For those who are not familiar with an Anglican Service; Four Scriptures are read prior to the Message. Today's readings are Exodus 16:2-15; Psalm 105: 1-6,37-45; Philippians 1:21-30 and Matthew 10:1-16
When Edward Everett Hale was Chaplain of the Senate, ...someone asked him, ... "Do you pray for the senators, Dr. Hale?"
He replied, ... "No, I look at the senators ... and I pray ... for the country."
We all need to receive ... the Grace ...of God.
Beloved ... It is all about Grace.
A story is told about Fiorello LaGuardia, ... who, when he was mayor of New York City......Which was during the worst days of the Great Depression and all of World War II.
He was called by many New Yorkers ... "the Little Flower" because he was only five foot four ......and always wore ... a carnation in his ... lapel.
He was a colorful character who used to ride the New Your City fire trucks, ...... raid speakeasies with the police department, ...... take entire orphanages to baseball games.
And whenever the New York newspapers were on strike, ...... he would go on the radio ......and read the Sunday funnies ... to the kids.
One bitterly cold night in January of 1935, ......the mayor turned up at a night court ...... in an area that served the poorest ward ... in the city.
LaGuardia had dismissed the judge for the evening .......and took over the bench ... himself.
Within a few minutes, ... a tattered old woman was brought before him, ... charged with stealing ... a loaf of bread.
She told LaGuardia that her daughter's husband had deserted her, ... her daughter was sick, ...... and her two grandchildren ......were starving.
But the shopkeeper, ....... from whom the bread was stolen, ....... refused to drop ... the charges.
"It's a real bad neighborhood, your Honor." ... The shopkeeper told the mayor.
"She's got to be punished to teach others around here ......a lesson."
LaGuardia sighed.
He turned to the woman and said, ... "I have got to punish you.
The law makes no exceptions ...... ten dollars ......or ten days in jail."
But even as he pronounced sentence, ...... the mayor was already reaching into his pocket.
He extracted a bill ... and tossed it into his hat saying, ... "Here is the ten dollars fine which I now remit; ...... and furthermore ... I am going to fine everyone in this courtroom fifty cents for living in a town ... where a person must steal bread ......so that her grandchildren can eat.
Mr. Bailiff, ... collect the fines and give them to the defendant."
The following day the New York City newspapers reported that $47.50 was turned over to a bewildered old lady ......who had stolen a loaf of bread ... to feed her starving ... grandchildren.
Fifty cents of that amount being contributed by the red-faced grocery store owner.
While some seventy petty criminals, ...... people with traffic violations, ...... and New York policemen, ...each of whom had just paid fifty cents ...... gave the mayor ... a standing ovation. (Pause)
Here is my question. ... Did the elderly lady in the story get what she deserved?
Clearly the answer is ... of course not.
She had stolen ... a loaf of bread.
Yes, ......she may have had a reason, ...... but stealing is stealing....... and regardless of the reason, ...... punishment would seem to be ......the order of the day. (Pause)
Beloved ... What we see in the story ...is called grace.
And Grace is when one in superior power ...shows kindness or mercy...... to one ...... in a lesser position.
Mayor LaGuardia, ... rather than demanding punishment of the woman herself, ......paid the fine ......and then further helped her cause ...with the collection of the fifty-cent fines ......and then gave all the money ... to her.
It was more than she deserved. ...... It was grace.
That is what our Gospel text speaks to this morning.
Beloved ... It is all about Grace!
Today we will look at ......the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard.
In this parable ... Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven ......is like a landowner ... that went out and hired workers for his vineyard.
Some he hired early in the day, ... telling them that he would pay them...... the usual daily wage.
He went back at various times of the day ... and found more workers ... that he hired.
Each time as he hired those that were there, ...he told them that he would pay them ......what was right.
We are not told why some had not found work earlier ... or if they had shown up at the marketplace late ......or any other details. (Pause)
Well ... At the end of the day ...... He came to pay the workers.
He began with the ones most recently hired ......and he paid them ... a full daily wage.
That ....... excited the those ......who had been there ...all day.
They thought ...... that surely if he paid the late ones that much ......he obviously would pay them even more.
Their excitement though ...... was short lived.
In fact, ......they were pretty upset ......when they got the same pay for working all day ... as those who only worked ...an hour.
When the landowner heard them grumbling, ...he tried to explain ......that he was not unfair ... at all.
He gave them what they had agreed upon, ......it was his money ... and he had the right to be generous.
We are not told how the workers responded ...to his comment.
It would seem ......that the landowner did not know much... about business.
For the next time he went out to hire help ... none would probably go to work......until the last hour of the day.
Yet ... what the landowner did know much about ... was ... grace.
In his wonderful book, ... What's So Amazing About Grace, ... Phillip Yancey makes this observation about this parable:
"The workers' discontent is stirred up from the scandalous mathematics of grace.
They would not accept that their employer had the right to do what he wanted with his money ... when it meant paying scoundrels ... twelve times ... what they deserved.
Many Christians who study this parable ... identify with the employees who put in a full day's work, ..rather than those add-ons ... at the end of the day.
We like to think of ourselves as responsible workers, and the employer's strange behavior ... baffles many as it did ... the original hearers.
Yet we risk missing the story's point: ... that God dispenses gifts, he dispenses grace ... not wages.
If paid on the basis of fairness, we would all end up in hell." (What's So Amazing About Grace?, 61-62).
For the wages of sin ... the wages of our sin is ...death. (Romans 6:23)
The workers that came at the end of the day ......did not get what they deserved ......they received mercy.
And Mercy ......is at the heart of ... grace.
Of course, in the parable....... the landowner is God, ... the workers are us, ...... and the pay is the kingdom of heaven.
And, as we study this parable, ... we can quickly see...... it is all about grace.
(1 Finger) First of all Beloved, ......the parable is clear ... that grace is received, ......not deserved.
For all of us ......who are people of faith, ......we know that we do not deserve ... God's grace.
Nothing that we do ... will put us in a position ......of deserving God's ... grace.
All we can do ... is receive the gift.
The gift ......that God offers to us ...freely.
David Seamands ends his book ..." Healing Grace" ... with this story.
For more than six hundred years the Hapsburgs exercised political power ... in Europe.
When Emperor Franz-Josef I of Austria died in 1916...... his was the last of the extravagant imperial funerals.
A processional of dignitaries ... and elegantly dressed court personages (per-son-a-ges) ... escorted the casket, ......draped in the black and gold imperial colors.
To the accompaniment of a military band's processional ......and by the light of torches, ......the somber group descended the stairs of the Capuchin (Ca-pu-chin) Monastery ....in Vienna.
At the bottom ...was a great iron door ...leading to the Hapsburg ... family crypt.
Behind the door was the Cardinal-Archbishop ... of Vienna.
The officer in charge followed the prescribed ceremony for this occasion, ...established centuries before.
"Open!" he cried.
"Who goes there?" ... responded the Cardinal.
"We bear the remains of his Imperial and Apostolic Majesty, Franz-Josef I, ......by the grace of God Emperor of Austria ... King of Hungary, ... Defender of the faith..." ......the officer continued to list the Emperor's ......thirty-seven titles.
"We know him not," ... replied the Cardinal.
"Who goes there?"
The officer spoke again, ......this time using a much abbreviated and less ostentatious (os-ten-ta-tious) title ... reserved for times of ... expediency.
"We know him not," ... the Cardinal said again.
"Who goes there?"
The officer tried a third time, ... stripping the emperor of all but the humblest of titles:
"We bear the body of Franz-Josef, ... our brother, ...a sinner... like us all!"
At that the doors swung open, ......and Franz-Josef ......was admitted.
Beloved ... No matter who we are, ...... what titles we have, ......or how much we have monetarily, ...none of it can open the way... to God's grace.
Grace is given freely, ... what is left for us ... is to openly receive ... that grace.
(1 Finger) Grace is received, not deserved.
(2 Fingers) Secondly, God's grace is about mercy, ...not about fairness.
What would have been fair ... would be to pay ... the later workers less than the full daily wage ......Or pay those who had worked all day ......more than the daily wage.
Now ... That would seem to be fair.
When we speak about grace, ... it is about something substantially different ... than fairness.
It is about ... mercy.
God loves us ...and mercifully gives us ......more than we deserve.
Christian financial consultant and author Larry Burkett ... speaks in his book "Business by the Book" ...about going the extra mile...... that is going beyond ... fairness.
Early in Burkett's career ......he leased an office ...in a building that proved to be .... a nightmare.
The foundation had not been properly constructed, ...and the office building was literally sinking several inches a year into ... the ground.
After more than three years of putting up with assorted problems, ... including power failures and several weeks without water, ... Burkett moved his business ......to another location.
Two months after he left ... Burkett received a call from his former landlord ...who demanded that Burkett remodel and repaint ... his former office space.
Burkett said no, ... feeling he had already been more than fair with the landlord, ... but the former landlord continued to call ... with his demands.
Burkett consulted an attorney ... who agreed that Burkett had fulfilled his responsibility ...and should not do anything.... further.
Burkett went on to say ... that his son ... offered him different counsel.
His son ...... reminded him that the landlord and his wife had lost their only child a few years earlier ......and still suffered ... from that tragedy.
Burkett had often commented ... that he would like to help them... heal through their loss.
Burkett's son suggested ... that this might be an opportunity ... to do just that ......by not doing what was fair, ......but what was merciful.
Burkett said he considered ... what his son had said.
He decided to commit several thousand dollars ......to restore the virtually non-usable office building.
Beloved... That is going beyond fair, .... That is moving to mercy and grace.
And that is what God's grace ...it is all about.
(1 Finger) Grace is received, not deserved.
(2 Fingers) Secondly, God's grace is about mercy, not about fairness.
(3 Fingers) Lastly, God's grace is for the last ....as well as the first.
It is easy for us to say ... that we deserve more ...because we are the people ...who have been faithful ...to the call of Christ... for many years.
Yet.... Our God does not work that way.
Today and everyday ... God wants a relationship with all ......, from those hired first thing in the morning......and with those that only managed to put in an hour ......at the end of the day.
That is what Grace ... is all about. (Long Pause)
There is a story that I believe illustrates this point very well.
A woman told how her father sexually abused her ...as a small child.
She grew up, ......overcame the emotional damage that had been done, ... became a Christian, ...... and eventually married.
Years later, ......after her own children were fully grown, ......she received a letter from her father ....... telling her he had become a Christian ......and he admitted his guilt ... and had asked God ...for forgiveness.
He also realized ...that he had sinned against her ...and was writing ... asking also for her forgiveness.
Feelings she did not know were still hidden in her soul ......suddenly resurfaced.
It wasn't fair she thought ...bitterly!
He should pay ... for what he had done.
It was all too easy.
And now ... he was going to be part of ......the family of God!
She was sure her home church was busy ...... killing the fatted calf for her father ...and that she would be invited .... to come to the party!
She was angry.
She was hurt.
She was resentful.
All of which ... were legitimate feelings.
Then she had a dream.
She saw her father standing on an empty stage.
Above him ...appeared the hands of God ...holding a white robe.
She recognized it at once, ...because in the dream ...she was wearing a robe ... just like it.
As the robe began to descend toward her father, ...she woke up ... with tears streaming down her face.
The only way she could get past it all ...was to realize ...that her earthly father ......was now the same as she ... forgiven!
They were the same in God's sight. (Pause)
God's grace was for him ...... just as it was.... for her.
Realizing that, ... she was finally able ... to forgive her father.
Beloved the strongest Argument in favor of Grace is the alternative ... a world of ungrace.
I am convinced ... that the two major causes of most emotional problems among evangelical Christians are these:
The failure to understand, ... receive, ... and live out God's unconditional grace ... and forgiveness.
And secondly ... the failure to give out that unconditional love, ... forgiveness, ... and grace to others.
We read, ... we hear, ... we believe in the grace that calls us to.
Yet we do not live that life of Grace.
We have not aloud The good news of the Gospel of grace to penetrate our very being.
The theologians CS Lewis put it this way:
To be a Christian ... means to forgive the inexcusable, ... because God has forgiven the inexcusable ... in you.
Jesus instructed us to pray: "forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us."
At the center of the Lord's prayer, ... which Jesus taught his disciples and us, ... lurks the unnatural act of ... forgiveness.
No word in the English language carries a greater possibility of terror ... than the little word ... "as" ... in that clause.
And what makes the "AS" so terrifying ... is the fact that Jesus plainly links our forgiveness ... by the father ... with our forgivingness ... of other fellow human beings.
Jesus is clear ... If you do not forgive others their sins, ... your Father in heaven ... will not forgive you yours.
It is one thing to get caught up in a cycle of ungraceful with a spouse ... or with a friend.
It is another thing entirely ... to get caught in such a cycle ... with Almighty God.
(1 Finger) Grace is a free gift that we receive ... it is not what we deserve.
(2 Fingers) It is about mercy, not fairness.
(3 Fingers) It is for the last as well as the first.
Our Father who art in Heaven, ... hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom Come ... Thy will be done. On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day ... our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation ... but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever Amen! (Matthew 6:5-15)
(Slow) Beloved .... It Is All about grace.
Amen & Amen!
I received much insight from Keith Broyles Sermon "It;s All About Grace". I commend this Sermon to you.
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