Sermon for September 21st

What if you heard that you never had to go to church again? You heard that God loved you and your sins were forgiven without any work on your part? Nothing more was necessary. What if you never had to tithe another cent to any church or religious organization because you heard that Jesus didn’t love you for your money or your goodwill? Your were made right with God and you didn’t have to pay for it? That would be a pretty good deal wouldn’t it?

Today, the gospel lesson told the parable of the workers in the vineyard. The story starts with a group of people waiting for work and hoping for a break. Some work all day, some get called in for just half a day and the rest only have to work one hour for the same full day’s pay. They all get paid the same for an unequal amount of work. The people called in last get paid first and the people that worked all day get paid last.

In the 16th century, Martin Luther had a disagreement with the Roman Catholic Church regarding one aspect of this story: What happens the next day? You see, the way this vineyard owner runs his business, all the workers might just show up the next day at 5:00, work one hour and expect a full day’s pay again! What would he do then!? You can’t run a business that way! But Martin Luther believed that this was exactly the way the church should be run.

You see, Luther argued that Jesus was sent down to preach the forgiveness of sins to real sinners. Real sinners. He argued that Jesus wasn’t primarily an example of obedience and good works, even though he was obedient and did good works. Luther argued that Jesus wasn’t primarily a blank check to pay off God for the balance of sin that Adam had created. Jesus healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead, forgave sins AND he did it all freely. No strings attached.

But what if real sinners, the lost of this world, the bad guys out in society find out that Jesus just hands out grace free of charge! They might just be . . . well . . . forgiven! Just like that! And, well, who would want to come church anymore? What if people just stayed for the confession and absolution and then left! Before the offering! Without even attempting to become more moral people! What would the church do then?

In the 16th century, the Roman Catholic Church was selling things called indulgences. Indulgences were these little pieces of paper that were marketed as a way you could buy your way out getting punished in purgatory for what you had done wrong in your life. In other words, if you were worried that you had made too many mistakes, you could buy yourself some forgiveness. All of this was authorized by the leader of the church himself, the bishop of Rome, the pope.

Martin Luther argued: Jesus has already forgiven all your sins. Don’t trust in that little piece of paper you bought, or in the church that authorizes it, trust in the words of Jesus Christ alone. Luther maintained that if the pope had the power to forgive sins through the selling of indulgences, it would be most Christian of him to just forgive all the sins free of charge without having to go through all that trouble. Luther maintained that this is exactly what Jesus Christ already did and people needed to hear about it.

What if you heard that you never had to go to church again? You heard that your sins were forgiven without any work on your part? What if you never had to tithe another cent to any church or religious organization because you heard that Jesus didn’t love you for your money or your goodwill? Your were made right with God and you didn’t have to pay a cent for it? That would be a pretty good deal wouldn’t it?

Well, I’m glad you came to church today! Have I got some news for you! Your sins are forgiven on account of Jesus Christ forever. You don’t have to come back to church for this to take place, it has already happened once and for all. You’ve heard it. The forgiveness is yours. You don’t have to give any money to make it stick, you are free. I don’t care if this is your first time hearing it or your 100th year as a Christian. This forgiveness is all yours. You are a sheep in the fold of God and nothing will snatch you out of his hand.

There was a man living at the time of Luther named Desiderius Erasmus. Now this guy, Erasmus, argued against Luther with this question, “What would happen if preachers forgave sins just like that, by God’s authority, so easily, without any strings attached? Well, no one would have any reason to act well and to follow the rules. People might never show up to church again! It might be ok for the learned people to hear all this, people who already knew right from wrong. But what about the “common herd”? They might become anarchists! There might be chaos! What happens the next day when everyone shows up at 5:00 for a whole day’s wages!? Sure, it might be true, but people want to be taught morals, not be given freedom. Freedom is too scary.”

Remember the story of Jonah? The same problem is present there. What happens if horrible people suddenly start asking God for forgiveness and— GULP!—He starts forgiving them! They might go do something horrible again! Shouldn’t we expect more before we start handing out the goodies!

In the story of Jonah, in the story of the laborers in the vineyard, in the story of the one lost sheep, God says he’s willing to take the risk and just up and forgive. In the story of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, in the story of Saul becoming the apostle Paul, in the story of the ten lepers who were cleansed and in the story of the prodigal son, God says that he is willing to take the risk and just up and forgive. God shows that he is going to forgive with no strings attached for the sake of having you as his beloved child once and for all.

What do you think will happen that next day in the vineyard? Do you think that the vineyard owner is worried about the people who were paid more than they deserved? No. The people who showed up at 5:00 the day before and got paid a whole day’s wages will most likely be there bright and early the next day. Why? Thankfulness. They have been given a new heart and a new spirit. Jesus put it this way in the gospel of Luke, “For those to whom much is forgiven, great love is shown in return. But the one to whom little is forgiven loves little.”

Throughout the gospels you often hear the phrase, “The kingdom of heaven is like . . .” That is the phrase that starts the gospel passage today in fact. Unfortunately, we often hear this phrase incorrectly, we believe that Jesus is saying “The kingdom of heaven should be like . . .” We think Jesus is trying to convince us to do something. To live into it or something. To deserve the kingdom of heaven. But Jesus is not telling you to do something to get into the kingdom, he’s describing what the kingdom he is giving you is like. This is what happens now that you have been forgiven.

“The kingdom of God is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” And I ask you, do you think that merchant kept his fine pearl in a safe place and never looked at it again? Yeah right! I bet he wanted to see it all the time! Staring at it, admiring it, enjoying it. What will happen when a person has just heard that theirs is the greatest gift of all time, eternal life and the forgiveness of sins? Never come back to hear about it? Never step a foot into church again?

“The kingdom of God is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he had and bought it.” And I ask you, do you think that this man never went back to this field? That he forgot about his great treasure? That he became an anarchist? No! That man probably dug up and hid that treasure a thousand times just to get another peek at his good fortune. What will happen when you’ve heard that Jesus has stored away treasure in heaven for you? Never come back to hear about it? Never give a penny to the church?

“The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. He went out many times to hire laborers, but at the end of the day he paid them all the same daily wage.” What will happen the next day? Will those those laborers who didn’t deserve it, come back for more? You better believe it! That’s just how it goes when you’ve heard this gospel message Jesus says, when you hear that you are forgiven by God with no strings attached.

So then, why do people come to church and never come back? Why do so many churches have money problems or volunteer shortages? Should we blame the church? Should we blame the people? Should we blame God? Should we just go back to teaching morals as our highest goal in life?

We all have ears, but as God points out so often in both the Old and New Testaments, our ears don’t always hear. People don’t always hear something even when they are told over and over again. So should we stop telling them? Save it for the learned people who already know right from wrong? Give up and just focus on being good people? No. We will continue telling people that their sins are forgiven. No strings attached!

We won’t add on demands that aren’t there. We don’t stop telling the story. We pray that we are all given ears to hear. And when we do hear, we can trust that we will all suddenly find out what the kingdom of God is like. Like living waters that overflow from our hearts with faith and our mouths with praise and our clocks with an abundance of time and our bank accounts with giving and our churches with worshippers. This is the forgiveness that is yours today. I’m not going to hide it from you. It’s yours forever. Even if you’ve found out late in the game. You are forgiven. No strings attached. You can come back next week and hear it all over again. Amen.

Sermon for September 14th

There are two kinds of people in this world: the dead ones and the not dead ones. Dead or alive. Another way to put this would be to say that there are two kinds of people in this world: the dead ones and the dying ones. Which one are you? Dead or alive? Dead or dying?

In the eyes of this world you are alive or, put more cynically, from the day you are born you are dying—but not dead yet. However, in the eyes of God you are already dead. Or, to put it more positively, “You are dead and your life is hidden—hidden—with Christ in God.”

So, is this important to know or has your pastor just gone a little dark in today’s sermon? The apostle Paul argues that knowing all this will make a difference in how you look at Jesus’ death on the cross: you will either think it is foolishness or you will be given faith. If you can make the distinction between whether you are dead or dying, you will discover what makes a dead man on the cross the seat of your hope rather than just another sad story.

Dying people still have a chance you know? Dying people can still strive for life. I recently watched a movie called “The Bucket List” starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. These two men are each dying of cancer and decide to write out a list of things they would like to do before they die—before they “kick the bucket” so to speak. Then they do the things they write down. Two old men having the time of their lives. Jumping out of planes, seeing the Taj Mahal, seeing the world through new eyes. In the end, they seem to have lived more in their final days than they did perhaps throughout their entire life. And that’s what people who are dying can do—they can still improve. Dying people still have some choices to make. Dying people still have some time.

But in God’s eyes, you are not dying, you are dead. A dead person has nothing left to do. A dead person is at the whim of the weather and the worms. A dead person doesn’t choose to lie down, they just can’t help themselves. There’s no more improvement.

In the eyes of this world there is more hope in dying than in death. In the eyes of this world, death is the worst thing that could happen to you. In the eyes of this world, a dead man on the cross is the end of the story and it is foolishness to find any reason to hope in a dead man. It would be better to hide your face from the cross, look away and find something more interesting and exciting—a little more lively—to look at.

“The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, to those who are dying, to those who are not yet dead, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Why is that? Why is the cross foolish to some people but powerful for others?

Perhaps you remember your days as a kindergartner or as a young child before going off to school. Do you remember the monkey bars? Do you remember when you first did them and you didn’t need help? How proud you were! How old you had become! How strong you had grown! You didn’t need your mom or dad to help you anymore! That would be silly and embarrassing. You didn’t need help. You could do it yourself.
That was, until you fell from the monkey bars and landed on the ground with a thud. Then, having mommy and daddy around wasn’t so foolish anymore. In fact, when they ran over, picked you up and held you tightly to their heart, they weren’t so silly at all anymore; instead, they were strong, loving and maybe even powerful.

We go through life trying our darndest to become self-reliant and powerful in ourselves. We want to be the best at what we do and we don’t want to always have to ask for help. When you get potty trained as a young child it is embarrassing to have an accident again and have to be helped into some other pants. When you are older and the car keys get taken away from you, the embarrassment is no less upsetting. We don’t want help. We should be able to do it all ourselves. The problem is that, while this attitude works well at work and at school, your relationship with God doesn’t work the same way.

When you are dead, you’d take any help you could get wouldn’t you? Throughout your life, you have the freedom to make good choices and bad choices, but when you are perfectly passive six feet under, it doesn’t matter how free you think your will is . . . you can’t do anything with it—nothing at all. You’d need somebody to come and lift you up out of the grave. You’d need someone who wasn’t afraid to get their hands dirty. You’d need someone foolish enough to call to a dead person to come out of their tomb. You’d need someone powerful enough to bring you new life.

If you think you are alive and well and always getting better you probably have no need for a God who’s greatest achievement in this world was to die embarrassingly on a cross. You’d stay away from a God like that. In the eyes of this world you’d be foolish to do anything different. If you think you are dying, you will probably run from a God who tells you to find hope in a dead Savior. To find hope in death. You’d stay away from a God like that. In the eyes of this world you’d be foolish to do anything different.

However, if you are dead already then a God who has died might be a little more relevant wouldn’t he. If you are dead already, a God who spent three days in hell might seem like a kindred soul. If you are dead already, a God who was raised from the dead might look a little more hopeful, a little more like a Savior. If you are dead already, you might pray that you had a God who could be powerful in your life and give you life after death. If you are dead already, trust in God who sent his only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for you. If you are dead already, you may trust in Jesus for your eternal life.

“The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” You are not dying, God says, “You are dead already and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” When Christ is revealed your life is revealed, whether he is revealed to you at church, in the Bible or, finally, on the last day.

Do you remember when you first learned to ride your bike without training wheels? The excitement, the danger, the balancing act, the constant need to pedal and then—finally!—freedom! Your parents let go and you were off, riding as fast as you can. You could go anywhere you wanted. Well, your Daddy in heaven won’t let go. He’s always holding on. Your Daddy in heaven won’t even let you ride your bike by yourself. That might seem a little over-protective, or foolish or maybe even downright frustrating. But for those of you who don’t ride very well, who keep getting tired of pedaling, keep hitting bumps or getting flat tires, having Daddy constantly beside you doesn’t seem so foolish. Indeed, it is a blessed gift.

In the eyes of this world you are all alive and well. You work hard. You improve. You make mistakes. You make choices. You do your best and sometimes you do your worst. In this world, the wisest and best things you can do are work hard and improve yourself. This is how you make money. This is how you get A’s in school. This is how you can love your family.

But in the eyes of God, you cannot save yourself by working hard and improving. That would be utterly foolish. You are as capable of producing faith or creating good works as a dead corpse. You just can’t do it. You are perfectly passive in the eyes of God to save yourself, unable to make even the first step toward God, your creator.

You are dead. There is nothing left for you to do for your salvation. God has accomplished everything. This is the message of the cross and it is foolish for those who are perishing, but for you, who are being saved, it is the power of God. You don't have to worry about death. God is taking care of that. Now, you can enjoy your life. Amen.

Sermon for September 7th

“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.” Jesus realizes that the church is made up of sinners. Jesus doesn’t go after the “goody two shoes” in the world. Earlier in Matthew’s gospel he says point blank that he is not after the healthy but the sick, not the righteous but the unrighteous. Well, you get a bunch of sick, unrighteous sinners together week after week and you can expect fireworks sometimes. That is part of living in the same world together. Here at Saint Peters, I can assure you that there will also be fireworks from time to time.

But all this makes sense doesn’t it? If someone hurts you, don’t start telling other people about it first, don’t just tolerate the hurtful behavior, tell the person face to face. Ask for an apology. “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.” Jesus calls us to speak to one another and not about one another. But this still makes sense doesn’t it? What a great model for the church the follow. What a great model for businesses to follow. What a great model for a family to follow. But then, we start getting very uncomfortable. This next part of the gospel lesson doesn’t always make sense.

“If the member still refuses to listen, 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 or a tax collector.” Jesus makes it clear that a faithful community must set boundaries for healthy behavior. If it does not do this, it just becomes another amorphous group of worldly people and not a community of faith at all. Gentiles and tax collectors were considered to be such great sinners that they were not allowed to be a part of the religious community. What does this mean for us?

Martin Luther maintained that Scripture alone sets out boundaries for us. For example: Do not kill, do not commit adultery and do not lie. But what happens if and when someone crosses those boundaries? Forgive them? Yes! Yes! Forgive them. But in the passage today this isn’t the only issue is it. What happens if someone doesn’t care? Doesn’t want forgiveness? Doesn’t believe there are boundaries? Jesus says, “Consider them a Gentile and a tax collector.” If someone isn’t acting like part of a community, then perhaps they shouldn’t be considered part of it. If you are at church and you aren’t looking for forgiveness you are at odds with the message being proclaimed there.

Now, what would you do if you found out your teenager had a friend who was an alcoholic? Perhaps you would set a boundary for your child and disallow them from riding in the same car with that friend. Perhaps you would not allow that child to be a part of your child’s group of friends. The next question is this: how would you treat that forbidden friend from then on? “Treat them as a Gentile and a tax collector” Jesus says. What does that mean?

What would you do if you found out a worshipper at your church was behaving inappropriately in the community? After discussing it with the person, the council, the pastor and the church, there was disagreement, fear and a lot of hurt feelings. If the person was eventually asked to seek another place of worship, how would you deal with them from that point forward? “Treat them as a Gentile and a tax collector” Jesus says. What does that mean exactly?

“Let such a one be to you as a Gentile and tax collector.” Consider this: What kind of people did Jesus hang out with? Sinners and tax collectors. Gentiles and prostitutes. I can’t imagine that the irony of Jesus’ statement was lost on his disciples. Matthew himself was a tax collector when he was called by Jesus.
Jesus maintains that when you’ve brought sin into the light and repentance does not occur, there comes a point where you must set up a boundary between a community and an unhealthy lifestyle. But even as we are called to set healthy boundaries in our lives, we are simultaneously called to forgive people outside these boundaries. We are called to pray unceasingly for them, to love them and bring them the good news of God. Ask forgiveness and God will forgive you. Our Christian community needs healthy boundaries, just like your life does, but we are called, just as Jesus was, not for the healthy, but for the sick, not for the righteous, but for the unrighteous. The gateway back into a community is the same way you came in: Asking for forgiveness.

As you may know, people, especially, I have heard, many men, have trouble leaving their socks lying around on their beds, on the floor, on the lampshade or wherever. As you also may know, when they are asked to pick up their socks, these same men do what they are told, they pick up their socks. The law says, “Don’t leave your socks lying around the house.” And, if a sock is left outside of its drawer, the punishment is an angry spouse, a raised voice and a sock thrown in your face. That’s the law at work.

“I don’t want to have to keep telling you . . . to pick up your socks!” THAT, my friends, is what the law wants. The law doesn’t want to have to tell you. The law doesn’t want to have to punish. Your spouse doesn’t want to have to tell you to pick up your socks! Your spouse wants love. So much love that there are never socks left lying around! The law wants love. Unfortunately, the law can’t keep you from forgetting where the hamper is or missing the laundry basket. The law can’t make you do what it wants.

When Jesus talks about church discipline today in the gospel of Matthew, he sets out the law. There are sins. There are people who have unhealthy behaviors and there must be boundaries. The law has its place. But he also points out that the law is not the goal. Punishment is not the goal. Jesus doesn’t want a church where sinners are kicked out (otherwise called an empty church). He wants each of us to come asking forgiveness just like a Gentile and a tax collector. Not because we deserve forgiveness, but because we need it.

God wants you to love your neighbor so he created the Law. But all the Law can do is tell you to love people, or scare you into loving them. Love your neighbor or else! Crrrrrreeech! It can’t make you love them. “Honey, do you love me?” “Yes. Of course I love you.” “Well, why don’t you ever tell me?” Well, I just did tell you!” “Oh sure, when I asked!” Love wants to be loved without asking. Love wants to be loved without the demands. Love wants to be loved apart from the Law. To be true love, it must be spontaneous. Not coerced or manipulated. The law can never create love. Jesus gives you the love that the law was looking for. How? By loving you first.

In today’s passage there is a word of hope. And do you know where you can find it? In a surprising place: “Let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” Yes, right there! The part everyone hates! Why is this such a hopeful verse? Because wherever you find sinners you’ll find Jesus hanging around. If you refuse to admit you are a sinner, you need forgiveness more than ever. You can be sure Jesus is after you. And if you ever find yourself lost, you know for sure Jesus is on his way to find you.

There is a story that ends right before this passage in the gospel of Matthew that I
would like end with today. Maybe it can help us understand what to do with those we consider to be “Gentiles and tax collectors. “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? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.”

Boundaries are needed. Even churches have to have rules. The Law requires it. You need protection and your neighbors need to be loved. But the law finds its goal in forgiveness. The law finds its goal in Jesus. The goal of this passage isn’t to throw people out. The goal is to forgive and bring people back to Jesus. Jesus, who was sent for the lost. Jesus who was sent for the Gentiles. Jesus who was sent for the tax collectors. Jesus who was sent for the sinners. Jesus who was sent for you. Amen.