PASTOR’S CORNER, Rev. Jason Toombs, Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, Liberal
In Matthew 20, we see the graciousness of God on display, but we hear of man’s begrudging of God’s generosity. We see examples of this throughout the Old and New Testaments as God’s people continued to grumble against Him as they begrudged God’s generosity, yet God still worked out their salvation.
There are many despicable things that man has done that are on full display for all the world to see, should the eyes of some be open. We see that even great saints of the past are real sinners. This reminds me of something that is often proclaimed at Installation Services: “Pastor, remember that when your people confess that they are sinners, believe them. Similarly, oh saints of the Lord, when your pastor confesses with you that he is a sinner, believe him.” This is why the Divine Service begins with a confession of sins as we pause to reflect on God’s Word and think about our sins as we confess that we are poor, miserable sinners or that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed.
When we use the Biblical word calling a sin a sin instead of a mistake, a slip-up, or an oopsie, we are doing God’s work by addressing a thing as it is, rather than shrinking back and changing the language to fit the times. The worldly don’t like to hear that they are wrong, especially that they have sinned, but it is better to be a friend of God who confesses their sins, pleads for the Blood of Christ, which was shed for them, and flees to Christ for refuge.
This is seen in Christ’s proclamation about a master of a house and workers in his vineyard, especially when it comes to them being paid for their labor. Those who were hired at the end of the day, only working the last little bit of time, one hour, as Jesus tells us, received a denarius. While we don’t think much of denarii, remember that a denarius was a full day’s wage. Those who worked little received a full day’s wage.
When it came to those who bore the heat of the day, they expected more, begrudging the master for only giving them their agreed-upon amount. You can almost hear them cry out, “It’s not fair! They got the same as me! I bore the heat; they just came in the cool of the day! You made them equal to me!”
This is the way of the world. We want justice in the world. We want others to pay for their crimes. We expect people to pay for how they have wronged us. We want justice for how we have been wronged. Yet we want grace and mercy when we have been the one who has wronged others. We don’t want to pay for our crimes, let alone our sins. Yet that is how it must be if we want fair treatment.
Yet it was fair for the master to pay those who labored diligently all day in the sun. They had agreed to work for a denarius. They agreed to those terms, yet he made those who did less work equal to those who worked by the sweat of their brow. Each received the same wage, and only those who thought they deserved more became upset.
So, it is with God’s generosity. We want others to really mean that they are sorry. We want them never to sin again. Yet that is not how it is in this fallen world of ours. They will sin, and the grace of God covers a multitude of sin. His grace is sufficient to save sinners, real sinners. His grace covers those who committed willful acts of murder, bloodshed, and violence. The blood of Christ was shed for terrorists. Closer to home, His grace covers over our pettiness, our jealousy, and our hypocrisy.
We have no right to claim that Jesus did not shed His blood for others. His blood was generously poured out on Calvary’s holy cross from His brow, from His hands, from His feet, from His back, and from His side. His blood dripped down upon those who need His blood to be poured out for them.
Yet we get upset when we remember how His blood was shed for those whom we think are our enemies. We begrudge God’s generosity when we think that they are our enemies. We should, rather, see them as those for whom Christ shed His blood, died, and was buried. We should see them as they truly are, covered in the blood of Christ because of Him, not us. Then we can rejoice when God saves sinners. We get to rejoice when another former sinner becomes a sinner-saint of God.
