Pentecost 18 – 4 October 2020 – Year A

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for today’s meditation is written in the 21^st Chapter of the Gospel according to St Matthew: Verses: 33–46

 

“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. ³⁴ When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. ³⁵ But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶ Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. ³⁷ Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.’ ³⁹ So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰ Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹ They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:

‘The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone; 
this was the Lord’s doing,
    and it is amazing in our eyes’?

⁴³ Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom ⁴⁴ The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

Last week, we heard about an encounter between Jesus and the chief priests and the elders.  It was Holy Week.  On the first day of the week, Jesus rode a donkey from the Mount of Olives to the temple while the Passover pilgrims praised him.  Then he chased the merchants and money-changers out of the temple.  After that, He healed some people.  When Jesus returned to the temple to teach, the chief priests and the elders were waiting for Him. ^{(Matthew 21:23)} “When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Jesus responded with a question of His own, ^{(Matthew 21:25)} “The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” The temple authorities were afraid to answer Jesus’ question and so Jesus declined to answer their question.  This is where last week’s reading came to an end.

However, just because last week’s reading came to an end, that does not mean that Jesus stopped talking to the chief priests and the elders.  Jesus continued to speak with them and about them.  The reading we just heard is just one of the parables that Jesus told while He was in the temple that day.

Keep a few things in the back of your mind as we go through this parable.  Many of the events represented in the parable would happen in less than a week.  In a few days, Judas will betray Jesus.  In less than a week, Jesus will suffer, die on the cross, and rise from the dead.  The chief priests and the elders were already having secret talks about how to destroy Jesus.  Jesus knew that this was coming when He told this story.

Jesus painted a word picture for His listeners.  He said, ^{(Matthew 21:33–34)} “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. ³⁴When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. The setup for this parable is very familiar territory.  No doubt many of the Passover Pilgrims who listened to Jesus had seen vineyards just like the one in this parable.  His listeners would be very familiar with the idea of ‘share farming’ which is renting land for a share of the crops it produced.  There may even have been vineyard owners and workers listening to Jesus when He told the parable

Within the context of this parable, the landowner represented God.  The vineyard represented Israel.  The many details involved in the planting of the vineyard … the fence, the tower, the winepress, and so forth show that God has blessed Israel with all it needs to thrive and grow.  The tenants represent the spiritual leadership of the nation.  In the current circumstances, that would be chief priests and the elders of the people … the same people who asked about Jesus’ authority.  The servants who came to collect the crop would be God’s servants … especially His prophets.  The fruit they expected would be repentance and faith. 

After Jesus setup the backdrop of the parable, He started making His point. ^{(Matthew 21:35)} “The tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.” The tenants turn out to be violent, insane criminals.  There is no sense to what they are doing.  Only the most stupid arrogance would believe it could get away with such a crime. 

This sentence represents the violent history of Israel towards God’s prophets and other servants.  The writer to the Hebrews describes the life of the prophet very well. ^{(Hebrews 11:35–38)} Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. ³⁶Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— ³⁸of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth”. Israel’s history toward the prophets was one of unbelieving rebellion, violence, and torture.

Under these circumstances, the landowner had the right to punish these tenants with death, and that is exactly what the ordinary landowner would do.  However, the landowner in the parable is not ordinary.  ^{(Matthew 21:36)} “Again, he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them”.

Here Jesus illustrated the incredible mercy and grace of God.  Instead of judging Israel and destroying it, God sent more prophets.  This teaching is consistent with the words God gave to Ezekiel.  ^{(Ezekiel 33:11) “}As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?”  God offered life to Israel.  But still, God’s prophets continued to suffer cruel violence.

At this point the landowner in the parable did something insane.  ^{(Matthew 21:37)} “Finally, he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’” Given the history of these tenants, no earthly landowner would do this.  An earthly landowner might send his son at the head of an army with orders to destroy the tenants, but he would never send his son to collect the fruit of the vineyard.

The amazing thing is that Jesus was teaching about Himself at this point in the parable.  He Himself is the Son of God.  He has come just as the prophets came before Him.  The parable is about the person who first told it.

As Jesus continued, the tenants reveal the extent of their insanity.  ^{(Matthew 21:38–39)} “When the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ ³⁹And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him”. Who in their right mind would believe that they could become the heirs to an estate by killing the current heir to the estate?  To the best of my knowledge, there has never been a legal system in the history of the world that would allow such a thing.

Regardless though, this parable is eerily accurate in its detail.  The tenants threw the son out of the vineyard before they killed him.  In a similar manner, Roman soldiers will lead Jesus out of Jerusalem and crucify Him.  The parable illustrates the events that will happen to Jesus by the end of the week.

Jesus closed the parable by asking His hearers to judge the tenants in the parable. ^{(Matthew 21:40–41)} “When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” The judgment is death.  The owner will kill the tenants and replace them with faithful people.  There is a hot place in hell for those who violate the precious trust God has placed in their hands and do not repent.  This parable is terrifying in its judgment.

The sad thing about this parable is that it is God’s intent to make all people fellow heirs with Christ as the Apostle Paul said:  ^{(Romans 8:16–17)} “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ”. So, within the context of the parable, it was the landowner’s intent to make the tenants heirs with His son.  The landowner intended to freely give them the very thing that they tried to take by violence.  The insanity of their evil not only caused them to lose this gift, but their lives as well.  They could have had it all, but they lost it all instead.

The parable in today’s Gospel is a true tragedy.  It ends with a dead son and damned tenants.  Jesus was not satisfied with this ending so He followed it with a quote from Psalm 118.  Jesus said to them, ^{(Matthew 21:42)}  “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes”? With these words Jesus made it clear that the fate of those in the parable need not be our fate.

Just as the rejected stone became the corner stone so Jesus Himself did not remain rejected.  Although Jesus died in rejection, He did not remain in the grave.  He rose from the dead to become the cornerstone upon which the church depends.

Under God’s grace, even the evil tenants need not be damned.  It would not surprise me at all if some of those who voted to crucify Jesus later repented.  It would not surprise me at all if they heard the preaching of the Apostles and received the gift of faith from the Holy Spirit.  It would not surprise me at all if they, through that gift of faith in the one whom they crucified, were now in heaven praising God.

God’s grace is for all.  He wants to give it to us freely for the sake of the perfect life, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  If we insist that God must save us on our terms, then we shall follow the example of the wicked tenants in the parable.  When God has His way, we will die in Christ and follow Him.  We will not remain in the grave, but will rise from the dead just as Christ rose.  We are already Children of the living God.  Jesus has placed His righteousness in our hearts and we will live with him forever.  Amen

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

  

Pentecost 17 – 27 September 2020 – Year A

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

 

The Holy Gospel is written in the 21^st Chapter of the Gospel according to St Matthew: Verses 23 - 27

When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” ²⁴ Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.” ²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

The problem with dividing the Bible up into readings for Sunday mornings is that, from time-to-time, the reading for a given Sunday picks up in the middle of things.  In this morning’s Gospel, we heard that the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to [Jesus] as he was teaching, and said, ^{(Matthew 21:23)}  “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” We are left wondering about what things the chief priests and the elders of the people are concerned about.  What has Jesus been doing that has them so concerned?  Some context would be helpful.

The conversation recorded in today’s Gospel happened during Holy Week.  On the first day of this week, Jesus rode toward Jerusalem on a donkey to the praises of the Passover pilgrims.  ^{(Matthew 21:10–11)}“And when he  entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” ¹¹And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” Then, ^{(Matthew 21:12)}  “Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons”. ^{(Matthew 21:14)} “And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them”. After all that excitement on the first day of the week, the chief priests and the elders wanted a word with Jesus.  So when Jesus returned to the temple and began to teach, they were waiting for Him.

Now we need to be careful what we say about these men at this point in the reading.  After all, they are the chief priests and the elders … the men who were responsible for the day to day activity in the temple.  It was their calling to make sure that things were done decently and in order.  They were responsible for making sure that the activity on the temple grounds conformed to the Law of Moses.  So, we cannot fault them for wanting to make sure that Jesus had the authority to do what He did.  They were fulfilling their calling when they ^{(Matthew 21:23)} “came up to [Jesus] as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” We can question their motives for asking Jesus about His authority, but, from an outward viewpoint, they are doing what the temple authorities are supposed to do.

Jesus responded to their question with a question of His own. ^{(Matthew 21:24–25)} “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” This was not an evasion.  It was a traditional response.  Many rabbis responded to questions with questions.  In fact, Jesus did something quite clever.  The answer to both questions is the same.  John pointed to Jesus, and said, ^{(John 1:29)}  “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”  If John’s authority is from heaven, then Jesus’ authority is also from heaven.

Jesus’ question exposed the true nature of these men.  ^{(Matthew 21:25–26)} “They discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” This discussion exposed the hearts of these men.  They are not interested in the truth.  They don’t care what the right answer is.  Their main concern is their image in the eyes of the crowd.  Instead of following the laws of Moses and honouring the truth, these temple authorities honour their own agenda.  Their God is not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but their own agenda is their God.

So they answered Jesus, ^{(Matthew 21:27)} “We do not know.” In their stubborn unbelief, they refuse to admit that either John or Jesus received their authority from heaven.  At the same time, their cowardice prevents them from confessing their unbelief before the crowds.  They concluded that the appearance of the ignorant fool was better than admitting the truth.

When the chief priests and the elders refused to answer Jesus’ question, they gave up their right to an answer from Jesus.  Even if Jesus gave them the correct answer, they would refuse to accept it.  ^{(Matthew 21:27)}“[Jesus] said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things”.

The question that Jesus asked exposed the inner thoughts of the chief priests and the elders.  It is still a good question to ask today. ^{(Matthew 21:25)}  “The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” This question is valid for much more than the Baptism of John.  What about Jesus?  Is He from heaven or merely human?  What about the Bible?  Is it from heaven or from man?    What about Baptism … the Lord’s Supper … Absolution?  We can ask this question about these things and more?  What thoughts do these questions expose in you and me?

I have been theologically challenged on many occasions by Christians young and old, and also by those outside the Christian Faith, especially in relation to the worship liturgy.  Mostly, the questions are similar to those asked of Jesus in today’s text, my authority as an Ordained member of the Clergy to administer the Holy Sacraments. 

The more specific concern involves the Confession and Absolution that usually comes near the beginning of the service.  By what authority does the Ordained Clergy pronounce the forgiveness of all sin?”  To most, it would make sense if the minister said, “I forgive the sins that you have committed against me.”  But how can the priest forgive all sin?

Then there is that bit in the second part of the service.  The priest gives a piece of generic looking unleavened bread to some of the members and says, “The Body of Christ … given for you.”  Then he gives them a sip of some common table wine and says, “The Blood of Christ … shed for you.”  By what authority does the priest say that?  It doesn’t look like body and blood.  What is that all about?

In both cases, the answer is simple to say.  The answer is taught in Confirmation preparation.  How do we know that these things are from heaven?  Because Jesus promised!

Shortly before He ascended into heaven ^{(Matthew 28:18–20)} “Jesus came and said to [the disciples], “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” These words teach us that Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth.  These words instruct the church to baptise and teach.  These words promise the eternal, real presence of the Christ, and since the Christ is now both God and man, this is the eternal, real presence of both the divine and human nature of our Lord.  

When Jesus appeared to the disciples on the evening of His resurrection, he breathed on them and said to them, ^{(John 20:22–23)}  “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”  With these words, our Lord gave the authority to forgive sins to His church.  He also gave the authority to withhold forgiveness from those who refuse to repent.  Then He instituted the office of the holy ministry to publicly execute this promise on behalf of the church. 

The holy Evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and St. Paul write: “Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.” In the same way also he took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”  Our Lord has given us His promise that whenever we celebrate this holy sacrament according to His command, He will somehow place His body in the bread, and His blood in the wine.

In the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught, ^{(Matthew 6:9, RSV)} “Pray then like this: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” With these words, Jesus gives us the authority to pray.  And He even gives us the authority to call God our Father.

We have complete certainty in these and all the other gifts that we have because Jesus promised, and Jesus keeps His promises.  We know that Jesus keeps His promises because He kept the greatest promise.  He said, ^{(Matthew 20:18–19)} “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death ¹⁹and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.” Jesus kept this promise and earned the forgiveness of sins for the entire world.  He also demonstrated that not even the combined power of sin, death, and the devil can stop Him from keeping His promises. 

        Christ on the cross is the authority that stands behind every gift that Jesus has given to His church.  Every word of Holy Scripture is reliable and certain.  The forgiveness He speaks is authoritative; the sins he forgives are forgiven!  The Sacraments he gives to his Church truly deliver forgiveness, life, and salvation.  When the ministers faithfully preach God’s Word, the hearers hear Christ.

Christ is the ultimate authority.  He is the kingdom of heaven incarnate.  The authority of His promise guarantees eternal life to all who believe.  Amen

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

  

Pentecost 16 – 20 September 2020 – Year A

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for this meditation is written in the 20^th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Matthew: Verses 1–16:

 

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; ⁴ and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. ⁵ When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. ⁶ And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ ⁸ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ ⁹ When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. ¹⁰ Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. ¹¹ And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, ¹² 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.’ ¹³ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? ¹⁴ Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. ¹⁵ Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ ¹⁶ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

The Gospel you recently heard is part of a longer teaching.  Jesus has basically been teaching that everyone who enters the kingdom of God does so by a miracle of God.  He has recently taught that the chances of a rich person entering heaven are not even as good as the chances of a camel passing through the eye of a needle.  When we understand that the culture of the day believed that rich people were especially favoured by God, then we understand that Jesus was saying that no one has a chance.  He then went on to say, ^{(Matthew 19:26)}“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Here Jesus is telling us that we as humans have no power by our own efforts to enter the Kingdom of God, that is a miracle only God can affect.

 

Then Jesus went on to say something else that is contrary to our understanding.  He said, ^{(Matthew 19:30)} “Many who are first will be last, and the last first”. Jesus then illustrated this with the parable we heard in today’s Gospel.

 

Jesus used the story of a man who needed labourers, a common situation in most cultures.  At the time Jesus told this story, there was usually a market at the city gates.  Workers who wished to labour for a wage gathered at the market and offered their services.  A man who needed workers in his vineyard went to the marketplace and hired people to work in his vineyard.  Apparently, the work was urgent and needed many laborers.  The owner of the vineyard visited the marketplace several times during the day to hire more laborers.  It is likely that most of those who listened to Jesus had been labourers in the marketplace at one time or another.  At first, there is nothing unusual about the story.

 

The first sign that the vineyard owner might not be normal comes near the end of the day. ^{(Matthew 20:6–7)}  “And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ ⁷They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’” It was very unusual to hire someone at this late hour.  By the time the workers travelled to the vineyard and got their instructions and training from the foreman, the day will be over.  Those hired at the eleventh hour might not have time to do any work at all.  This is the first sign that the vineyard owner is not normal.

 

The eccentricity of the owner really stood out, though, when he instructed the foreman to pay the workers at the end of the day. ^{(Matthew 20:8–9)}  “And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ ⁹And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius”. The ones who barely had time to get to the field and get their instructions got a denarius … a full day’s pay.  They didn’t do much of anything, but they received pay as though they had been there from sunup.

 

Everyone got a surprise in their pay envelope. ^{(Matthew 20:10)} “Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius”. In a way, this should not have been a surprise.  After all, a denarius is the standard pay for a day.  However, those who barely came out to the field and had a look around got a denarius.  The first-hires began to anticipate getting more, but they didn’t.

 

Jesus then repeated the saying, ^{(Matthew 20:16)}  “So the last will be first, and the first last.” Jesus taught that there will be surprises on the last day.  When we meet those who gather around the throne of God in eternity, some will cause us to say, “You’re the last person I expected to see here!”

 

No doubt there were some there who expected to be first in line for eternity. They proudly boasted, “We are children of Abraham.” or, “Our ancestors were slaves in Egypt and followed Moses to the Promised Land.  We not only follow the Laws of Moses, but we also follow the tradition of the elders.”  In modern terms “we try to be good people and do the right thing, we’re not criminals or anything like that”. But here, Jesus was telling these people that there are Gentiles (non-Jewish people) who will see the Kingdom of Heaven before they do.

 

The US Army Chaplain, Henry Gerecke, a farm boy from Missouri, who grew up to be an ordained Christian pastor, found himself stationed at a prison at Nuremberg immediately after World War 2.  His congregation consisted of Nazi officers who were on trial for crimes against humanity.  Eventually, eleven members of Hitler’s inner circle confessed their faith in Jesus as saviour.  Eight of them received instruction and were able to take the Lord’s Supper from Gerecke’s hand.

 

Eventually, ten members of his prison flock were sentenced to death.  The first to face the gallows was Hitler’s foreign minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop.  An American officer asked for his last words.  Ribbentrop responded: “I place all my confidence in the Lamb who made atonement for my sins. May God have mercy on my soul.”  Then he turned to Gerecke and said, “I’ll see you again.”  Moments later, the trap door opened beneath his feet and he breathed his last.  Other members of the flock died in like manner.  Jesus said, “The last will be first, and the first last.”

 

Chaplain Henry Gerecke received a lot of mail.  Some of the mail gave thanks to Almighty God for enabling the Gospel to reach into the hearts of Nazi war criminals.  Other letters condemned Gerecke.  They said that he should have been hanged with the war criminals for doing what he did.

 

The people who condemned Gerecke didn’t know it, but they were also condemning themselves.  If Jesus did not die for all sins, how do you know that He died for your sins?  When they condemn Nazi war criminals to hell in spite of Jesus, they are saying that there is a minimum amount of goodness that each of us must have before Jesus’ forgiveness can be for us.  They are saying that Nazi war criminals don’t make the cut.  Well if they don’t make the cut, how can you know if you made the cut?  If Jesus didn’t die for them, then how do you know that He died for you?

 

In the rite of baptism, we remind people that the Word of God teaches that we are all conceived and born sinful and are under the power of the devil until Christ claims us as His own. This does not sit well with us especially when we look at beautiful little Callie Mills who is to be baptised today. But the sad truth is that we would all be lost forever unless delivered from sin, death, and everlasting condemnation. You see,  the Father of all mercy and grace has sent His Son Jesus Christ to take our punishment of an agonising death on a cross for our sin, and the sin of the whole world, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  (1 John 2:2) “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world”.

 

In His parable, Jesus illustrated that people enter His kingdom at all times of life.  Some receive baptism as infants, like Callie today, and they enter the kingdom at the dawn of their lives.  Others enter at the third hour as older children … the sixth hour as young adults … the ninth hour as they approach retirement … at the eleventh hour near death.  All receive the same pay … eternal life with Christ.  All are saved by grace through faith in our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

 

The parable illustrates that people enter the kingdom in all stations of life.  From the world’s point of view, some are pretty good people who never strayed from the path.  Some are juvenile lawbreakers who straighten out when they enter adulthood.  Others are career criminals who come to faith on their deathbed.  Some are rich.  Some are poor.  Some are famous.  Some are infamous.  All recognise that they are sinners in need of a saviour.  All of them recognise that Jesus Christ is that saviour who died for them on the cross and rose to give them eternal life.

 

There is one thing that this parable does not teach.  Some think this parable teaches that they can wait to become a Christian.  They see that God works faith in some people on their deathbed, and they think that they can wait.  They will say something like, “You know, I can have all the fun I want right now and become a Christian later.”  That is not what this parable teaches.

 

Such a many see the life of the Christian as a burden.  They do not understand that Jesus carried our burden to the cross almost two thousand years ago.  They do not understand the Christian life is a gift from the Holy Spirit.  They do not understand that the Christian has more reason for enjoyment than any other human being.  They just don’t know what they are missing.

 

Then there is also the possibility that the invitation will never come again.  No one really knows when the sun will set on their lives.  Accidents happen and they happen quickly.  Sometimes death is the result of a long illness and we know the time is soon.  Other times death comes in the form of a drunk driver or a mechanical failure and death gives us no warning at all.  Don’t resist the Holy Spirit because you think you have plenty of time.  As the Apostle Paul told the Corinthians, ^{(2 Corinthians 6:2)} “Behold, now is the favourable time; behold, now is the day of salvation”. 

 

God continues to search the market place of this world looking for workers for His vineyard.  The Holy Spirit may find workers in the market place early in the morning when, as infants, He works faith in us through the Word combined with the water of Holy Baptism.  The Holy Spirit may find us in the market and give us faith at the exhalation of the last breath before sun down.  He may find us sometime in between.  No matter when we receive this faith, we know that all the guilt of every sin is gone – taken away by the Son’s sacrifice on the cross.  We know that, by His resurrection and ascension, our Lord Jesus Christ has prepared a place for us.  Whether our faith is old or young, we all receive the gift of life everlasting.  Amen

 

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

 

 

Pentecost 15 – 13 September 2020 – Year A

Grace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for this meditation is written in the 18^th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Matthew: Verses 21 – 35:

²¹ Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” ²² Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

²³ “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.²⁵ And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶ So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ²⁷ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. ²⁸ But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ ²⁹ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ ³⁰ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. ³¹ When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. ³² Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ³³ And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. ³⁵ So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Jesus begins the parable with these words: “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.  When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.”  Ten thousand talents is a lot of money.  Based on historical and archeological records a talent is a unit of weight of approximately 30 Kilos.  Based on the current value of gold that adds up to $12 billion dollars.  Even Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, who is the wealthiest man in the world would have to admit that this is a lot of money.  There would be a very few people on earth today who could even pay the interest on this kind of debt.

 

You can be sure that the servant was not carrying a $12 billion debt. Here Jesus is using symbolic language, that can be easily understood, to convey His point. Within the context of this parable, Jesus is saying, “This massive debt is the equivalent of your sin.  Your sin is a debt that you can never, ever repay no matter how hard or how long you work at it.”

 

Then there is the penalty for such a large debt.  “His master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.”  The king had the right to sell this man and his family into slavery.  Even that would not cover the debt.  Once sold into slavery, the man and his family would never be free again.

 

Within the context of this parable, Jesus is pronouncing judgment.  “You deserve nothing but the slavery of the eternal punishment of hell for your sin.  Just as the debtor in the parable will never be free from slavery, you will never be free from your punishment in hell.”   

 

Then the debtor tried to bargain with the king.  “The servant fell on his knees, pleading to him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’”  At this point in time you might be tempted to think, “How foolish!  There is no way that this servant can ever deal with that debt.  He is desperate and lost touch with reality”

 

Within the context of this parable, Jesus asks us to imagine that we are that man.  With these words, He asks, “How often have you tried to bargain with God?  How often have you said, ‘I promise to do better.  I promise not to be so bitter.  I promise to explain things in the kindest way.  I will try really, really hard to be a better person.”  Within the context of this parable, Jesus is telling us that we are just as foolish as the servant in the parable when we even begin to think we can pay back the sin debt we owe to God.  Not only can we not even make the interest payments on this debt, but our daily sins continuously add to the principal of the debt we owe.  Jesus is telling us that we have lost touch with reality if we think we can pay God back.

 

The king had compassion on the servant, and out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.  No earthly king would ever do something so foolish.  The generosity of this king is beyond human comprehension.  To use an old Australian idiom, the king appeared to be a ‘soft touch’.

 

One way to find God in a parable is to look for the person who is the ‘soft touch’.  Jesus tells us that the king corresponds to God the Father, but we can also know that the king represents God because He is a ‘soft touch’.

 

Think how big God is in the context of this parable.  Each and every human being on the planet owes that kind of massive sin debt toward God.  Not only that, but all the people who have ever lived on this planet and already died also owe that kind of debt to God.  Then add in all the billions and billions of people who have yet to be born between now and the day Jesus returns.  Each and every man, woman, and child owes that kind of sin debt to God.

 

If 10,000 talents represents just one person’s sin, then the sin debt of the world is several orders of magnitude greater than the national debt of the combined capitalist countries of the world.  In fact, we are talking several orders of magnitude greater than the combined total of all the debt of every government, every corporation, every individual, and every other kind of debt that there can be.  Just think of that, and the thing is, God has released and forgiven it all through His Son, Jesus Christ.  It is all free and clear in His sight.

 

Near the end of His time on the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished!”  This sentence, “It is finished,” is one word in the original Greek, ‘tetelestai’.  That word was also used when a debtor paid his debt.  The person who held the debt would write, “It is finished,” on the contract.  That meant that the contract had been paid in full.  When Jesus suffered and died on the cross, He did the impossible.  He paid the sin debt for us.  When He said, “It is finished,” He said our sin debt is paid in full.

 

There are many people who do not come to church because they do not understand this parable.  Some do not understand the massive sin debt they owe and they actually believe they can pay it off.  They believe that they do not need the forgiveness of sins that Jesus gives away in this place.

 

Then there are those who understand that the debt of their sin is a crushing debt, but they believe they must deal with the debt before they can gather with God’s people.  They do not understand that the church is not a debt collection agency, but a debt forgiveness agency.  They do not understand that church is the place for sinners who carry an impossible debt.

 

Then there are those who do attend church regularly, but still don’t understand how serious their sin is.  One of those sinners in church is the ordained leader of their church who stands before them and pronounces that God’s forgives all their sins in the name of Jesus.  You see, these people do not really appreciate the magnitude of that forgiveness because their very human nature prevents them from appreciating the magnitude of their sin.  They hear the words of forgiveness, but they can not possibly understand the value of the forgiveness.  The rest of the parable is a warning to these people.

 

You see, as Jesus continued the parable, the servant who received the forgiveness of that unimaginable debt did not pass that forgiveness on to his fellow servant.  “He found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’”  A denarius was the going wage for one day’s labor.  So, a hundred denarii would be a hundred days’ pay … about the equivalent of the price for a small hatchback car.  It is not a small debt, but it is payable.  It is certainly miniscule compared to the massive debt that the king forgave earlier in the parable.  I never cease to be amazed, all through the Bible, especially the Old Testament, God demonstrates His power and mercy and yet we humans just don’t get it. This servant, had been so richly blessed by his master’s mercy and yet in return had no mercy on his fellow servant. He demonstrated that he did not appreciate the forgiveness his king had for him.

 

We live in a culture that surrenders a lot of power to those who are easily offended.  There is a great temptation to follow the lead of our culture and get offended at our fellow men.  We all sin against God daily and most of those sins are also against our neighbor.  This also means that people sin against us daily.  Sometimes those sins hurt … a lot.  It would be easy to take offence at those sins … to hold a grudge.  After all, someone has violated our rights.

 

Jesus warns of the danger in such an attitude in the parable.  When the king learned of the ingratitude of the servant, “[He] summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.  And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’  And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.”  With these words, Jesus teaches us that those who receive His massive gift of forgiveness have an obligation to share that gift with others.  Jesus not only gives forgiveness to us, but He also gives forgiveness through us.  The forgiven sinner will readily forgive those who sin against him.

 

This is impossible for the natural human being.  We enjoy our grudges too much.  A well-known quote of the eminent US First Lady and Diplomat Eleanor Roosevelt was ‘that it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness’.  The only problem is that many of us really, really enjoy cursing the darkness.  Even though anger, malice, spite, revenge, and all the other aspects of an unforgiving heart will eat us alive from the inside out, we still seem to get some justification out of nursing that grudge.

 

That is the reason the cross is so important, for it is on the cross that Jesus earned the lavish, generous, outrageous forgiveness that He pours out on us every day.  We receive that forgiveness by faith as we hear the Word preached and consume the Word in Christ’s body and blood.  It is that forgiveness that frees us from our destructive desire to nurse that grudge.

 

In the Old Testament,  Genesis ^{50: 15-21} gives us a wonderful example of the Holy Spirit at work in the life of Joseph.  Joseph looked forward to the salvation that God promised to Adam and Eve and to his great grandfather Abraham.  He looked forward to the Seed that would crush the serpent’s head.  By that faith, Joseph saw God’s hand at work even when his brothers sold him into slavery.  His brothers hoped that a life of slavery would kill Joseph, but Joseph loved and forgave them.  By his faith in the coming Messiah, Joseph freely and lovingly forgave his brothers.

 

While we live in this world, we live in a war zone.  We are both saints and sinners.  One of the battles in that war pits our natural desire to nurture a grudge against our holy desire to forgive.  Only the reconciliation with God that Jesus provided through His death on the cross gives us the victory.  Once again, we see that God does all the work.  It is His forgiveness working through us in Word and Sacrament that forgives our brothers and sister in Christ.  It is His forgiveness that gives us the victory and reconciles us with God and all humankind forever.  Amen.

 

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.  

  

Pentecost 14 – 6 September 2020 – Year A

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

 

The text for this meditation is written in the 18^th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Matthew: Verses 1–20:

 

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ² He called a child, whom he put among them, ³ and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. ⁶ “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. ⁷ Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes!

⁸ “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire. ⁹ And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hell of fire.

¹⁰ “Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven. ¹² What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? ¹³ And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. ¹⁴ So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.

¹⁵ “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. ¹⁶ But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. ¹⁸ 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. ¹⁹ Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

 

Today’s Gospel causes me to marvel at the patience of Jesus.  How many times did the disciples try to establish a pecking order among themselves?   “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” In the preceding verses, we learn that Jesus has been pouring out His heart concerning His upcoming suffering, death, and resurrection. The disciples show no concern or empathy, they have their own human agenda. They came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”  Were they not listening? Jesus is speaking of His forthcoming torture and death; He gives them an insight into the greatest miracle of all – His resurrection – and here they are competing for the top job in a place of which they have no understanding; the Kingdom of Heaven.   Only Jesus could have the love, compassion and tolerance to lead these men out of their sinful disposition and give them and insight of the glory to come.

The desire for power has been at the root of sin from the beginning.  Consider the very first temptation. ^{[Genesis 3:4–5]} The serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” There it is, right in the middle of the temptation.  “You will be like God.”  Here is the serpent tempting Eve with the lie that she could be as great as God Himself.

 

The first murder is a similar story. ^{[Genesis 4:4b–5]} The Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, ⁵ but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.  So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.  Cain perceived that Abel was greater in the Kingdom of Heaven.  However, instead of repenting, ^{[Genesis 4:8b]} Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.  He attempted to make himself greater in the Kingdom of Heaven by eliminating the competition.

 

Consider the history of mankind.  How many people have shed blood and died because someone … somewhere … wanted to be the greatest … wanted to have the most power … wanted to have the most influence in the affairs of men?

How much do we lose today because people are more interested in winning than they are in learning the truth?  Jesus held the truth in high esteem.  He said, ^{[John 8:31–32]} “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  We often forget these words and become more like the disciples.  We are not interested in the truth.  We are more interested in winners and losers.  We are interested in who is the greatest.

 

The Lord patiently demonstrates the sinful nature of this sort of thinking by calling a child to stand among the disciples. In Biblical times, a child whilst probably loved, was considered totally dependent and inferior in standing – the least in the social pecking order. Then He said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  Here Jesus is emphasising that the question of who is the greatest is totally inappropriate.  Instead, He focuses on who it really is that enters the Kingdom of Heaven.

 

You see, the disciples’ question about who is the greatest simply assumes that they will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  Jesus’ response causes us to rethink that assumption.  Instead of being worried about becoming the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, we should focus on entering the Kingdom of Heaven.  What a tragedy it would be to struggle to be the greatest and then discover that we are not even entering the Kingdom of Heaven.

 

Jesus pointed to the child as an object lesson of what it takes to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  The question then becomes, “What is it about a child that qualifies those who enter the Kingdom of Heaven?  What does Jesus mean when He instructs us to be like a child?”

It seems as though children produce nothing that makes them worthy of anything.  Children are physically weak, subject to the will of adults, and susceptible to sickness.  Children do not possess the ability to think rationally.  Children cannot logically choose between good and evil, cannot defend themselves, and are easily deceived.  All these things seem to indicate that children have no inherent qualification to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, nor can they do anything that makes them worthy of the that kingdom.  Instead of possessing great power, children are totally dependent on others for their very existence.

But that is the point.  Children are totally dependent.  They bring nothing of power to any situation.  In the same way, Jesus instructs us to realise that we are totally dependent.  We possess nothing of power or position with regard to the Kingdom of Heaven.  Like children, who are totally dependent on others for their very existence, we are totally dependent on the mercy and grace of Almighty God for our entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven.

 

This teaching could be utterly alarming.  It means we are totally helpless.  It means that if God is not a God of mercy and grace, we are eternally lost.  We really are at the mercy of our God and Creator!  As humans, we struggle to find any comfort at all in this teaching?  It is only through Holy Baptism; the Lord’s Supper; the Word of God; the confession and absolution and prayer that we come to the great revelation that the comfort for all humankind lies in the One who gives this teaching … Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the living God.

 

Consider the work of God the Son.  The Holy Spirit spoke through the mouth of the Apostle Paul and said, ^{[Philippians 2:5–8]} “Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”  These words teach us that God the Son loved us so much that He took on our human flesh in order that He might be our substitute before God.  As our substitute, He humbled Himself under the law and kept it perfectly.  As our substitute, He allowed men to nail Him to a cross.  As our substitute, He endured the wrath of almighty God.  As our substitute, He died.

 

All this may appear to be sound Christian logic; but for each and every one of us it presents a challenge. It is not in our human nature to toss our hands in the air and give up control of our lives and our future. Being humble is not our strongest attribute. But the real point here is that Jesus is telling us to be ‘Child-like’ not Childish. God had given us the mental and physical resources to function in life, and in doing so, instead of childishly chasing empty, unattainable dreams like the Disciples in our reading; He is clearly warning us that unless we seek His guidance in our daily lives through earnest prayer and nutritious Christian sustenance through His Word and Sacrament in a ‘child-like’ way we are vulnerable to the wiles of Satan himself.

 

Jesus is the one on whom we can depend.  In fact, we must depend on Him.  He is our only hope. ^{[Romans 8:34]} “Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us”.  He is the one who suffered and died so that we can enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  He is the one who rose from the dead in order to show that God the Father accepted His sacrifice for the reconciliation of the world.

 

Our position in the Kingdom of Heaven is not our worry, if it is, humbly repent and depend on Jesus.  Which group has the most influence in the church is not our worry, if it is, humbly repent and depend on Jesus.  Ultimately, it is Jesus who is the greatest.  It is Jesus who has all the influence.  It is Jesus to whom the hosts of heaven bow and sing ^{[Revelation 5:9–13]} a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”  And again, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing!”  And again, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honour and glory and might forever and ever!” 

  

The fact is my dear friends in Christ, that regardless of who we are, what we have, whatever our ambition or position in life, the day will come when we will turn to our Saviour with the question posed by Peter in ^{(John 6:68)}“Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”  Amen.

 

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen