have come. Each Sunday varies a little bit, but notice that it is the Gospel that is bearing this fruit. It’s not a bait-and-switch method. It’s not, “Oh, you know, we can be flashier than the next church down the street.”
No, it’s the clear proclamation of God’s Word, of calling people of all different backgrounds and means to the one true faith. And the Word that we are hearing and delighting in, the Word that has been given, that is proclaimed in this place.
Even though the earthly costs may be high, and elevators have trouble, and buildings have roofs that leak, and pastors have salaries, and all of those things, notice the eternal riches that God does through His Word.
- The Eternal Riches of God’s Word
So think of our congregation as one part of this vineyard, this part that God has given us to work. And in this vineyard, our focus isn’t on money, despite that being a hot button in a time of inflation and all sorts of woes of temporal nature. But the focus is instead on what the Lord said in the Old Testament lesson. And let’s look back at that in our bulletins. I’m going to read it again.
“Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake His way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
These are the eternal riches that God bestows on you and me, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Now the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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