Matthew 20:1-16 - Fair?

Matthew 20:1-16 (NRSV)

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Is there a tougher parable for many of us than this one? Well, maybe.

But I'm going to guess this is up there.

We like things to be fair. Don't we? Starts when we are about two and we first begin to be told to share our toys. It's not really fair, is it?

I've been the person in the corporate job who watched while a new person was hired after me for more money than me.

I've been the person was last served at a meal and got less because of it. Who maybe didn't even get a taste of the food I couldn't wait to eat.

I've been the person who was waiting the longest in a doctor's office and saw those who came after me, treated before me.

I'm guessing you've been those people too.

The urge for fairness bubbles up out of us usually without our being able to help it. We are taught fairness at an early age and our self-justification feeds the desire for it as we get older.

And yet, God isn't fair, huh?

Instead, God is just.

Justice and fairness aren't always the same thing. In fact they are often not the same thing.

Sometimes God's justice will rain down on you fairly. In your favor.

And other times not.

Other times, God's justice will serve someone else first.

And you will be last.

And yet that justice shows over and over again God's generosity. And God's call for us to be just as well.

Rather than fair.

Generous rather than self-justifying.

And there...

right there...

Is the Kingdom of God.

Just and merciful God: widen my heart beyond fairness to generosity and justice. Amen.

Luke 10:29-37 - The Road to Charlotte

Luke 10:29-37 (NRSV)

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

"Who is my neighbor?" the lawyer asked.

And Jesus replied: “A man was hitchhiking down from Washington DC to Charlotte, and fell into the hands of gang members, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a Catholic Priest was driving down that road; and when he saw him, he kept driving. Likewise a Baptist minister, when he drove by the place and saw him, hurried on his way. Next a Lutheran seminarian drove by, saw him, and then kept going. 

But a Muslim student while traveling drove by; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and cleaned and bandaged his wounds. Then he put him in his car and brought him to an nearby hospital, and stayed with him while the doctors tended to him.  Then, knowing the man had no insurance, gave the hospital his credit card and said: 'Pay for all of his bills with this.' Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the gang members?” The lawyer said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Who am I Lord? Help me to be one who shows mercy to all. Amen

Luke 10:27-29 - Who IS my neighbor?

Luke 10:27-29 (NRSV)

(Jesus) answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

But wanting to justify himself, (the lawyer) asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

So once we learn to love ourselves, then we're ready to look outward in a love that is moves beyond ourselves.

In another time and place, Jesus will say "love your enemy."

Here Jesus says "love your neighbor."

Is there a chance that they are one and the same sometimes?

The lawyer asks the question we are told, in order to justify himself.

He must be pretty sure that the neighbor thing is pretty narrow, and he's got it down.

We do that still I'm afraid. I do it anyway.

I tend to see my neighbor in terms of geography. Close geography.

Yet the same Jesus who will also say "love your enemy" here says "love your neighbor."

Why should I expect the two to be mutually exclusive?

It's a good set up for a great story...

Lord let me see beyond myself to all of my neighbors and help me not to be surprised at who they are! Amen

Luke 10:27-29: Love self

Luke 10:27-29 (NRSV)

(Jesus) answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

But wanting to justify himself, (the lawyer) asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

And we're still asking this today, aren't we? This one conversation is one loaded one, isn't it? 

Who is your neighbor? Who is the person you are to love as yourself?

And even before that, what does it mean to love yourself? What does Jesus mean to love yourself?

Let's start there. This dialogue might be worthy of looking at more than once.

What does it mean to love yourself?

In an age of self-help books and self-esteem workshops, we might thing we know.

But loving self isn't simply self-esteem.

It isn't pride in our accomplishments and position in life.

It is acceptance. It is self-forgiveness. It is stark honesty about who we really are. It is waking up every day knowing that we are both saint and sinner and that we have a God who loves us as we are.

And then...only then...can we love ourselves enough to have the strength to truly love others. Others who disappoint us just as often as we disappoint ourselves.

So before we ask who our neighbor is, we first must ask ourselves: Do I see myself as God sees me? And can I love that person in the mirror?

Lord, I see through a glass dimly. I don't see myself sometimes as I truly am. Awaken in my the truth of myself so that I can love myself as you love me and then share that love beyond. Amen.

Luke 10:25-28 - Simple but not easy

Luke 10:25-28 (NRSV)

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

The most famous parable begins with a question from a lawyer. (So lawyers have been asking questions for a long time, huh?).

And it's an interesting one. What must be done to inherit eternal life?

Buried in that is another question: just what IS eternal life?

Ask 100 people and you might just get 100 answers. 

But what does Jesus say it is?

There is really only one place in Scripture where Jesus defines eternal life. In John 17:3, in prayer, Jesus says: "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."

Know God. Know Jesus.

That's it.

Knowing God causes life to happen.

How does that change our very perception of everything?

That's what Jesus is telling this lawyer. Change your perception and life happens.

Not just future life. But life now.

Know God now and live.

Love God now and live.

Love Neighbor now and live.

Yet with all this talk of life and love, the lawyer will want to narrow things even further.  Looking perhaps for a way out? Or looking to take something simple and turn it into something complex?

Is it perhaps too simple this life Jesus offers? Have we been trying to complicate it? Simple, but not easy.

Lord, what does it mean to live? Show me! Amen

The Teachings of Jesus: The Good Samaritan, Introduction

Luke 10:25-37 (NRSV)

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

This is one of those teachings/parables of Jesus that has become so deeply ingrained that the very title of "Good Samaritan" is easily understood in the wider culture. We read sometimes in the news about Good Samaritan stories - often when one went either particularly well, or when one went particularly wrong.

We have "Good Samaritan" laws.

So it seems as if we have nothing left to learn from this story.

And yet, thankfully, it is one we return to time and again in the church.

We return to it because sometimes we need to be reminded.

Sometimes we need to remember.

And often we don't understand just who a Samaritan - be they good or bad - is.

And we need to ask ourselves over and over again, who the Samaritans in our lives are.

So, I'll spend the next several devotions unpacking it just a bit.

Lord, help me to see the outsiders in my life that I need to let in. Amen

Luke 15:25-32 - Party?

Luke 15:25-32 (NRSV)

“Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’”

It's nice when a celebration is the end of the story.

But a celebration isn't the end of this story. Instead, in our epilogue, another character comes forward on the stage to get his say.

What do we already know about this older son? 

We know that he was in some ways cheated out of his inheritance. 

We know he is a hard worker.

We know he has morals.

We know he has stayed put.

We know he doesn't think much of his younger brother.

And what else?

That all of those things combined make us know he is resentful.

And that resentment makes him disrespectful. In some ways, the disrespect he shows his father here is as stark as that his younger brother showed when he asked for his inheritance.

"That son of yours." He says. Not my brother. And not that I am your son.

He has sees himself as a hired hand, and the resentment is palpable.

And yet in the midst of the celebration, his father begs him to join in. The celebration might be because the younger son has been found.

But it is a celebration FOR them all.

So the question is...

What happens next?

Do you think the older son joined in the party?

Lord, at times resentment blinds me to the joy you set before me. Help me to reach out and join in the party. Amen.