Sermon: Grace isn't fair (Sept. 21, 2014)

Pentecost 15A

September 21, 2014

Jonah 3:10-4:11

Matt. 20:1-16

  

Jonah was angry! And I’d say, with good reason. God had told him to go to the great city of Nineveh to call them out on their evil ways, and Jonah didn’t think that sounded like a very fun job. (I wouldn’t either – those folks in Nineveh were not known for their kindness or reception to criticism!) So he went to Tarshish instead, but on the way got thrown overboard and eaten by [what?]… a big fish. So, after three days (sound familiar?) of fishy indigestion, Jonah got the message, so the next time God asked him, Jonah did as he was told. When he thought about it, those Assyrians in Nineveh really did need to be told what-for, so Jonah was willing to be the man to do it. But then what did God go and do? Nothing! God didn’t bring the destruction after all! After all Jonah had

done for God, God didn’t even follow through. Not only that, but those nasty folks over in Nineveh, those Assyrians, really deserved what they had coming to them – they certainly did not deserve God’s mercy, Jonah knew that for sure. And so Jonah was angry that God had been merciful on them – man alive, if those Assyrians were allowed to live, Jonah thought, then he would rather not. *hrumph*

            Oh, Jonah. Of all the characters in the Bible, Jonah is one of the easiest to relate to, even with all his melodramatic angst, because he’s just so human. He is entitled, believing if he is going to do something for God, especially something so risky, he ought to at least see a worthwhile result – and yet instead or getting to sit on a hill and see God give those Assyrians exactly what they deserved, God just teases Jonah with this bush that appears and dies in a day, and defends those jerks over in Nineveh. And that’s really the worst part of all – I imagine Jonah was less concerned about not getting his way, and more frustrated that God would show mercy on a group of people who had destroyed and oppressed the people of Israel. They truly did not deserve grace and mercy from the God of Israel.

And this is a point on which I reluctantly admit that I am very like Jonah, and I bet you are, too. We like to be the judge of who deserves mercy and who does not, don’t we? Whether in the context of hot button issues like capital punishment (“That person deserves to die because he killed an innocent man”) or walking down the street (“That person doesn’t deserve money from me because she isn’t even trying to get work”) or even in the church (“I’ll give the church more of my time when the church proves that it cares about me”), we imagine ourselves to have a pretty good sense of who deserves what and when. And so when God decides not to destroy Nineveh after all, even though they have done so many horrible things, it is as offensive to our sensibilities as it is to Jonah’s.

            That is what makes grace so scandalous! Help me here: what is the definition of grace? … It doesn’t follow the normal rules of entitlement that we know so well – it gives people what they don’t deserve and didn’t earn. This is abundantly clear in Jesus’ parable about the workers in the vineyard.

Workers in the Red Vineyard, Vincent Van Gogh

The workers who have worked all day – in the scorching heat, they’re quick to add – have been paid exactly what they had agreed to. When the generous landowner decides to pay the 11^th hour workers the full day’s wage as well, the all-day workers are not negatively affected in any way. They just find this unconventional business practice to be offensive to their sensibilities. It isn’t fair. It doesn’t follow the normal rules. Those guys don’t deserve to be paid what I was paid, because I worked longer and harder and I am entitled to more pay! Grace, when it is offered to us and brings good in our lives, is very welcome. But when someone else is offered that same grace and we perceive an unfair distribution, even if we are not adversely affected but especially if we are – then grace becomes offensive and difficult to swallow.

            I heard a story about a college professor who was administering a final exam for his class on youth ministry. The class had struggled that year, really having trouble with the concept of grace, both for themselves and for others. When the students arrived to take the test, they had a brief review session – including several items that were on the study guide, but others that the students didn’t remember. The professor explained that these items were in the reading, and the students were responsible for everything in the reading. The students reluctantly agreed. The professor then handed

out the exam face down and told the students to wait until everyone had one. When it came time to turn the test over and begin, the students found that all the answers were filled in! A note on the bottom said, “This is the end of the final exam. All the answers on your test are correct. You will receive an A on the final exam. The reason you passed the test is because the creator of the test took it for you. All the work you did in preparation for this test did not help you get the A. You have just experienced...grace."

Responses to this antic were varied. Many who felt unprepared for the exam were relieved and grateful – like the 11^th hour workers. Others who were prepared were furious – they had spent a lot of time studying, and some people probably didn’t study at all! Why should they both get As? But grace is like that. It is scandalous. It is unfair. It doesn’t follow the rules. And yet, this scandalous grace is God’s expression of love for us.

            This is difficult for us to swallow. The rules of entitlement are deeply ingrained, and so are the rules of capitalism. And they are very logical! Just think of this: if that exam weren’t the last, how many students would study for the next test, knowing that they could just be wasting their time? Or the laborers – who of those laborers are going to get there early the next day, knowing that the owner of the vineyard will pay you the same whether you work one hour or nine? Or Jonah – will he do what God asks him to again, knowing that last time God didn’t even do what He said He would? This sort of logic is how our society functions well. If we instead follow the rules of grace… wouldn’t our whole system fall apart?

            But Jesus does not say, “This is how you should run a vineyard.” He says, “The kingdom of God is like this.” Because we humans are imperfect, we do need some of those rules and systems we have in place. There are laws in society just as there are laws in faith – for example, the 10

Sierra Starr Vineyard, Grass Valley, CA

commandments. We need that guidance, the curb to keep us on the right road. But in the kingdom of God, or when we are living as if we are in the kingdom of God, living the life of a Christian, we understand that it isn’t about fairness. It’s about grace. It’s about love. And it’s not easy. It isn't fair. It doesn’t make sense. For what is easy or faith or sensical about a man hanging on a cross? And yet, this is our defining Christian symbol, a testament to the costliness of the grace that allows us to live lives of love: an innocent man who “took the test” for us, dying in our place, so that we might all be paid the same daily wage of grace.

            And so we are! We all come to this font and have water sprinkled on our brow, hearing those words, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” We all hear the words of absolution after confession, declaring that we are forgiven. We all come forward to this table, regardless of what good or bad we have done during the week, regardless of what terrible thing has happened in our past. We stretch out our hands like the undeserving beggars that we are. We hear those words, “Given for you,” and receive, each of us, the same size piece of bread, the same amount of wine, the same immeasurable forgiveness. That indeed is a scandal, a gift we do not deserve. And yet, that is the way God loves us: not based on our worth or goodness, but based on who God is and what God has done. Thanks be to God for that.

            Let us pray… God, you are gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. We thank you that you love us according to your goodness, and not according to ours. Help us to live lives that reflect your grace to all whom we encounter. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.