INTRO
Between the years 1933 and 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt enacted a series of economic programs called “The New Deal.” "His programs served as a response to the effects of the Great Depression, and “focused on what historians call the "3 Rs": Relief, Recovery, and Reform. That is, Relief for the unemployed and poor; Recovery of the economy; and Reform of the financial system to prevent another depression.”
Unfortunately, FDR’s New Deal is now in need of an overhaul, because history has repeated itself. Once again, we’re in need of another “New Deal.” ---------- PAUSE --------- But, can government fix things this time around? Or, is there another solution out there — one far older and more effective?
This morning, we’re going to look at the time when Jesus told his followers a story of God’s “New Deal.” We’re going to take a play on FDR’s policies, and see how God’s 3 R’s of Relief, Recovery, and Reform is the best new deal of all. Like then, relief and recovery came after a series of reforms; so, let’s begin with God’s reforms as well.
With that, let’s open our Bibles once more to the Gospel according to Matthew 20:1–16. For our benefit and that of our listening audience, let’s read the Gospel one more time. READ MATTHEW 20:1–16.
REFORM
Now, nowhere in this passage do we find the word reform. However, the way the vineyard owner —God in this case —does things is with a huge reformation. He institutes a new deal; a new economic model of grace, versus the former economic model of fairness. We can see this in a couple of ways.
In this parable, the landowner agrees with each laborer to pay them each one denarius, the equivalent to one day’s wage today. There’s two nuances to this: first, it didn’t matter who had what education level, or what their social status was — whether the workers were doctors, managers, or ditch diggers. All were considered the same, and all were offered the same wage.
Anyway, if that’ weren’t radical enough, God’s ways of doing things get far more radical than that. Not only were all workers paid the same amount, God paid them each the same total, daily wage — despite the number of hours they worked. Of course, those who worked the longest number of hours objected. They decried, “That’s not fair!”
But ya know, fairness — in the way we generally think about it — is kind of a human ideal, based upon God’s notion of equality. St. Paul wrote, “Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality” (2 Co 8:13).
We should want to treat others with equality and fairness. In that, God treats us equally, but he doesn’t treat us according to human fairness. Fairness, while we think means grace, isn’t grace at all. For if God were truly fair with us all, he’d give us all what we deserve.
This is where God’s radical reforms come in. God looks upon us with grace, according to our adoption as sons and daughters into his family, as Paul mentioned to the church in Galatia.
Paul said, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Gal 3:26–29). He continued….
“What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons” (Ga 4:1–5).
That last little bit speaks of God’s radical reform. God’s radical reforms are defined by and were enacted when Jesus Christ was willing led to the Cross of Calvary, and died upon his cross for all our sins. ------ PAUSE ------ Had God been fair, he would not have sent Jesus to have died for our sins. If God were fair, he’d judge us all according to all our thoughts, all our actions and lack of actions, and by the ways we’ve obeyed and disobeyed God. If God judged us all fairly, we’d all face the judgment none of us would want to face.
Instead, God’s Word says, “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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (Jn 3:16–17). Jesus is the radical reformation of God, and in him, we can all find the relief they we seek, and then move from there into a life of continual recovery. Okay, with that in mind, let’s go back to the beginning of the parable.
RELIEF AND RECOVERY
Okay, we hear Jesus telling his disciples the story of the vineyard owner who goes out looking for those in need of relief. He starts us out by stating, the Kingdom of Heaven is like, and then goes onto to tell the story. The opening is important, because what he’s describing is a representation of the Kingdom of heaven. The thing Jesus likened to the kingdom of heaven is a vineyard. In this one passage alone, Jesus utters the word “vineyard” five times.” In all of Matthew’s gospel account, Jesus likened the kingdom of heaven to a vineyard three times.
Now, in Jewish thought, the vineyard was often associated with nation of Israel. Isaiah 5:7 says, “The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight.” Jesus knew this, and used this notion to illustrate a deeper point. God, in his infinite grace and mercy, through Jesus’ spiritual reforms on the cross, brings those seeking relief into God’s economy: spiritually, emotionally…well, holistically really. How, we might ask. Simply put, God seeks us out (relief), and then sends us to his vineyard (recovery).
God seeks us out and brings us into his company; he comes to our aid when we need relief. Four times Jesus says the vineyard owner “went out” looking for workers, just as
God sought out, called Abraham, and brought him into a new life, a new land, and created a nation; just as Jesus went out and found his disciples, called him to them, and then started a new movement; just as God called out Paul, and sent him to preach the word to the Gentiles; and from there the church grew.
In like manner, the Holy Spirit seeks out those needing God’s New Deal. T he Spirit of God physically pulled me out from my chair at the Target Center a number of years ago into a new life of relief and recovery. Like me of years past, it’s not that many people don’t want God’s grace and relief. Most people do. They just might not know that God’s looking for them and offering them a way out. And sometimes, they just can’t see it standing before them.
Look at VV 3 & 6 one more time; It would be easy for us to believe their “lazy.” But a better translation of the word Jesus spoke here for “standing around” is “unemployed.” These were folks who were down and out. It’s not that they didn’t want to work, there just wasn’t any that they knew of. In a spiritual sense, what Jesus is saying here is that those he’s seeking are the poor in spirit. It’s not that they don’t want God to come to their rescue, they do…. But maybe because they’re so down and out that they’ve just lost hope.
In today’s economic terms, our government says that our nation’s unemployment is around 9.1%. Idaho’s official unemployment rate is just a bit higher, and in Shoshone county, it’s estimated that the unemployment rate is even higher. But, these numbers don’t include those who given up. If we include all those, who are “off the radar,” the numbers of those seeking relief in our country increase dramatically.
Many people have simply lost hope; they’ve lost hope that Uncle Sam’s gonna to come to their rescue. But ya know, Uncle Sam can’t, nor mostly likely will he. But God will! His economy works so much differently; and that’s one of the points Jesus was trying to make. These people are the down and out; they’ve been discounted and no longer being counted. These are those who desperately need relief, but can’t find it because those who should be going out to look for them are not doing that, because that’s an idea that’s often too radical. We want people to come to us, instead of us, going to them.
Through the Spirit of God, God is calling upon us to go out into all the world seeking those who need relief and to invite them into the relief everyone needs: a relief from our sins, a relief from our pain, a relief from feeling as though we’re all alone and unloved. Through the Cross of Christ, God offers us relief from hopelessness, suffering, and the chaos of life.
Through Jesus, God invites us into a life of recovery: a recovery filled with love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, gentleness and a new ways of living that offer a lifetime of wholeness and prosperity. In that, God provides for all our needs by living in us, as along as we remain in him. When life gets tough, people often back away from God and the church. Ironically though, that’s when God and the church are needed the most.
Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing....This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (Jn 15:5,8).
When we accept Jesus’ invitation to come into his kingdom and to work in his vineyard, then we’re given the resources we need to live a life of recovery. In the case of this parable, Jesus sends us to work in his vineyard — a place of continual relationship —so that we can learn what it means to live a life of wholeness with God. But part of the recovery process is working for God, with gratitude, because he’s given us the greatest gift of them all — Jesus Christ. Let me close with this:
By accepting Jesus invitation to come into his kingdom, he asks that we go to work for him in his vineyard. A part of this “New Deal” of God’s is that we, like Paul and the disciples, and the countless millions who’ve followed in their footsteps, will go out and help those who are in need of the very same relief and recovery we once needed ourselves.
You know, our federal government should work tireless to lead our nation out from its crises. However, no matter how hard they work to come up with another new deal; no matter what they devise, it cannot compare to the 3R’s of God’s New Deal —to God’s economy of fulfilled living.
We’ve been blessed with that new deal, and because we have, we should wanna seek out those needing relief, and help them find the recovery they need in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the New Deal, and if he’s in you, and you’re in him, then he’s sought you out to work for him in his vineyard.
The American vine is withering; the church in America is withering. Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” Let’s revive some of our former traditions from yesteryear when this place grew with excitement. Our valley is in need of the very thing we got right here — that’s Jesus Christ.
I know it’s scary to work in the vineyard; we’re not all evangelists, and I’m not asking you to be. You don’t have to go out and knock on doors. How about this instead, just let God flow through you. When you see your people who are looking down, who are a bit frustrated, who need a good cry, be there for them. Love on them, and tell them that you’re a part of a great family that likes to love others in ways that maybe they’ve never experienced before.
Let’s start off this new, ministry year by going out and letting people know that there’s a new deal in town, that relief and recovery begin here.
