Reflections...

A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on 24 September 2023, by Hope Antone. The scripture readings that day were Matthew 20:1-16.

“Whatever is Right”

 

One of the things that my siblings and I looked forward to, when we were growing up, was the visit of our maternal grandparents. They came with many kinds of produce from their farm in the province – bananas, cassava, corn, beans, sweet potatoes, and leafy vegetables. Sometimes they brought eggs, live chickens, a piglet, or a small goat. 

 

After the sharing of food and stories, Grandma would gather the grandchildren together. She would untie her handkerchief of coins, then gave a coin to each child. The biggest 50-centavo coin went to the 1^st grandchild; 25-centavo coin to the 2^nd grandchild; 10-centavo coin to the 3^rd grandchild; and 5-centavo coin to me, the 4^th grandchild. This became a regular feature of our grandparents’ visits. As you can tell, this happened many years ago, when the coins could buy sweet things that children enjoyed. But the grandchildren grew up, the younger ones learned the value of each coin. One time, the 3^rdgrandchild mumbled, “It’s not fair. Why do we keep getting small coins?” 

 

This childhood story came to mind as I was reflecting on the parable of the workers in the vineyard. It reminded me that there are different views of fairness, depending on where people were coming from. Perhaps my Grandma thought it was “fair” to distribute the coins by matching their sizes with the grandchildren’s ages. Hence, the biggest went to the eldest; the smallest to the youngest. No one complained in the beginning. But later, the younger grandchildren began to grumble. 

 

The “parable of the laborers in the vineyard” is sometimes labeled as the “parable of the grumbling workers.” It tells about a vineyard owner who hired workers at different times of the day. He hired the first batch at around 6AM; the second at 9AM; the third at 12noon; the fourth at 3PM; and the fifth at 5PM. By 6PM, he instructed his manager to pay the workers, starting with the last hire and going to the first. The last hire worked for only an hour and received the usual daily wage. Everyone, no matter how many hours they worked, received the same daily wage. 

 

This made the first hire complain: “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.” 

 

The vineyard owner responded: “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?” 

 

For the vineyard owner, paying the agreed “daily wage” was fair enough. To the second hire, however, the vineyard owner simply said, “I will pay you whatever is right.” 

 

Somehow, “whatever is right” has a note of ambiguity to it. Whose perspective of “whatever is right” would it be?  

 

The owner’s perspective lies in his response to the grumbling workers: “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?” 

 

In today’s context, workers expect the “right pay” to be based on the agreed payment for the agreed work. Some employers may follow a merit system, which includes several considerations to determine the salary: one’s training, experience, position, job description, years of service, etc. However, for some types of work that use digital technology, the number of hours may not be the only basis for one’s pay. Instead, the volume of completed work might be.    

   

Some employers have made effort to humanize or socialize the labor system – e.g., by adding the needs of workers as a consideration in determining the salary. However, there are still employers whose labor practices cause grumbling among their workers.  

 

I know some Filipinos working as English teachers in a certain country where English is not the dominant language. They are usually given extra assignments, on top of their teaching, because they’re known to deliver whatever they’re tasked to do. But these Filipino teachers are put on the lower salary scale because they are not “native” English speakers. I was shocked to know that a high school graduate, with the skin color, accent, and passport of a “native” English speaker, was accepted to teach in a school and paid much more than an experienced Filipina with a master’s degree, who developed the curriculum materials for the school, aside from handling her own classes.  

 

I am sure we have our own experiences of fairness, or lack of fairness, in our work places, or in the labor system itself. 

 

But we also need to remember the spiritual significance of the parable. Jesus shared the parable to describe what life is like in the reign of God. It is a life where the values of the world that we are so used to, are reversed or overturned. Thus, “the last shall be first, and the first shall be last” (Mt 20:16). The values of the world privilege certain people due to their age, class, race, gender, position, sexual orientation, or ability to get first in line. But these are not so in the reign of God.

 

The parable of the workers in the vineyard describes a most unusual employer who makes all workers equal by giving them equal pay, regardless of how much time they worked in his vineyard. We can guess that this unusual employer represents God and the pay that he gives equally to the workers represents divine mercy, forgiveness, salvation, eternal life. The grumbling workers are those who feel privileged and entitled – that because they have been toiling longer, they deserved a bonus! The generous vineyard owner or employer has a different merit system: everyone deserves the same wage, the same reward. This is unthinkable in our world of cut throat competition.      

 

One way to understand the parable is to read the passages around it in order to find some clues to its meaning. Matthew chapter 19 includes an account of Jesus’ encounter with a rich young man who asked what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus instructed him to sell all he had, give it to the poor, and follow him. But he walked away very sad for he was very rich. 

 

Then Peter commented: “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Jesus’ response seemed to affirm that time would come when all those who left homes/families/fields for his sake would inherit eternal life. Later, in Mt 20, after Jesus predicted his death, the mother of James and John asked him to grant her sons the seats at his right and at his left in his kingdom. 

 

So, Jesus told the parable to warn his disciples of possible blocks to eternal life. Eternal life is that quality of life which is like God’s life. For the rich young man, attachment to possessions and positions was a big hindrance. For the disciples who already left everything and followed Jesus, their expectation of reward and special privileges was a big hindrance to life in God’s reign. 

 

Jesus taught that the wage, or reward, of eternal life, is for everyone – those who have already followed and those who are yet to follow – regardless of the length of one’s walk of discipleship. Let us therefore stop comparing – who is more, or less, deserving of God’s blessings. For when we do, we are asserting that only we are more deserving. It is not for us to judge the worth or lack of worth of people for everyone is created equal in the image of God. 

 

So, may the parable inspire employers to be more humane in their treatment of their workers. 

 

Above all, may the parable remind us that Christ’s call to discipleship is not a promise of rewards and special privileges intended for a few. It is a call for everyone to simply follow him, and to do whatever we can to make that God-experience (i.e., eternal life) a reality for someone. When we do so, we also get a foretaste of eternal life. Thanks be to God for such good news!    

A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on 10 September 2023, by Rev. Judy Chan. The scripture readings that day were Psalm 119:33-40, Matthew 18:15-20 and Romans 13:8-14.

The Things That Make for Peace

Good morning. 

If you had a conflict with someone, how would you resolve it? It depends, right? Who’s the other person? What’s the conflict about? And what would it take, at least for you, to consider it resolved?

Now let’s say, for the purposes of discussion, the other party’s fellow Christian, a spiritual brother or sister in faith. And this brother or sister has done something wrong, no, they’ve done something wrong to you. 

What would it take to make it right? What about this: The other person needs to admit they were wrong, repent of their sin, and then be forgiven. They get three chances. If they still refuse, you give up on them. 

Does that sound loving? Just? Even remotely realistic? I didn’t think so. 

Why then does Jesus tell us to do exactly that in today’s Scripture? It seems to be a crash course on “Conflict Resolution in the Church”, or at least in the assembly of believers during His time. But to our modern or post-modern ears, this approach doesn’t sound like the wisest way to settle things, if it settles things at all. In fact, it could be downright dangerous in some cases, especially when there’s a big difference in power between the two parties. That’s why this morning we need different ways to look at this passage, other perspectives that help us make sense of what the Bible says and what it might mean for us today.

It always helps to look first at the overall context of a Scripture passage. So, let’s begin by asking how verses 15 to 20 fit into the whole chapter of Matthew 18.  Because this passage is found only in the Gospel of Matthew. OK, what was Jesus speaking about just before our reading today? A shepherd with 99 sheep still looking for that one sheep who’s lost. And what was He teaching about right after our reading? Forgiving your brother or sister not just 7 times, but 77 times!

Now each of those passages is worth its own sermon, but this much should be clear: when Jesus talks about conflict in the church, the goal is bringing people back together, not throwing them out. The goal is restoration not excommunication. 

The purpose of today’s passage then is not to give definitive guidelines about church discipline, though a process is described. What’s more essential to Jesus is building a foundation for peace in the life and faith of the church. In other words, going beyond conflict resolution to the greater call of peacemaking. That’s right – peacemaking, where we become those blessed peacemakers that Jesus called “children of God” in the Sermon on the Mount.

So, if we look at Matthew 18, verses 15-20, what can we learn about the things that make for peace?

This morning I will speak of three things Jesus teaches us about making peace: 1. Relationships matter. 2. Truth matters. 3. The Church matters. Let me say something more about each of these. 

Relationships matter. 

We all know that, right? But sometimes we don’t act like we believe it. Yet, as one pastor said: Our relationships with each other are fragile and holy. Think about that. Our relationships are fragile and holy. That means relationships can be more easily broken than we think, sometimes beyond repair. We need to handle with care.  Our relationships are also sacred, however unholy someone may behave. Even in church. When I was a pastor in Washington, DC, a member was complaining about someone who was driving her crazy. She stopped for a moment and said somewhat defensively, “I may be a Christian, but I’m not a saint!” Well, that’s for sure. None of us are saints. Yes, we’re all created in the image of God, but we’re still human. We’re still all too human, yet we all still count, says Jesus. Every sheep counts. That’s why if there is a serious dispute between two Christians in the church, we need to deal with it. 

That said, I’m not sure we have to follow the three-step process exactly as described here. Some of it echoes passages in Deuteronomy and practices of Jewish communities in the 1^st century.  Many pastors though have found the so-called ‘Matthew 18 process’ helpful and even wise. Bishop N.T. Wright says whenever he had to mediate a difficult situation in the church, this is the passage he always tried to bear in mind. He describes it as “severely practical as well as ruthlessly idealistic.” Not a bad combination, he adds.[1]  That’s one way to look at it. 

But another way to look at this passage is to realize how small and vulnerable the assembly of believers was at that time. Communities were already very tight-knit, the church even more so. If a person is dismissed, there weren’t five other churches down the street to go tAfo. What happens then to that lost sheep’s spiritual and material welfare? Everybody counts, so try every means possible, Jesus says, try every means possible to forgive and reconcile, for your own sakes as well as the honor of Christ’s name. Relationships matter. 

But, you know, truth also matters. 

Let’s keep in mind that we’re talking here about more than two individuals who’ve had a falling out. Matthew 18 is addressing sinful behavior that jeopardizes the church’s peace and well-being. Some would argue that you disturb the church’s peace and well-being by bringing conflict into the open. But theologian Stanley Hauerwas reminds us that the peace that Jesus brings is more than a peace of rest…it’s a peace of truth. He says, “Just as love without truth cannot help but be accursed, so peace without truthfulness cannot help but be deadly.”[2]

So, let’s not kid ourselves. A peace based on truth and forgiveness is hard, very hard. It requires courage to speak up or speak out. And more likely than not, those who take this path will be labeled troublemakers, fools, or even worse – liars. Yet, as we know from the life of Jesus, when we insist that truth matters, “not only is justice served, but only then is a space for mercy possible.”^[3]

But what about verse 17? You know, “… if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” Gentile and tax collector? That was a standard phrase for the worst people you don’t want anything to do with. Where’s the mercy in that? 

I admit this is difficult to understand. So, maybe another way to look at it is to ask how Jesus treated Gentiles and tax collectors. What does Matthew’s Gospel tell us?  Jesus reached out to Gentiles. He healed them. He even invited a tax collector to follow him and become one of His first disciples. In short, Jesus never gives up on anyone. Neither then can we close the door of the church to anyone forever. It’s Christ’s church, not ours. But Christ’s church is formed as a forgiven and forgiving community of people at peace with one another in truth. Those unwilling to be forgiven and live according to the truth remain separated by choice as heartbreaking as that may be. 

Because, finally, the Church matters.

That’s right. The Church matters because the Prince of Peace entrusted this body with astonishing power and authority to act on His behalf. If you doubt that, look again at Matthew 18, verses 18 and 19. Binding and loosing gives authority to decide whether laws and commandments apply or don’t apply to a current situation. It comes from rabbinic practice. Jesus gave this authority first to Peter in Matthew 16:19. Now He gives it to the Apostles and through the Twelve to the Church. He even says if two people agree on something in prayer, God will hear them! Wow! Does that mean that every decision or prayer request a Church makes automatically gets Divine approval? Obviously not. So, what is Jesus saying here?

I believe Jesus is cautioning us to take the business of His Church seriously, very seriously. Because every decision, every prayer in Jesus’ name has consequences for eternity. After all, we’re calling on heaven to get involved in our affairs on earth. Or put another way, we’re getting ourselves involved in the affairs of heaven. Are we really ready for that? It’s terrifying if you think about it. 

That’s why we need to hang on tight to verse 20. It’s actually the most important verse in the whole passage today. “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

Christians tend to quote that verse out of context, for example when we only have a handful of people turn up at an event. I’ve done that myself. Once I was the guest speaker at a church in the US. The church had widely advertised my talk in the region along with a bad photo. On the night, only a handful of people showed up. The minister was so apologetic. And what did I say? “It’s OK. You know what the Bible says, when two or three are gathered in my name…”

But actually the point of verse 20 is not to set a quorum to do God’s business. The point is whenever Christians gather, we need to behave as if Jesus were right there with us. Because He is – through God’s Holy Spirit. When we dare to meet in His name, He’s going to show up whether we want Him to or not. Because it’s His church, not ours. And because it’s His church, He promises to be in our midst – watching, listening, praying, even weeping, but most of all, leading if we let Him. Remember that!  He will lead us,  if we let Him.

The whole time I was working on this sermon, I couldn’t help but think of all the scandals that have happened in churches. And more times than not, the truth only came to light when a few courageous souls stood up and said “Enough!” Child abuse in church-run schools, sexual misconduct by church leaders, corruption and crimes involving members and officers of the church. You name it, we’ve done it. And the world sees it all and shakes its head. 

 “But it happens everywhere,” Christians say in defense. “We’re not the only ones!” True but that doesn’t make it right. Because the best witness of the Church isn’t proving we are without sin. We can’t do it. It’s not showing there are other people worse than us, even if that makes us feel better. The best witness the church can have as peacemakers is showing the world how we deal with sin and strife when it’s in our own house, God’s house. 

God’s Holy Spirit is not limited to Christians, thank goodness. But if there’s any place that should demonstrate what peace looks like when Jesus is in control, it should be His church. The people to whom He has given express permission to use His name and His power and His authority to build that Church over which the gates of hell shall not prevail.  

Therefore, if we fail, it’s not because His name and His power and His authority are not enough. If we fail, it’s because our name and our power and our authority are not enough. If we fail, it’s because we have tried to create peace and order by our own strength and wisdom instead of taking Jesus at His Word: For where two or three are gathered in His name, He is there among us. And He will lead us to peace if we follow Him. Count on it!

 

I’d like to close this morning with prayer – a prayer for peace by Jill Job Saxby.

O God, give us the vision of your Shalom within us 

and among us…that we might recognize 

the possibilities and accept these gifts as you 

hold them out to us, in ways large and small, 

to each of us, [our church and our community], each day.

 

O God, help us to read … what you 

have written on our hearts – to look within

and to embrace our inmost longings for 

reconciliation and renewal – for this is your 

Presence in our midst, our manna in the 

wilderness, our daily bread. 

 

O God, give us this day what we most 

need: the things that make for Peace. Amen. [4]