4 Pentecost 4
John 4:43-54

John is very sparse in his miracle stories. He includes only seven of them. And unlike the other Gospel writers, he does not call them miracles, but signs. What is important, for John, is what they point to.

You will remember the first of the seven ‘signs’ that John recorded was the turning of water to wine at the wedding in Cana. It was, and remains, in the view of many, a rather odd miracle for Jesus to begin his ministry with. But remember, the point is that it was chiefly meant to be a sign. And while many have wondered over the years what was really the point of rescuing a poorly planned wedding celebration, the sign performed was no ordinary miracle. Many prophets and others, through the power of God, had performed miracle of provision of food or water, great acts of healing, even reviving the dead. But the Jewish understanding of miracle also included a category of the miracle of creation. Of making something that did not exist before. This was a miracle that in the biblical record, only God could do. So when Jesus begins his ministry with turning water into wine, instead of healing a blind person or raising someone from the dead, it might seem rather understated to us. But for those who understood the symbolism, it was a clear message. This was no ordinary miracle worker. This was God himself. No one else could create wine when there was nothing but water to begin with.

And now John comes to what he indicates is Jesus’ second sign. But, of course, we know it is not. John himself makes a point of telling us that Jesus had performed many signs, or miracles, in Jerusalem.  What John means is that this is the second sign that he wants to tell us about. Like the first one he relates, it is symbolically important. And once again, it takes place in the little Galilean village of Cana, not far from Nazareth where Jesus grew up.

So here is the background to the second miracle or sign in Cana.

John begins by telling us that Jesus is heading back to Galilee from Jerusalem. He has just passed through Samaria where he encountered the woman at the well. He was delayed there two days teaching the people of the woman’s village. This gives time for other pilgrims from Galilee to return home, and also for news of what he did in Jerusalem (cleansing the temple, teaching with authority, performing many signs) to make it back to Galilee – including to the court of King Herod Antipas, the man who had imprisoned and then executed John the Baptist, and whose father had sought the death of Jesus as an infant.

A second point to note is that before John begins the account of this second miracle in Cana he relates that after two days in the village of Sychar in Samaria Jesus continued on from Jerusalem on his way to Galilee. Then John adds this comment, ‘because as Jesus himself had said, a prophet has no honour in his home country’ (v. 44). Now this is interesting because the other three gospels have this same saying. But in each of them it takes place when Jesus is being rejected either in Nazareth or in Galilee more generally. But John turns this around.

In John’s account Jesus is leaving Jerusalem where he had taught and done wonders, and has been rejected. He has just been accepted by a town of Samaritans, and now he is on his way to Galilee where the text says ‘the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the festival, for they too had gone to the festival’ (v. 45). And, of course, the story of the sign that comes is further evidence of his being accepted, not rejected, in Galilee.

Many have wondered whether John has made a mistake here and somehow misplaced this saying of Jesus. The explanation is rather to be sought in the emphasis John puts on Jerusalem and the temple throughout his Gospel. As the Messiah, the descendent and heir to David, Jerusalem is Jesus’ true home and country. And it is in Jerusalem, John wants to point out, and not in Galilee, where Jesus was not accepted. So what takes place next is also part of the case against Jerusalem and the authorities there.

Then John tells us that Jesus comes to Galilee. And he goes to Cana. To get there he would have had to travel past the Sea of Galilee and several major towns. And John points out that it was in Cana where Jesus had turned water into wine. So this is an indication that we might expect something to happen again here. And it does.

And now the miracle story.

There was an important official in the court of King Herod who was based in the administrative centre of Capernaum, about 30 kms away from Cana. The name used in the Greek to describe the man is basilikos, which literally means ‘little king’ and was often used of a prince or an important court official. Whether the man was a Jew or Gentile we do not know. Herod would have had both in his court. While some think him to be the same man described as a centurion, or Roman officer, in the synoptics who was also from Capernaum and had a servant who was ill, it is more likely that John is describing an entirely different incident.

The man’s son is very sick and is near death. If any of you have ever had a child who is seriously ill, then you can relate to the desperation of this man. With his influence he would have had access to the best physicians connected to the king’s court. But they could do nothing. His son was dying and there was nothing he could do about it.

When our youngest child was born he was born with two-thirds of his diaphragm missing and only one semi-functioning, undersized and partially collapsed lung. Surgery was done the next day to rebuild the diaphragm. But there was nothing they could do to restore the lungs. We were told he would likely not survive more than a few days before his lung wore out from being on the highest level of the ventilator.

We were desperate. We asked every question. Explored every option. We arranged for him to be baptized before his surgery. My wife thought if the bishop did the baptism that might help. So she called him and insisted he come immediately. And he did. Like the father in today’s story, she was a very desperate and very insistent parent. Our son clung on for two weeks before his lung function began to deteriorate. I was home minding out other children and Kathy was keeping vigil when the call came. I dropped the children off at the home of friends who lived near the hospital, and hurried in to say my goodbyes to our son.

We waited with him all through the night and the next day. He did not improve, but he also has stopped deteriorating. And then his lung began slowly to strengthen and the ventilator was turned down ever so slightly. Against all odds he turned a corner. He was going to make it. But it was a horrible and frightening time in which we felt both desperate and helpless. And that is how the father in today’s story is feeling.

He is so desperate, in fact, that when he hears Jesus is in Cana, he gets some men together, and sets out immediately to find Jesus.

Now there are a couple of points that we should take note of. Firstly, how does the man know about Jesus? Jesus had just begun his ministry and the only thing he had done in Galilee before heading to Jerusalem was the turning of water to wine in Cana. It is not the sort of occurrence that would likely have been taken note of in King Herod’s court. What is more likely is that reports had preceded Jesus’ return to Galilee. During the two days Jesus lingered in Samaria, messengers surely would have come to King Herod’s court to report that a Galilean preacher had made a big scene in the temple, casting out all the money changers, and had performed many miracles. This would have been of special interest to Herod and his officials who had only recently dealt with the last troublesome Galilean preacher, John the Baptist. So this court official likely had only in the past few days, that is, after the onset of his son’s serious illness, heard of Jesus of Nazareth.

The second thing to note is the risk the man was taking in going to Jesus. His boss, King Herod, had arrested and then executed John. The same John who had pointed to Jesus as his ‘successor’. Now Jesus, who many were saying was John the Baptist come back to life, perhaps to see justice and vengeance against Herod, was seemingly picking up where John had left off. It is unlikely that Herod would have been pleased for one of his high officials to go to Jesus for help. And it is very unlikely that the man had sought Herod’s approval. His son’s life hung in the balance. He was willing to deal with the consequences of his going to Jesus later.

When the man finds Jesus, he does not ask him to come and help his son. He begs him.

Jesus responds to the man using the plural for ‘you’, hence speaking to the entire crowd, including his disciples. ‘’Unless you see sings and wonders you will not believe.” This is not a promising response for the desperate father, but he persists.

‘Sir, come down to Capernaum before my little boy dies!’

Then Jesus says, ‘Go. Your son will live.’

And the man believe the words Jesus spoke to him and starts for home.

And this is interesting. The father did not ask for proof. He did not ask how Jesus knew his son would live. But he believed Jesus was telling the truth and started straight for home, so eager was he to return to the side of his son. But it was already afternoon and he would not make it back that night. So he camps with his men along the way and gets up to continue the journey early the next morning.

At the same time, back in Capernaum, something both remarkable and unexpected has happened. The fever left the boy who was near death. And some of the man’s servants were so keen to tell him the good news that they left immediately to head for Cana, for they knew where their master had gone and why.  They likely would have met up along the narrow, rocky path through the hill country of Galilea sometime just before noon the next day. The man’s servants share with him the good news and he rejoices. Then he asks the question, ‘When did the fever break?’ And they tell him that is was about 1 p.m. the previous day, the very hour in which Jesus had said to him, ‘Your son will live.’

Now this is the key point to this miracle story and the one we often overlook. It is why the man went from believing the words Jesus said to him about his son, to he and his whole family believing in Jesus himself.

A prophet or soothsayer could perhaps predict that someone might recover from a serious illness. And as Jesus was clearly something along those lines from all reports the man had heard, and he said with such confidence that his son would live, the man believed his words.

But when he learned that his son suddenly recovered at the very time that Jesus had said he would, it was immediately apparent that Jesus and not successfully predicted his son’s recovery. Jesus had caused it. He had healed him. This was a whole other level from simple prediction. Not only that, but he had done so from a distance. There was no precedent for this.

And this is the point John wants to make. It is why this is one of only seven miracles of Jesus he chooses to tell us about. Like the changing of water to wine, it is not a spectacular miracle. There was nothing for the crowd present to see. But it is a sign of who Jesus is. In all the biblical miracle accounts, healings and other miracles only take place when the one God is working through is immediately present. There are no healings or miracles at a distance. But Jesus heals this boy from thirty kilometres away. In this second sign we see once more that in Jesus we are not simply dealing with a miracle worker or a prophet, even a very great one. Something much bigger is happening here. God himself is living and acting among us.

And so the man goes from believing the words Jesus has spoken to believing in Jesus.

And that is the challenge still for us today. Jesus speaks wise and good words. We have many of them recorded in the Gospels. We can easily believe Jesus is the speaker of truth, without really believing in Jesus himself. It is the difference between knowledge and faith. The desperate father understood that his son would live. He understood that Jesus spoke the truth. The next day he came to have faith that Jesus was God in flesh, and he and his whole family became followers of Jesus, despite the risks.

And the challenge and call is that we too move from simply believing what Jesus says to believing in who Jesus is for us. May we move from a knowledge about Jesus to faith in Jesus – as faith so strong, that like the father in the story we cannot help but to tell our family and friends about Jesus.

May we go from looking for a miracle, like the father in the story, to understanding that Jesus is the miracle. God in human flesh, come to dwell among us.

Amen.

Pastor Mark Worthing.
Port Macquarie.

May the grace and peace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, be with you always.  Let’s join in a word of prayer: Lord God, You know all there is to know about each one of us.  You reveal all that we need to know about You to receive salvation. We gather here in fellowship to receive your living water, and to be reassured of your great love for us.   We worship You and we praise You for this great love.  Guide our time together so that we may be encouraged by your message for us. Gracious heavenly Father, hear our prayer in the name of our risen Lord Jesus.  Amen.

A while back, a Mercedes-Benz TV commercial showed one of their cars colliding with a concrete wall during a safety test. After viewing this advert, someone from the press asked a Mercedes engineer why their company didn’t enforce their patent on their car’s energy-absorbing car body. The Mercedes’ design had been copied by almost every other car maker in the world in spite of having an exclusive designer’s patent.

The engineer replied in a clipped German accent, that I couldn’t copy, “Because in life, some things are just too important not to share.” ^{(King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com)}

 What a great statement. ‘Some things are just too important not to share.’

      As Christians we believe that the good news of Jesus Christ is one of those things that is too important not to share. We accept that Jesus Christ should be shared with our friends, our neighbours, the world. The work of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ is simply witnessing our faith. Most often we do this with our attitudes, our words and our actions that quietly demonstrate our faith as we live our ordinary lives. But faith in a Saviour who is anything but ordinary.   

      At times, Christian faith has been advanced more intentionally by people who were willing to step outside of their comfort zones to witness the good news of Christ.  Even with our best efforts to make a difference with our witness, I want to reassure that we are not always going to get it right.  And that is OK.  God can use what we give to his purpose and advantage.

     John gives us an example of the pattern for witnessing the good news of salvation by our faith in the Son whom God sent.  If we remember, last week we spent some time with Nicodemus.  A man in the know, accustomed to being at the heart of things in the Jewish world.  A leader of the Pharisees, and a person of learning.  When Jesus spoke to this reluctant believer, it made all the difference for Nicodemus. ‘Some things are just too important not to share.’

     This week, in John’s Gospel, we spent some time with the very opposite of Nicodemus.  An unnamed Samaritan woman, accustomed to being on the outside of society.  Being controlled by the various men in her life, and serving at the whims of chance.   

     When Jesus spoke to her, she showed unexpected wisdom, and Jesus made all the difference in her life.  ‘Some things are just too important not to share.’

     Nicodemus came to Jesus with uncertainty, to discover the source of his authority in the world. Jesus explained that his source is the Holy Spirit,  a mystery that eludes human understanding.

     The Samaritan Woman came to the well with a certainty born of pain.  Then Jesus spoke to her and awakened within her an excitement held captive by circumstance.    

     In our lives, whether we come to Jesus with a certainty of our circumstances, or the uncertainty of our future, Jesus makes all the difference.  We can approach our Saviour in the words of Scripture, the gift of the sacraments, or even the quiet prayer and praise in all the times of our lives.

     Like Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman could only relate the words of Christ Jesus to the human experience of life.  Remember, when Jesus confronted the inquiring spirit of Nicodemus with the words,  “no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit,”? Nicodemus’ immediate reaction was to plant this reality next to the human experience of being born in blood and flesh.  And to raise a new question.  “How can this be?”

     When Jesus shared with the Samaritan woman, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  Applying this eternal truth against her human experience, she said to Jesus, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

     In dialogues with both Nicodemus and the Samaritan Woman, the questions raised seem to be left without answers.  But Jesus reveals himself as the answer:  ‘the way the truth and the life’.  ‘The very thing that is just too important not to share.’

     So often, when we confront Christ Jesus with the questions that plague us, it seems that he is silent in our presence, as he reveals himself as our answer:  our way, our truth, our life.  And that reminds us that we are so often asking the wrong question.     President John F. Kennedy in his inauguration speech, said some famous words, “Ask not what your country can do for you.  Ask what you can do for your country.” 

In  the dialogue with the Samaritan woman, we might hear the unspoken words of Jesus, ‘Don’t ask to be given living water.  Rather believe in the Messiah who has come, and receive the living water of the Holy Spirit, by faith in me.’

     Jesus approached her with an intimacy that speaks of friendship, of compassion, of understanding.  How refreshing that must have been for her.  In response to this witness from the source of light and life, this unnamed Samaritan woman returns to her village and witnesses the Good News of the Messiah that they were waiting for.

      It is significant for me that she left her water jar behind.  Far more concerned about the living water that Jesus offered her. And that made all the difference for this remote Samaritan village. After all ‘Some things are just too important not to share.’

Because of her witness, pagan and Jew alike came  to Jesus and believed in him. As John writes, ‘Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days.   ^‍ And because of his words many more became believers. 

 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”’   When important things are shared, we might suspect that no one really cares.  But the Holy Spirit can take the things we share and use them to make a difference.  We may never know the result of the kindness we share, but this woman at the well saw the result.

In our daily lives, we follow the patterns of work and responsibility, of leisure and rest, with maybe even a bit of time for Scripture and prayer.    

But we rarely expect to encounter Jesus, interrupting our routines.  Confronting us with ultimate concerns over life and salvation.  Calling us to be his witness in our small corner of the world.

And yet, God’s Holy Spirit seems to choose the most awkward times to engage us.  Just as Jesus did with the woman at the well.  

It seems so exciting and yet unsettling, when Jesus takes time from his eternal care and kingship over the entire creation, to dialogue with us individually. Through thoughts and intuitions that almost seem foreign to our human nature.  And yet, God in his eternal presence in the world always has us in his sight, and always cares for us. 

This is a mystery that will intrigue us until we are with him in eternity.  Even from his cross, Jesus thought of us.  “Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing!”   and “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”  Jesus was speaking to every repentant sinner, every faith-filled believer, every inquiring mind, when he spoke these words.

And yet, we shouldn’t be surprised.  In those times when we most need a reassuring word from someone, Jesus speaks to us.  He speaks through the Scriptures, through our intuition, through our quiet moments of prayer, through our friends and family.  He speaks with the same intimacy, friendship, compassion and understanding.    

Jesus has much to teach us in this encounter.  We can come to understand that our witness in this broken world is important.   But it is the Holy Spirit of God, who touches the hearts and minds of people through even our simple witness, and through the word of God, and through sacraments.  That makes all the difference in our lives and our world.  So, it is true that  ‘Some things are just too important not to share.’

May the grace and peace of God, which passes all our human understanding, keep our hearts and minds in the calm assurance of eternal salvation in our living Lord, Christ Jesus.  Amen.

Rev David Thompson.

John 3:1-21

As soon as the today’s text begins with, ‘There was a Pharisee …’ we know where this is going. The Pharisees, a group of very devout and quite legalistic experts in the Hebrew scriptures, are regular foils for Jesus in the Gospels. They always come to him with some sort of flattery, then try to lay a trap for him. We have no reason to expect anything different here. But this Pharisee is different. He really does want an answer to his questions – for personal reasons.

His name is Nicodemus. And he was not just any Pharisee. He was a wealthy and influential man, a highly regarded teacher, and one of the few Pharisees who served on the Jewish ruling council in Jerusalem known as the Sanhedrin.

And he comes to Jesus as night. For this act he is forever known. When John introduces Nicodemus twice more later in his Gospel he is always referred to as the one who came to Jesus at night.

Most of us think we know why he came at night. At night, of course, it is harder to recognise people on the street. There is less chance that Nicodemus’ visit to Jesus will be noted and reported to any of his Pharisee friends or his students. And perhaps this was, in fact, the reason he came by night, or at least part of the reason. But if Nicodemus really wanted to have a serious conversation with Jesus, the evening is when he would have come. Firstly, the crowds would have gone and it would be easier to have a private conversation. And secondly, the Pharisees taught that the evenings were the most appropriate time to have serious conversations about theology when the business of life had dissipated and there was time and space to think. So there might have been a very practical reason for Nicodemus to come at night, to find Jesus at home and away from the crowds. He may also have wanted to indicate to Jesus that this was not a set up or shame discussion to try to trap him, but that he really did want to have a serious conversation with Jesus.

Nicodemus would have come to Jesus at some personal risk to his own reputation. So it would have been more than mere curiosity that brought him to Jesus that night, early in Jesus’ ministry.

It seems clear that Nicodemus had a question. And it was a big one. One that kept him up nights. One that he came to suspect that Jesus might be able to answer.

But what was that question?  Ironically, Nicodemus never gets to ask it. Jesus ‘answers’ him immediately after Nicodemus’ polite greeting and his recognition that Jesus must have come from God because of the many ‘signs’ he was able to perform.

But perhaps Jesus’ answer to Nicodemus, which has become both very famous and also much misunderstood in the history of the Christian Church, suggests what Nicodemus’ question was. Perhaps it was Jesus’ way of showing Nicodemus that he knew already exactly what was on his mind, and in his heart.  We read in Luke 17:20 that the Pharisees asked Jesus, ‘When is the kingdom of God coming?’  They expected, as did most Jews of the day, the coming of a literal, physical kingdom. But this coming had seemed very long delayed. And the Pharisees had come to believe that God would not bring the kingdom until the people all did the right thing – or at least enough of them did the right kind of things. So as a man who had committed his life to teaching about the kingdom of God, and who very much desired to see it come, Nicodemus wanted to know from Jesus – from this man who clearly had been sent by God, just what needed to be done to see the kingdom established. That is most likely the question Nicodemus came to ask Jesus.

But as Jesus often does, he anticipates the question, and takes Nicodemus very quickly beyond it to something deeper and more personal.

Jesus answers Nicodemus: ‘Truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being reborn from above.’ (v. 3).

Jesus has now set the tone of the conversation. Nicodemus most likely wanted to know what the people as a whole needed to do to see the kingdom established. Jesus makes the question very personal. He tells Nicodemus what he (or any other individual) must do if they wish to see the Kingdom of God. And it is not what Nicodemus was expecting. It was not any level of good works, or enough people keeping the law, or even the people taking matters into their own hands and beginning an uprising against Rome – for all of these were common ideas at the time for how to hasten the coming of God’s promised Kingdom and the promised Messiah who would usher in the kingdom.

Jesus instead tells Nicodemus that he must be born again, or reborn from above. The language used is deliberately open to more than one interpretation. The Greek word an-o-then that John uses here could mean ‘born again’ as it came to be initially translated into English. But it could also mean ‘born from above’ which makes good sense in light of the many references to ‘above’ in this text. Or Jesus may well have meant both at the same time, hence the translation I prefer: ‘reborn from above’.

In any event, Nicodemus takes the literal meaning and ends up an impossible image. And this is far from surprising if he has come to Jesus with a question about how to see a literal, physical kingdom of God established on earth. That is where his mind and thinking is at. So taking the more literal option, he ends up with a rather ridiculous image in his mind and asks Jesus how it can be possible that he or any other grown person could enter back into their mother’s womb and be born once more. His almost comical misunderstanding then becomes the foil for Jesus to explain what he means in more detail.

So what do we and Nicodemus learn about what it means to be reborn from above in order to see God’s Kingdom? I think there are three main points to be gleaned from Jesus’ words to Nicodemus about being reborn from above.

First, the experience of rebirth from above is a personal one. It is not about what the whole population must do for God’s kingdom to come, it is about what we must experience in order to be a part of God’s kingdom. In Nicodemus’ age there was a tendency to think more communally. So this may have been a difficult concept for Nicodemus to understand. But for us in the modern world, with our emphasis on individualism, this aspect of Jesus’ teaching on what it means to be reborn from above is easier to understand. Jesus is talking here about a personal and transforming experience of God.

Second, it is a rebirth of both water and spirit. ‘No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of the Spirit is spirit (vv 5-6). There are two meanings here: First, there is physical birth and spiritual rebirth. We do not need only to be physical beings, born and living in the world. We must also be reborn spiritually. But there is also unmistakable baptismal imagery here. While these story pre-dates Christian baptism, we must remember that John is writing for an audience steeped in the practice and symbolism of baptism, in which baptism with both water and the Spirit is one divine action (from above). Jesus is probably, once more, referring to both, indicating two different levels of meaning here.

Finally, the rebirth Jesus is speaking of is ‘from above’. This means it is something that God does, that God initiates. It is not our work. Jesus seeks to explain this to Nicodemus in his illustration of wind (or Spirit of God) blowing where it choses and in ways we cannot predict. This is the point we have most understood. In the recent history of the church the movement of ‘born again-ism’ has arisen based on this text. And it’s emphasis has been on what human beings must do. It has been used to press people to make a decision. But ironically, the text is making the exact opposite point. Not that there is no personal component of a human decision. There clearly is. But the point here is that the experience of being reborn is something that originates from above, that comes through the free and unpredictable movement of God’s Spirit. Being reborn from above is a profoundly human experience. But it is not a human work.

The dialogue with Nicodemus ends and the voice of John the Evangelist comes through, explaining further point being made. And it what would seem clearly to be the voice of the narrator explaining the significance of these words, we find the famous John 3:16, in which John reiterates that the whole action begins with God’s love for the world. We do not hear anything further about Nicodemus in this story.

So what happens to Nicodemus? Does he finally get it?

Well, yes he did. John mentions him again in 7:45-52 when there is plotting again Jesus by the chief priests and Pharisees (apparently at a meeting of the Sandhedrin), and the question is asked if any Pharisee has ever believed in Jesus. Nicodemus cannot remain silent but is not yet able to commit. He argues instead for a ‘fair hearing’ for Jesus, and is intimidated into silence when asked if he too is one of Jesus’ followers. So at that stage, Nicodemus is not yet there.

But then Nicodemus appears again in John 19:39, together with a man named Joseph of Arimathea. They come forward publicly to Pilate to claim Jesus’ body, and to do the anointing rituals and place him in a tomb. With the disciples in hiding, the masses having abandoned him, and everyone assuming his cause is lost with his death, Nicodemus comes forward publicly as a follower of Jesus.

Why then?

Well, I think it had something to do with the famous conversation with Jesus that occurred almost three years earlier. When Nicodemus asks, ‘how can this be?’ or ‘how can this come about?’ referring to being reborn from above through the power of the Spirit, Jesus reminds him of the story of Moses and the bronze serpent in the wilderness. In the same way, Jesus says, when the Son of man is lifted up, whoever believes in him will have eternal life. I think that when Nicodemus saw Jesus lifted up on the cross, he remembered these words – words he had been pondering ever since Jesus had spoken them. He understood at that point exactly what Jesus had been referring to and all doubt in his mind about who Jesus was disappeared. It didn’t matter that Jesus was now dead. Nicodemus came forward publicly as one of his followers.

In the same way, Jesus calls each of us to follow the Spirit’s call upon us, to allow God, from above, to make us new, to be reborn through the waters of baptism. The process might be complex and far from straight-forward, as was the case with Nicodemus. But process and time frames are not important. What is important is whether we, like Nicodemus, in the end open our eyes to the Kingdom of God through the work of God’s free Spirit working in us ‘from above’ to make us his children.

Amen.

Pastor Mark Worthing.
Port Macquarie.

The Text: Matthew 25:14-30 

Often when we read the parable of the talents we see the word talent and we immediately think of abilities and the things we are good at. We often say of someone who is good at something—you’re talented. But when we look carefully at this parable we see that these talents are in fact large portions of money that are given to each servant to manage. So what might this parable be about?

Jesus uses this parable to teach us about the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus’ parable begins with a man who was about to leave on a journey. And he entrusted his servants with the task of managing his financial affairs while he was away. He divided this responsibility amongst his three workers according to their ability. He gave five talents to one worker, two talents to another worker and one talent to another worker. I guess you could call this ‘diversification’—putting your eggs in several baskets rather than one. Dividing your assets to provide more opportunities for growth and reduce risk.

And then, when the master returned, he called his workers before him to give an account of how they managed his money. Two of the workers doubled what they were first entrusted with and the master was full of praise for them.  He said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servants. You have been faithful in handling these small amounts, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

But the third worker did nothing with the one talent that he was entrusted with. He had simply buried it. When this worker gave account of his actions, the money was taken from him and given to servant with ten talents.

Now, in Jesus days a talent was used in two ways: it was used as form of currency and also as a measure of weight. Bible scholars believe that for the average worker one talent was worth more than 15 years of wages.

Now if we look at this in today’s environment what might a talent be worth today? In Australia, in 2020 a person on the minimum wage working full time would earn about $40,000 a year. This suggests that in today’s context a talent could be worth at least $600,000 Australian dollars. Can you start to see what an incredible responsibility the master has entrusted to each of these three workers!

Even the person who has received one talent has received an incredible responsibility and an awesome opportunity. If only this servant had recognized this opportunity!

Now like all the parables, we need to look for the principles that Jesus is teaching us through them and ask: what does this mean for us?

Firstly, notice the trust that the master puts in his servants. How he delegates responsibility for so much of what belongs to him to his servants. He believes in his servants. He has full confidence in his servants. Secondly, notice the way he divides the responsibility – that he does not divide it evenly but he divides it according to their ability. In other words he knows the ability of each of his servants and divides responsibility appropriately.

In this parable we may choose to see the Master as Jesus, and we, his church, are his servants. He has given each of us responsibilities. In giving us responsibilities he recognizes our unique ability and gives us responsibilities according to our abilities.

This parabIe has often been interpreted as a frank and simple call to work hard at developing the gifts and talents that God has given us. Sadly, too many of us feel we have failed to fulfill the responsibilities God has given to us.

Maybe we feel we have failed to recognise the responsibilities God first gave us and have failed to try, to take risks, to learn, to grow, to ask questions. Maybe we feel we have failed to use our abilities to fulfill our responsibilities.  The challenge we face is to recognize our responsibilities and use our abilities to fulfill our responsibilities while we have them.

While it is true that God wants us to use his gifts and to multiply them for the benefit of his Kingdom, we are not judged according to the quantity of the work we do for God, nor even by the quality of that work. Rather, we are judged by our attitude: by our willingness to do as God wants us to do, by our willingness to risk all that we have been given for the sake of the Kingdom just as Jesus risked all of himself for our sake.

As Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

But if we reduce the parable of the talents simply to saying that we must be productive for God or else be condemned, then we miss what is so good about the Christian life! We miss the good news of Jesus Christ, the good news of the grace and mercy won for us on the Cross.

If we see this parable as all about productivity, we will end up like the servant who failed to invest the talent that his master gave him. We will end up being afraid—worried more about how well we are doing in the eyes of God than we are about actually doing anything at all.

Consider the servant who buried the talent entrusted to him. He was afraid and he took no risks. He did not see the potential for growth and he buried what he had to keep it safe. He did nothing. In what areas of your life are we burying our responsibilities and not exercising them according to our abilities?

The parable of the talents is not a lesson about success or our degree of productivity. It is a lesson about our attitude and responsibility. It is about faithfully stepping out with God’s treasure in our hands for the sake of others.

The servant was afraid – and so he did not try. What counts is not whether we win or lose, but whether or not we even try. What counts is whether or not we dare to risk those things that God has given us.

What counts is whether or not we invest ourselves in God’s kingdom:
– Whether we take what we have and use it for God’s purposes.
– Whether we pass on the blessings we have received.
– Whether we seek to build community and bring hope to the strangers among us.
– Whether we reach out to those in need and show them the love that God first showed to us.
– Whether we try to multiply joy and divide sorrow.
– Whether we willingly use what we have been given in the service of God.

Do we work with the resources that God has given us for his sake or do we focus on the fact that we might fail and so refuse to try? Do we use the gifts we have been given to build up the church and to bring praise to God or do we use those gifts only for our own benefit?

God gives us many gifts and resources. Why he does so is not always clear, but what God expects of us is clear. God expects us to develop the good things we have so that the world around us can benefit from them, so that those gifts might be fruitful in us, and add to the good things that God’s world needs.

God, like the master in today’s parable, trusts us to do well with his love, to develop the gifts he gives us so that all the citizens of his kingdom may benefit from them. God has blessed you with the priceless gift of salvation. Therefore we have nothing to fear! We can love God and love life. We can take risks with what God has given to us so that others may experience God’s love and his kingdom may grow near and far. Amen.

The Text: Matthew 25:1-13

 

A famous teacher of the church once said: There are only two types of people in the world – fools who think they are wise, and the wise who know they are fools. What he meant was that the first step towards true godly wisdom is to know you are not wise, for there is always more to learn along the journey of faith. A person who thinks they have no more to learn is the person who still has a great deal more to learn.

In the Scriptures, to be wise does not necessarily mean having a head full of facts and figures. To be wise is not necessarily to be smart. The smart are not always wise, especially when it comes to the things of God; and the wise are not always smart, particularly when it comes to the things of this world.

In an earlier parable, Jesus describes the wise as those who build the house of their faith on the Rock (that is, on himself). He says that the wise are those who not only hear the word of God but also do it; that is, live it out in their daily lives. The fools, on the other hand, though they may hear the word of God, don’t do it; don’t live according to it. Instead they build their houses on the shifting sands of personal desires, opinion, culture, fashion.

Notice in the parable that both the wise and the foolish virgins are waiting for the Bridegroom. In other words, this is not a parable about believers and unbelievers, but about two different types of believers. The wise are wise because they have prepared for every contingency by keeping their lamps filled with oil. The foolish, on the other hand, presume that they have enough oil to get them through to the end. In this parable, oil is faith. The wise keep their faith continually replenished. The foolish think the faith they have now is sufficient until Christ returns.

It is only when the point of crisis comes – the delay of the bridegroom – that they two groups are finally distinguished. Just as the two groups of builders are distinguished only when the storm comes. So, what are we to do? Well first we are to recognise that we cannot manufacture our own oil. Faith is not something we work up in ourselves; it is God’s gift that we keep on receiving from him through the means that he has provided. That’s why true disciples are those who continue in Jesus’ Word. This means not only reading and hearing it but also doing it, for that is faith’s purpose – to shine with the light of Christ, just as the oil’s purpose is to allow the lamp to stay lit.

Wisdom, therefore, is both knowing and doing. Not only does it keep faith replenished and thus prepared for any eventuality, but it also maintains one’s spiritual health. The story is told of someone talking to an old school friend who was telling him about his mother who is dying of emphysema. He said that she now has to be hooked up to an oxygen tank for 15 hours a day, and that the doctors have given her little time left. But the really sad part of the story is that in spite of this, she still chain-smokes more than a packet of cigarettes a day, removing her mask to take another drag. Now that is foolish – not only because she knows better, but also because she is knowingly continuing in the very behaviour that has made her so sick in the first place.

We do the same in a spiritual sense when we continue in a sin, fully knowing that it is wrong and that by continuing in it we are hurting ourselves (and others) and endangering our faith. I think we all have experienced such folly. We all know the lack of peace, the joylessness, the regret, the shame, the hiding and the self-deception and the self-loathing that comes on the heels of committing a deliberate sin. And we know who it is that we abandon when we do so; for sin is not just a ‘no’ to God’s law but to God himself, who is love, and the secret of joy.

That is why true wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord, with the wisdom of repentance; of knowing what to do and what to leave behind. Presbyterian minister, Frederick Speakman, tells the story of shaking hands at the door one Sunday when the service was over. As he came back down the aisle on the church after everyone had left, he noticed that some things had been left behind. A bulletin with a shopping list in the margins. In this pew, a pair of gloves; in the next, a pencil on the floor and a lolly wrapper on the seat. As he reached the altar he looked once more at the empty sanctuary and thought to himself, “I wonder what else has been left behind.”

Wouldn’t it be every pastor’s dream to come down the aisle after worship and find other items there. You know, in this pew someone’s deep grief; there, another’s bitter disappointment or sense of failure. In another section some secret sin, real or imagined, not all that important now it had been discarded. Further on, the bulkier rubbish of a badly bruised ego, or the remains of a heated argument on the way to church; or a deep, longstanding resentment between members. Anger, guilt, hurt – all this stuff that so easily beats us up and burns the oil of faith out of us – all swept up and thrown out with the rest of the leftover trash. For it is forgiveness that both replenishes our spiritual resources and greases the community of faith. “Received forgiveness – God’s grace as a renewable resource,” Speakman whispered to himself, “that’s the only thing that keeps us going, keeps our lamps burning.”

In many ways life uses us up; we get burnt out and depleted. But the message of the gospel is that there is also the possibility of replenishment. Drained, we can be refilled as we continue to draw our life from God through the forgiveness of sins. So, if you feel the flame of your faith burning low, then listen again to words the prophet Isaiah wrote so long ago, “a bruised reed [the Lord] will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench.” Remember: the folly of the foolish was not that they didn’t believe that the Bridegroom was coming; it’s that they figured had enough oil to last, that they could do it on their own, without God’s ongoing help. But they couldn’t and we can’t, and it is wisdom to realise that.

Meanwhile, we wait for the Lord, and as we wait, we have the option either to stay prepared, or not. It is up to us. So let us be and remain prepared by replenishing our faith through prayer and God’s word and shining Christ’s light to others through our heartfelt works of love and Christian example. And don’t worry that you will get burned out; for Jesus not only gave himself for us on the cross, but he gives himself to us at every step of the journey. “Ask, and you shall receive.” That is his promise to each of us. Ask, and you will find that there is rest and replenishment! There is forgiveness. There is hope. And the wise still trim their lamps with the oil of his grace. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Matthew 22:15-22 

Who likes paying taxes?
Who thinks paying tax is good?

Some of the biggest political questions today are: Who should pay taxes? How much should you pay? Who should decide how your tax money is spent and what it is spent on?

If we had Jesus standing here today, and if I asked Jesus those questions, what would he say? And would you like the answers? It was a political question back then too, even more political than it is today.

When you have an election you get a say in who gets our tax money, and how they might spend our tax money. The overseer of the government in 1^st Century Palestine was a king, Herod Antipas. He wasn’t elected to this position but was the king because he had agreed to exercise his rule within the great Roman Empire.

He would remain king as long as he toed their line, which included paying plenty of tax money to Rome. Herod exercised his authority with military might and the political will of the Roman government.

So there was a lot of political feeling about this question about whether a good Jew should pay taxes to the Roman Emperor. If you paid your tax money you were supporting the enemy. If you didn’t pay your tax money you could be arrested for treason.

The Pharisees were good politicians. They resented Jesus, because he was a threat to their petty power and religious status. They wanted to embarrass Jesus, discredit Jesus, keep him quiet, or get rid of him any way they could. They knew how to play the political games.

First, they butter him up. Jesus, we know that you always tell the truth. And that you are impartial, because you don’t consider people’s status.

And then they put the question. They know how to use a question that will force him to incriminate himself or to embarrass him in front of the people.

They have made sure that they are in a crowd where there a lots of witnesses, including people who are opposed to the Romans.

But they have also made sure that there are some supporters of King Herod there as well, who will report him if he says anything against the government.

Their question: Is it right to pay taxes to the Emperor, or not?

Jesus is not a politician, and he is not going to get sucked into their political games.

First, he exposes their devious motives: You hypocrites, he calls them. Why are you trying to trap me?

He knows that their respectful approach is just flattery. And he knows their question is meant to be a double-edged sword.

Their question: Is it right to pay taxes to the Emperor,
really means: is it right in God’s eyes, according to God’s will, in accordance with God’s commands of the Old Testament?

But he knows that they are not really interested in God’s will, except in using God’s commands when they suit their own purposes.

An astute politician would probably say: No comment.
Or try to evade the question. So instead of beating around the bush with their question, he gives them a much bigger picture of life, of life in their community, and life in God’s world.

He uses the question to teach the people a true God-pleasing relationship to their society. And a true God-pleasing relationship to God.

He asks someone to show him a coin. They all had coins in their pockets or purses. You all have coins and notes in your pockets or bags or wallets.

If you look at the coin, whose image is on the coin? Or the note? Queen Elizabeth, as symbolic head of state?

Whose image was on those old coins? Whose name was written there? Emperor Tiberius!

And that is significant. The government is responsible for pressing coins, and printing money. Can you print your own money? Governments tend to frown on people who print their own money.

The government has the right to print money, and if you have the right to make coins that shows that you are the government. And the government has the responsibility of maintaining the value of money.

If you have this money in your pockets, if you use this money for your daily life, then you have a responsibility to the government who provides the coins. Yes, you have a responsibility to pay your taxes.

Money was a very important invention that allowed societies to grow and become more complex. Now you produce something or provide some service, and you earn money. And you use that money to buy something that someone else has produced. That is the basis of the very complex financial systems that we have today.

But for Christians there is another dimension. Work is not just work – work is serving. Whatever you do, do it to glorify God, and to serve the needs of people.

How can you serve people who are long way away, whose needs are beyond your ability to help? Money can be a way of reaching them, as you give for their welfare according to their needs, so that they can afford to get the help they need.

This brings us back to taxes. What are taxes? You can think of taxes as a means of service. Taxes are the means of serving the community as a whole. Our taxes provide for our roads and our hospitals and our defence and our education. You are serving the people of your community, as together you are providing for your own needs.

You are also providing for the needs of people in your community who do not have the means to provide for themselves. If you have needs, you may also be benefitting from those means. So your taxes are a way of sharing, according to needs.

There are still always questions of how taxes should best be administered. But when you compare a community that has fair taxes, with a community that has no taxes, because it is has no effective government, then you can even be thankful for taxes.

You may even be able to pay your taxes with a smile. And you may be able to dedicate your taxes – God use these taxes for the benefit of many people.

So give back to the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor. Pay the coins that have the image of the Emperor stamped onto it.

But that is only half of Jesus’ answer. And pay to God what belongs to God.

What belongs to God? We often think that this means give some of your money to the government and give some of your money to God.

But I do not think that is what it means, and I do not think that is what Jesus intended.

Pay to the Emperor, because the Emperors image is on your coins. Pay to God, what bears the image of God.

Where do you find the image of God? Where do you look if you want to see the image of God? Look in a mirror. Look at yourself.

Think back to the story of creation. God created the world, everything in the world, and every creature in the world. Then God created human beings. In the image of God he created them. Male and female he created them. God created us, as human beings, in his own image.

What does that mean? It means that we are different to all of God’s other creatures. It means that God has put something of himself into us. Not in a physical sense, because God is beyond any physical image, but in a spiritual sense. God has breathed his Spirit of life into us.

It means that God has created us to share in his creation, and to pass on his gift of life. It means that God has created us to share a relationship with himself.

It means that God has given us a will to serve his will, to know and choose and do what is good and right and holy. It means that we have been created to live with God forever.

But we know that we have sinned against our God. As a human race, and each of us individually, we have sinned against our God.

Which means that this image of God in us has been spoiled. We have trouble seeing the image of God in one another. We have trouble seeing the image of God in ourselves.

Our sinful selfishness gets in the way. It ruins this relationship with God. It blots out life the way it should be, the life that reflects the image of God.

Our God has given us Jesus Christ.

Jesus is God coming into our world. But now God is in a form that we can see, God with a real physical human presence. St Paul says that Jesus is the firstborn of all creation, the image of the invisible God.

Jesus is God coming to us. And Jesus shows us what human life, our life, is, and what our life should be.

Not only shows us. Jesus brings us back to God. Jesus overcomes our sin. Jesus restores our life. Jesus gives us God’s Spirit anew. Jesus gives us a whole new life,
a life formed again according to the image of God.

So where is the image of God? The image of God is in you. You have been created in the image of God. As Christians, you have been re-created by the salvation of Jesus Christ into the image of God.

Now, pay to God what belongs to God. Pay to God, give to God, what has the image of God imprinted onto it. Give to God yourself. Give to God your own life.

That is the challenge that Jesus gives. To receive our life as God’s precious gift, God’s precious gift given twice over. And then to give our live to him. Because we belong to him.

To give our lives for serving him. For worshipping him. For loving him. To dedicate our lives as we trust him. And then to dedicate ourselves to serve as Jesus serves.

With a deep love that reaches out to other people, in all their needs, a love that embraces them into the love of God.

Jesus challenges us to see ourselves, and all of our lives, as an opportunity to live for our Lord, to serve and to give.

Now, it is not just how much money do I think I should give? Yes, our money belongs to God too, the money that we present as an offering, but also all the money that we need and spend for every purpose.

Now there is no room for silly political questions. Now there is just one question, one spiritual question. How can I best give myself to my God and Lord? Amen.

The Text: Matthew 22 1-14

Have you ever been to a themed party where you had to wear a costume to get in?

In the Northern Territory, bush sports weekends often have a ball on the Saturday night, even though everyone is camping out in the bush in tents or swags. The ladies get dressed up in their fancy dresses and the blokes put on a tie. In fact if you don’t have tie, you don’t get in. But so that no one misses out, the organisers often have a collection of ties at the door so that any man who doesn’t bring one could put it on and meet the dress code.

This I think gives us a clue as to what Jesus was on about in his parable where the man is thrown out of the feast. He didn’t have the correct celebration clothes on. But how did all those others get the right clothes?

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying:

² “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³ He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

⁴ “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

⁵ “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. ⁶ The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. ⁷ The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

⁸ “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. ⁹ So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ ¹⁰ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ¹² He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.

¹³ “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

¹⁴ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

Kingdom parables often begin with that word “like”, or the ESV uses the phrase “can be compared to.”

Not everything about heaven is ‘like’ a wedding feast, but there are some similarities. We need to know what are those similarities and where does the likeness stop.

For instance Jesus doesn’t talk about the drunk uncle boozing up in the corner, or the bride who over indulges – he tell us the things that are similar.

Invitations go out, maybe even save-the-date-invitations, sometimes months in advance. In the parable the first recipients don’t want to come; some are too busy on the farm, others in the office and then the rest of them kill the messenger. It is obvious by where Matthew has put this parable who these people are. The invited guests are the nation of Israel, especially the religious leaders, the Scribes and Pharisees. The same nation who killed the prophets, God’s messengers. It matches exactly with the previous parable we heard last week.

However, this parable is not in the Bible so we can point the finger. As those who have heard the message of the Gospel, we also have the invitation. This parable is now a warning for us, to not be like the Pharisees and ignore the invitation. The invitation is quite simple, all it requires is for us to believe the Gospel – that our righteousness is not righteousness at all and that we instead need the righteousness of Christ. Christ’s righteousness is our only hope to stand before God with a good conscience and receive his favour. The problem with the Pharisees was that they looked to themselves and mistakenly thought that God would be pleased with them by how they measured up. We are tempted to think like this too. We are inclined to think, ‘I’m a good Christian’, or ‘I’m not as bad as those other people’. When we think like that, we’ve become self-righteous and when we are self-righteous we have decided we don’t need Jesus and we’ve rejected his invitation.

So the self-righteous are out.

The party must go on, the feast is ready, the tables are spread, the wine is about to flow, so we need some guests.

Bring in all those who never thought they would ever get an invite!

Just we would at our wedding, God invited his family first, his people, the nation he had chosen. When the tables are not filled he brings in all those who are left on the streets, good and bad. He doesn’t send them home to get dressed, he doesn’t give them a chance to get busy, he just brings them in to the feast. Truth be told this was the intention all along, that the whole world would be invited, but the Scribes and Pharisees don’t realise that.

Weddings have a dress code, guests need to wear the right clothes. But none of those dragged in off the street would have been suitably attired, yet they are all dragged in.

Why is it that one person is singled out as not being dressed correctly? Shouldn’t all those rushed in at the last minute be in the same situation? Obviously not, somehow they managed to meet the dress code, to put on the right clothes. The only logical conclusion is that the host graciously provided clothing for his guests. How else would they have met the dress code? But one obviously wouldn’t receive the gift, he would not put on the free clothes.

So who is he like?

The clothes that we are provided when we are rushed in at the last minute to the feast, rushed in at that last minute to heaven, is Christ’s righteousness. We see it all through the New Testament, and even in the Old, ‘Put on Christ’, ‘be covered with his righteousness’. That is the dress code for the feast, either perfect obedience where we fulfil the law ourselves – that’s impossible – or righteousness that is not our own but a gift of the host.

All those who missed out on the feast were self-righteous. The one singled out for not wearing the right garment was self-righteous because he obviously didn’t think he needed to put on anything else than his own clothes. He was good enough in himself. He had a take-me-as-I-am attitude. But he wasn’t good enough in himself; only one garment gets you in and that is the righteousness of Christ. The nation of Israel were self-righteous and the incorrectly dressed man was self-righteous; the warning for us is not to be self-righteous, but to put on the righteousness of Christ.

We put on this righteousness every day, and sometimes many times a day. Whenever Christ proclaims his forgiveness to us he puts his righteousness on us. Every time we see that we are sinners and receive forgiveness, Christ puts his righteousness on us. Jesus didn’t say ‘the kingdom will be like’ as if it was to happen sometime in the future, he said ‘it is like’, it is happening now. The king has already been crowned, the table has already been spread and we are already living in the kingdom. We might not see the table, the food or the wine, but the feast is happening, heaven isn’t waiting for us to die or be ready before the celebration can begin. The celebration is continuous, and we need to be dressed in his righteousness in preparation and participation.

This parable must be a warning to us on both accounts. We are just like the nation of Israel, in that we have the invitation but are inclined to reject it saying; ‘I’m too busy’, ‘I’m shearing this week’, ‘I’ll get to that another day’, or ‘I’ve got a crop to plant’. We have the message of salvation but are we accepting the invitation?

This is a warning also not to think we deserve to be at the feast without the proper clothes. It’s a bit rude really that a man dragged in off the street after being offered fresh clean party clothes would not put them on. It’s not as if he deserved to be there in his own right, so we must realise we don’t deserve to be at the feast in our own right, but we are assured that our clothing is provided, new and bright, ready for the celebration.

While the celebration is continuous in heaven we get a taste of it here on earth, not just as we put on Christ’s righteousness when we receive forgiveness, but also when we join in his heavenly meal kneeling at the table. So we get a foretaste of the feast that is yet to come for us, but is already in progress.

You are invited to the feast of the King!

And the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Amen.

The Text: Matthew 21:33-46

Some people have a passion for their vines and their wines. Someone who owns a vineyard loves the place.

It has to be the right place to grow wines. They love the soil. It has to be the right soil to produce the right flavours. They love the vines, those funny knobbly sticks that suddenly spring to life. They love the fresh greenness of the growing vines.

They love to watch the fruit forming, growing, filling out, colouring. They love the vintage, the frantically busy time of picking the grapes and carting them into the winery.

They love the pressing – not too many do it by treading the grapes with their bare feet any more, but that shows some of the joy of feeling the grapes give up their rich juice.

They love the wine making, blending just the right juices, storing them in barrels while they ferment and mature. They love the tasting, discovering just what sort of a vintage it has turned out to be.

They love sharing the wine, getting others to taste and tell them what a wonderful job they have done. They love marketing the wine, putting their own label on and offering it to the world.

There is something about owning a vineyard, growing your own grapes, making your own wine, that brings together so many of the best things of living with the fruitfulness of the earth, and the rich blessings of life.

A genuine owner loves their vineyard and loves their winery. The Bible uses that picture for the way that God loves his people.

We hear from the prophet Isaiah in chapter 5 the love song for the vineyard. It tells of the man who planted his vineyard with great love:

My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug up the soil and cleared away the stones. He planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower so that he could guard it against animals or birds or intruders. He dug a winepress, where he could tread the grapes.

When the time for the vintage came he went out to pick the grapes. But it yielded only bad fruit. The grapes were all withered, or sour.

What had gone wrong? You can feel the anguish of this owner who had invested so much effort into the vineyard. You can feel the pain and disappointment of the man who had put in so much love, and who received nothing in return.

That is how God had gathered and built up his people. Our Psalm says to God:  You transplanted a vine from Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land.

Remember the story of God leading the people out of slavery in Egypt, leading them across the desert under the leadership of Moses, and giving them a land where they could settle and thrive.  He called on them to live as his holy people.

But they disappointed God. Again and again they forgot about God. They followed their own ideals and became greedy and corrupt.

Isaiah tells how the people have let their God down: The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are the garden of his delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed. He looked for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

Here is the pain of God when his vineyard, his people, let him down: What more could I have done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?

Now God’s relationship turns to judgment. He says: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and thorns and thistles will grow there.

The people who have deserted their God will suffer the consequences of their desertion, and the punishment of their rebellion. The love of God becomes the pain of God.

Jesus uses a very similar picture in his parable about the vineyard. In Jesus’ parable the landowner does exactly the same: digs up the soil, puts up a wall around the edge, builds a watchtower, and digs a winepress.

But then he has to leave that town, so he rents out the vineyard to some tenants. The rent will be a share of the vintage when it is harvested.

When the time comes he sends his servant to collect the harvest. But the tenants turn on the servants, beat them up, and even kill them.

Now we see the love of the landowner expressed in patience and hopefulness. He sends more servants to complete the mission. But they too are beaten up and murdered.

The landowner loves his vineyard, and he wants to be able to claim its fruit. He decides to send his own son to collect his harvest. He thinks that surely they would respect his son.

But instead of respecting the son or the father, they work out that they can kill the son and heir. And if the landowner has no heir they will be able to seize the vineyard, and own it for themselves.

So when the son arrives they grab him, and drag him out, and murder him.

Jesus asks the people what the landowner should do. They are horrified and angry. They must be punished and killed. And he should find some other tenants who will do the right thing and who will produce a harvest and hand it over where it belongs.

Right, says Jesus. And he turns to the people who are the religious leaders. You are those wicked tenants who turn against their benefactor, he says.

Why? Because they had been entrusted with the spiritual life of their people. God had appointed priests and elders to lead the people in worship, and to teach them to trust God, and to show them how to follow God. They had been called to serve their God and Lord. They had been given positions of trust and responsibility.

And they had taken those positions and used them for their own status and power. They had turned it around and trusted their own goodness, rather than the goodness of God. They sought the honour and glory from the people, rather than giving honour and glory to God. They were the tenants who wanted to be the owners.

God had repeatedly sent prophets to call his people to repentance and faithfulness. The message of the prophets was often a direct challenge to the religious leaders, and it was the religious leaders who rejected the prophets. The prophets were persecuted, and hunted down, and imprisoned, and killed. These were the servants, whom God had sent for the harvest, but who had been beaten and killed.

In this story Jesus is speaking prophetically about himself. When Jesus came, he proclaimed the kingdom of God. He told the people that God’s kingdom was coming, and he showed that he was bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth.

The message of Jesus, and the response of the people to Jesus, threatened the self-interest of the religious leaders. They were already plotting how they could get rid of Jesus.

In telling of the landowner who sent his son to collect the harvest, Jesus is telling how his heavenly Father had sent him into the world. He had done so with great love and deep patience and hopefulness.

Surely people who professed faith and loyalty to God would receive God’s own Son with devotion and faithfulness? But Jesus knew that the knives were out.

The Gospel says that the chief priests and Pharisees knew that he was talking about them. But instead of hearing this as a warning, they are all the more determined. They are looking for a way to arrest him. The cross is not far away.

And even as they do so, they are condemning themselves. They are the ones who want to seize and control God’s kingdom. They are the ones who want the power and the glory for themselves. They are the ones who are bringing God’s own judgement on themselves.

We can think of this parable as a warning to the religious leaders who were there at the time of Jesus.

But we can also hear this parable telling us about the deep love of God for all of his people, and his pain and disappointment whenever people abuse the grace that he gives to them. We can hear this parable as God’s warning also to us.

You may or may not appreciate vineyards. You may or may not enjoy the fruit of the vine. But you have been given the opportunity to share in the wonderfully rich and beautiful kingdom of our God.

God is at work, planting, growing, tending, building, and his work is the life process of growth, health, production. The fruit of the vine is a great symbol of the joy and celebration of belonging to the kingdom of our God.

And God has also given us the privilege of working in his vineyard. God has called us to serve in his kingdom. God has entrusted the work of his kingdom to his people on earth. God has appointed us to be his tenants, working for him, and responsible to him.

But with that comes the temptation, to think that the vineyard belongs to us, and to try to get it for ourselves. As soon as we do that we are rebelling against our God. We are taking what belongs to God. We are looking for our glory and our power.

Spiritual power is a wonderful gift from God, the power to live for God, and to use his word and his life. Spiritual power is also a temptation, a temptation to pride and selfishness and self-righteousness.

We think that God has gone a long way away, and now we can please ourselves, do what we want, all under the justification of religion.

God calls us, entrusts us to work in his vineyard. It is our great privilege to be able to speak God’s word, to show God’s love, to share in the life of the vineyard, its planting, growing, tending, harvesting, to see the great things that God is doing, also through us.

God has even sent his own Son to us. We welcome him as our Lord and our Saviour. We look at all his has given us, and we pledge to serve with his spirit of love and generosity.

It is always God’s harvest, and God’s gift of love. Wherever and whenever we see the new life of the kingdom, we give thanks to God, we offer it back to God, and we rededicate ourselves to serving God more and more.

We offer our service to the glory of our Lord. Let the vineyards be fruitful, Lord.

Amen.

The Text: Matthew 21:23-32

“By whose authority are you doing these things?”

“Who said you could do that?”

“Who says so?”

These are words of protest, accusation, and doubt, but they’re also words of rebellion. The person who usually asks these questions is challenging the authority of the other person. It’s a basic question of who’s in control; who’s the boss right here, right now.

As Australians, we typically like to challenge every authority. We like to disobey or question our parents, thinking we know better than them. We like to see how much we can get away with at work, like attempting to fool our bosses by taking sickies on long weekends (unless of course we don’t trust any other bosses and want to be self-employed). We flash our lights at oncoming traffic to ‘stick it’ to the police who may have a speed camera up ahead. We like to rubbish or lampoon our Prime Minister or parliamentarians. Basically, if anyone thinks they’re above us in any way, we’ll soon cut them down to size!

But when we do these things, we’re attempting to set ourselves up as our own authority, our own boss, or even our own little god who controls our own little world.

When we complain about our parents, our boss, our Prime Minister, or our pastor, we’re really complaining about God who placed them in their position of authority in the first place. They don’t even have to be Christian for God to place them there, after all, even Jesus tells Pontius Pilate he recognises his authority to crucify him (or not) because it was given to him from above (Jn 19:10-11).

In this sense, whenever we challenge or question those in authority over us, we’re challenging or questioning God’s authority, which brings us to the gospel reading for today.

Jesus had entered Jerusalem on a donkey and overturned the marketing tables in the temple. The local authorities (which were the chief priests and elders) came to challenge Jesus by asking whose authority he was doing these things. In other words, “We’re the local authority, and we reckon you have no authority here, so you better come up with your authorised credentials quickly or you’re in big trouble!”

He, in turn, asked them a question about authority. He wanted them to answer by who’s authority had John the Baptist been baptising people? Was he doing this with heavenly authority (which meant it was authorised by God), or was it from humans (which meant it was false, unauthorised, illegitimate, and therefore possibly evil)?

Now, as the local authority experts, they had the choice to back John’s baptisms as authorised by God himself (and therefore give their theological and pastoral blessing to it), or else reject it as false and evil. Since they hadn’t acted on stopping or getting rid of John earlier, you’d think they’d side with his baptisms being authorised by heaven (which many of the lay people believed it was), but they stopped short of doing this for one reason: fear!

The local authorities were afraid of the people and their opinions. Giving up their authority to say what was of God and what wasn’t, they now disqualified themselves from their position of authority. As disqualified leaders who lacked the courage to trust the work of God, Jesus wouldn’t entrust these people with the answer to their question.

When we’re afraid of what people will think of us and our faith, we’re often too afraid to listen to, and trust, God’s authority.

Because we’re afraid of what people will say, or think, or do to us, we give others a kind of fake authority which entraps us into more fear. Instead of letting God have the final authority and the last word on a matter, we listen to the opinions of others. When we’re afraid, we don’t listen to God properly. In response God will often challenge the authority of what we’re afraid of, but we often let our fears deceive us into a false sense of security.

Jesus goes on to teach these disqualified authorities through a parable of two sons – one who said ‘no’, but later obeyed his father’s authority, and the other who said ‘yes’, but then rebelled. He compared these two sons with two groups of people – the ‘tax-collectors and prostitutes’ who will enter the kingdom of heaven and the ‘chief priests and elders of the law’ who won’t.

One group lived rebellious lives but believed John’s and Jesus’ ministry and so acted accordingly in faith, while the other group did and said all the right things on the surface (and so seemed righteous in many people’s eyes, including their own), but didn’t believe their ministry was from God and therefore wouldn’t enter the kingdom.

But notice it wasn’t just faith itself (as if only believing in our own head or heart is enough), but a faith which trusted and acted according to what he or she believed, and so participated in the life and ministry of God’s authorised representatives.

“By what authority are you doing these things?”

Well, let’s see. Pastors, as called and ordained servants of the Word forgive us all our sins. In the stead of, and by the command of, Christ, they forgive us as Christ’s personal ambassadors. Of course, we could believe our own opinions or thoughts which might want to challenge those words. We could believe others who will keep reminding us of our failures or mistakes or regrets. Or you could trust when Jesus says we’re forgiven, we’re forgiven. He has the authority to forgive us and has passed on this heavenly privilege to his church, which is enacted through its authorised servants.

Similarly, at the end of Matthew’s gospel account we hear Jesus has been given all authority and now hands this authority to the church to baptise and teach. We enact this heavenly authority whenever we baptise people.

Whenever we celebrate the Lord’s Supper Christ’s words are repeated and Christ’s authority is enacted. Here again God’s word does what it says so that the bread and wine we eat and drink is also the very body and blood of Christ himself given for us for the forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of our faith.

Of course we could believe our own opinions about this meal and think it only a symbolic reenactment, or on the other hand we could trust Jesus’ authority to share with us his very own body and blood for us, which means heaven itself, in all its fullness, touches us here.

You see, it’s not just by whose authority we’re doing all these things, but how this authority is enacted. In the reading from Philippians this morning we hear how Jesus didn’t use his authority to lord it over you and me, but he emptied himself and became a suffering servant to do his Father’s will.

He trusted and obeyed his Father’s authority by enduring the cruel cross and dying for you and me. You could say he’s unlike the sons in the parable. He’s never changed his mind – his answer has always been, and always will be, a ‘yes’ for you and me – both in intention and in action.

Jesus Christ always exercises his heavenly rule and authority according to the upside-down ways of God’s kingdom for us. He comes as a servant for our sake. He serves us by forgiving us, washing us clean, adopting us as his brothers and sisters, feeding us with his own body and blood, teaching us his ways, and blesses us in order that we may also serve as his own authorized, humble servants wherever he’s placed us.

He’s given us the authority to serve – to faithfully serve as a child, a parent, a citizen, or a boss, under the authority of God. Like Christ himself, we don’t use this authority to rule, but to serve humbly in such a way we don’t think of ourselves as better than anyone else, but as if others are better than us. Because we’re united with the suffering Servant, we don’t look for ways to serve our own interests, but we instead serve the interest of others.

This means, instead of thinking ‘What’s in it for me?’ we may instead think ‘How may I best serve you today?’

Don’t be like those who grumble about those in authority above them, or like those who seek to deceive out of fear, but let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no’ as we all submit ourselves under the authority of God to serve each other in humbleness and grace. And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, which will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Matthew 20:1-16
“That’s Fair!”

If you follow any code of football, you will know that it’s the season for the finals – and usually there is also a ‘best and fairest’ medal count.  During the medal count, fans watch in suspense as points are tallied up, match-by-match, until finally a winner is declared.  Occasionally there is some big news in the weeks leading up to the medal count when the favourite for the ‘best and fairest’ medal is penalized by the tribunal for rough conduct and is rubbed out of contention for the medal. “It’s not fair!” the fans will complain.

If that’s not fair, then try and imagine the complaints there would be if a footballer who had played only a few games at the end of the season was also awarded top points and the ‘best and fairest’ medal.    “It’s not fair!” the fans would complain. The ‘best and fairest’ medal is awarded on the basis of a match-by-match accumulation of points.  You have to play the games – and play well in all the games – to get the prize. 

That may be a situation very much like Jesus’ parable of the workers in the vineyard. In Jesus parable, workers were hired at different times during the day and therefore expected to be paid for the hours they worked, but when pay time came, all the workers received the same amount.  The ones who had worked only one hour received as much as those who had worked all day in the heat of the sun.

It is not surprising that they accused the boss of being unfair.  These workers were operating with the common assumption that people must get what they deserve; the wages must match the work.  At one stage, even Jesus had said to his disciples, “A worker should be given his pay” (Luke 10:7), but here is the same Jesus telling a story that seems totally unfair.  He’s using it as an example of how the Heavenly Father rewards people who come into his kingdom at different stages of their life.  He rewards them all with the same gift, regardless of their time in his kingdom.

Hearing such things may appeal to our inner sense of justice, especially in matters where our own welfare is concerned.  We see it in children when they compare what they have received with what others have received and say, “That’s not fair!”  We see it in adults who cast an envious eye over what others have and say, either openly or inwardly, “That’s not fair!”

Maybe you’ve felt it also in your life as a Child of God.  Hearing this parable may even invoke feelings of “That’s not fair!” How fair is it to think of a person who has lived a wicked or wayward life, making a deathbed repentance and receiving the same gifts from God as the faithful church member who has ‘borne the heat of the day’, serving God all his life, sacrificing himself, taking up his cross and following Jesus? “How come he gets the same reward?” you may ask. “That’s not fair!”

To understand Jesus parable properly we need to see beyond what seems to be the injustice of God and understand that it is also a parable about the generosity or amazing grace of God which is available to all people.

If we human beings really want to take up the matter of the justice of God, then we’re in for a rude shock.  If God really did what was fair or just, no one would receive any reward for God.  We are all sinners and none of us deserve his love, his forgiveness or his gift of eternal life.  As Paul wrote to the Romans, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom.3:23).  What we rightly or justly deserve is his punishment, not his reward.  If we’re interested in justice, that would be fair.

But God is interested in more than justice.  He is also very loving and generous.  That’s why he sent his only Son Jesus Christ to live a perfectly good life in our place and to die, also in our place, for our sins.  Jesus did that to satisfy the demands of God’s justice.  He did it so we could be ‘justified’, put back into a right relationship with God. I don’t think too many Christians would say, “That’s not fair!” to that.

That’s because everything we receive from God is a gift.  The spiritual blessings we receive are never to be considered a wage, but a free gift.  As Paul also wrote to the Romans: The only wage we deserve is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom.6:23).  We have received God’s gift of love, forgiveness and eternal life, not because we have worked for it, but because God is so generous.  It is not something we earn like ‘best and fairest medal’ points, or wages.

In Jesus’ parable, the employer said that he gave the workers whom he had hired last the same amount because he wanted to and because he had a right to do as he wished with his own money.  In God’s kingdom, he gives all people his love, forgiveness, and eternal life simply because he is generous.  He wants to and has a right to hand out his grace and love as freely as he wishes.

No one in God’s kingdom should ever need to feel cheated because they have worked harder for their spiritual blessings than another.  Instead we should learn to rejoice that God’s love and forgiveness is great enough to give even the worst of sinners who have lived the wickedest of lives, the gift of eternal life.  We should learn to rejoice that God’s gifts of forgiveness, life and eternal salvation are available to all who are led to trust in Jesus, right up ’til their dying breath.  We should learn to rejoice because we have received those gifts, even though we don’t deserve them.

It is good news that the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for sinners was big enough to save the worst of sinners in the latest of deathbed repentances.  Like the angels in heaven, we should learn to rejoice at their salvation rather than falling into the trap of thinking, “That’s not fair!”

Whether we were baptised as an infant and led a faithful Christian life for 80 years or more, or whether we repent on our deathbed after a shameful life, we still have reason to rejoice in the generosity of God and in his gift of forgiveness, life, and salvation.

Just as the workers hired first had agreed on their reward when hired (v.13), we who become Christians early in our life also know what Christ offers us.  At the end of our life he gives us no less than he had promised and he will give us no more because he has promised us all he has to give.  He has held nothing back.

So, instead of feeling, “That’s not fair!” or seeing the Christian life as some sort of medal count, let’s learn to rejoice, first of all, in what Christ has promised us in our baptismal covenant right at the beginning of our Christian life:  his free gift of forgiveness, new life and eternal salvation.  Let’s treasure and nurture that gift as we ‘bear the heat of the day’ – offering our lives as living sacrifices in service of God and others.

Let’s also learn to rejoice that God’s love is generous enough, and Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is big enough, to offer that love and forgiveness to anyone who turns away from their sin and puts their trust in Jesus, at whatever stage in their life. 

It wasn’t really fair that Jesus, who did no wrong, should have been punished for what we did, but he did it for us.  Now he gives freely and generously of his love and forgiveness to all who turn from sin and put their trust in him. I think we all have to admit, “That’s fair!” and praise God for his glorious grace.  Amen.

And may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.