(The audio recording is not available)
I’m delighted that Anne Wolger will be preaching this Sunday. Anne is the founding director of Matthew House (https://www.matthewhouse.ca), a ministry that seeks to restore dignity to refugees by providing shelter and support in a welcoming home like setting. For more than 30 years Anne has been God’s representative to those coming to our country for the first time. She has provided a faithful, living demonstration of Christ’s love and grace to those in need.
Her text is Matthew 20:1-16, the parable of the workers in the vineyard. If you are reading it for the first time it can be very disturbing. Jesus tells the story of a landowner who hires workers for his vineyard at various times of the day, right down to the last hour. That’s not the disturbing part. The disturbing part is that he pays each of the workers the exact same amount – those who worked only an hour receive as much as those who work all day. And Jesus says this is what the kingdom of heaven is like. (20:1) It doesn’t seem fair does it?
But this has become one of my favourite parables because it demonstrates the nature of God’s grace. It is wonderfully generous. Think of those who were hired at the last hour of the day. They are expecting to get an hour’s wage. But instead when they open up their pay they discover that in his grace they have received a full day’s wage! That’s the nature of God’s grace, it’s that generous.
Our trouble is that when we read this parable and we identify ourselves with those who were hired first. We’re the good ones, we’re the hard workers. But really to understand the wonder if it, to grasp the utter generousity of God’s grace, you have to picture yourself as the one hired at the end of the day. I mean, really, what do you have to offer to God that he would give his one and only son to die on the cross for you? You think your little bit of goodness would merit him dying for you? No! It was all an act of grace. We’ve all been hired at the 11th hour!
And if you see yourself there, it makes all the difference. Then we discover that have received more of God’s favour than we ever deserved! We are like beggars who come to the back door of the restaurant looking for a few crumbs from the kitchen but instead we are ushered into the restaurant, given the finest seat near the window, with a linen table cloth and the finest meal the chef can prepare.
We come to God looking for forgiveness and he gives it to us through faith – but then he adds, “Here is hope also, and peace, love, acceptance, joy, supernatural strength, and the reality of my presence in your life.”
Put yourself with the workers who have been hired at the last hour – because that’s where you are – and you are made to realize that God’s grace is wonderfully generous.
In thanksgiving for you, Pastor Tom.