17th Sunday after Pentecost (September 20, Deacon Chris)

This summer Emmanuel heard a series of sermons on Paul’s letter to the Romans. Each preacher spoke about the Epistle reading of the day during those weeks. In the Lectionary, that epistle ended last Sunday. Today I will speak about a few of the lessons and what I see as common themes from them. As the weeks proceed until Advent, the preachers will make different choices as to their sermon content. If you have thoughts about the summer sermon series, we would be happy to hear them.

The psalmist tells us, “One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.” 

We who are alive now are the faith bearers for the generations to come. We are the ones who tell the stories of our Lord to those we know and to those we may never know, just as we were told the stories by others in days past. Our faith is built on stories and from the beginning that is how people came to know God, through listening to these stories of how God interacted with his people. Eventually these stories were written down to become a body of scripture. If you look around this sanctuary you will see many events of our Lord’s life depicted in the stained-glass windows, which is another way that these stories have passed through the ages. Listening, reading, seeing these stories give us God’s word and help us to know his love. 

This morning’s lessons contain two parables, stories with a point, with a truth about God’s kingdom that is stronger than the story itself. Parables, pictures, stained glass, hymns and other music carry the message that lives on beyond our lives. These invite us into God’s story and are ways to help us teach those who are younger about the faith. Then they will be equipped to bear that same faith to others.  Part of what I want to stress this morning is that we are faith bearers for our time. We are now the generation David wrote about in the morning’s psalm so many years ago. It is our time and our turn to laud God’s works and declare His mighty acts. 

Let’s take a closer look at today’s stories. And as we do, let’s keep in mind another truth that is crystallized by a different verse from the morning’s psalm: “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and of great kindness.”

These are comforting words when we hear them and recognize ourselves as the recipient of God’s mercy and kindness. Certainly. Yet how do we feel when we observe the mercy of God towards others, especially those we feel are less deserving of God’s love? Today’s parables challenge us to think about this question.

Our first reading is part of the story of Jonah.  If you heard this as a child, I am sure you remember it! Something about the water and the big fish make it very appealing to the young.  It also should be an engaging story to us who are older as Jonah is a character with whom we can connect.  He seems genuine in his reaction to God.  His experience with God rings true to humankind and we can see ourselves in his responses. 

Jonah is the antithesis of the other Prophets in the Old Testament. Instead of hearing, proclaiming and doing what the Lord asks, he does the exact opposite. 

When God calls him to go east and give the people of Nineveh a message to repent, Jonah immediately goes west to avoid being the messenger.  This first part of Jonah’s story of being on a boat in the middle of a bad storm is a satire on the dangerous situations in which the other prophets found themselves. It is only after God has shown mercy to Jonah and saved him from a terrible death that Jonah finally does what God has asked of him.  Today’s reading begins at this point.  

Jonah has delivered God’s message to the people of Nineveh and amazingly enough, they have listened to Jonah and have done as he asked. God, in his mercy, has changed his mind about the punishment he was going to bring on them.  It would seem that a prophet in this position would be very happy, would it not?  Jonah has brought a message; the people have heard it and remarkably have acted on it and God has relented.  What better news could Jonah have had?

God had been merciful to Jonah when he saved him from drowning in the ocean or dying in the body of the big fish, and yet when God is merciful to those in Ninevah, instead of rejoicing, Jonah is angry! He tells God, “Here are all these miserable offenders and all you can do is be gracious and merciful? Why did you not punish them?”

Jonah continued in his talk with God, “I knew all along that you would relent so why did you need me to bother with these people? This is not fair!” And Jonah went off to sulk. The story finishes with an even more unusual tale of a big tree-eating worm. 

Finally, the point is made clear; God’s mercy and compassion are unbelievable.  Their scope covers all, not just Jonah, not just us, God’s mercy and compassion is for everyone. God’s kingdom’s rules of fair and unfair are far beyond human rules.  

The entire book of Jonah is a parable, told for a point, for a reason, for a revelation about God’s character. Biblical scholar John Dominic Crossan has said that when a parable engages us, we are confronted by the insight it reveals. We find ourselves face-to-face with the Kingdom of God and we are challenged with a new understanding of ourselves.   Instead of explaining the parable, the parable explains us.  Our meeting with the parable makes us find something new, lose something old and choose a new understanding.  We are brought to a decision about God, about others, about ourselves. One of the beautiful things about hearing these scriptures repeatedly is that often we hear new things. Our life circumstances filter the story for us and we often find a new insight from the same story.

Hear the words of the psalm again, “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion.” This is a point of entry for this scripture. As we hear about Jonah and his experience, can we see God’s compassion and grace in our own lives?
The same point of confrontation that Jonah faced in his conversations with God is also present in today’s gospel parable. 

Many people are hired to help in the vineyard at various times of the day. Those who were hired first were told they would receive a certain wage for their efforts. And at the end of the day, they were paid as promised. Those hired later were also paid and it was the same amount for their labor, even though they worked a shorter time. When we hear this parable, those of us who have been a part of labor organizations want to shout, this is not fair! God can’t do that! Let’s file a grievance! 

While we look for equity, we find generosity. Are we resentful of God’s generosity towards others?  As I said earlier, we are pleased that God is merciful towards us, should we take exception when God treats others in the same way? These parables, as do all good parables, challenge us with our attitudes and misconceptions about God and his view of the world. While humans often separate the world into winners and losers, superior and inferior, insider and outsider. God does not. 

The question raised by both stories is, “Can we learn to see others through God’s eyes?” We are challenged to become more Christ-like in our thinking and in our actions towards others.

There is a lot of unfairness in this life.  There are many opportunities to live in resentment about what we do not have or did not receive.  In this morning’s gospel we are reminded of the psalmist’s words.  Rather than God being unfair we are moved beyond fairness to see that the Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and of great kindness. God is lavish, God is extravagant, God is generous and giving of his abundant love to all. And what a great blessing it is to be included in His work, whether we are part of those who were chosen first or part of those who came later.  What a blessing it is to have received God’s mercy and love! 

Today’s scriptures invite us into the stories, perhaps to see ourselves in similar situations and to think about how we might meet the stories using God’s eyes. As we are drawn into the stories, we have the opportunity to realize how like Jonah and how like the vineyard workers we are. We too have been blessed by God’s love.

What peace that knowledge brings!

We glean the message of God’s kingdom through these stories. However, It does not stop here. It is not just about us. Rather we deepen our knowledge for the purpose of sharing it with others.

The purpose of spending time with God’s stories is twofold, to grow in our recognition of God’s love so that we may see with God’s eyes, and then to bring the knowledge and love of God to others.   

I ask you to remember two psalm verses this week which capture the meaning of the lessons today. Each of these verses has a visual reminder in our Sunday services. The first is the small cross carried in by the children at the time of the peace and the second is the large cross that leads the procession. 

The small cross: “One generation shall laud your works to another and shall declare your mighty acts.”

The large cross: “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and of great kindness.”