Sermon by Rev. Dr. Daesun Chung God Is More Than Fair 1

God Is More Than Fair Matthew 20:1-16 September 24, 2017

There is a story of a woman who sat for a portrait painting of herself. When the artist finished the painting and showed it to her, the woman was very disappointed. She did not like what she saw. But the artist defended his painting saying, “The portrait looks just like you. It really did you justice.”

But the woman retorted, “I was not looking for justice. I was looking for mercy!”1 We all want mercy more than justice, don’t we?

Have you ever noticed that the camera is brutal? When you take a picture, the camera captures a raw image of you. No doubt this image is an authentic and vivid depiction of how you look when you take the picture. There is no grace, only justice. But we all want mercy, not justice, when it comes to pictures. So we have a thing called Photoshop, a picture editing program. And you can do some amazing things with it.

In Christianity, we see the power of God’s love in his mercy. The Greek word which we translate as “sin” is hamartia. It literally means “missing the mark.” When an archer shoots an arrow toward a target and misses it, it is hamartia. Is there anyone who hits the bull’s-eye all the time? No! There is no one who can do that. The even proclaims, “All have sinned…,”2 meaning all have missed the mark. None of us can face God’s justice and live. To us, having God’s mercy is imperative. It is not negotiable. We must have it. And Christianity is a religion of mercy to a large degree.

Did you notice that today’s is about mercy the eleventh hour laborers received? It is NOT about fairness; it is about mercy. Actually there is nothing unfair about the story itself. The laborers who were hired early in the morning were promised they would receive “the usual daily wage” which was one denarius.

One denarius would buy them just enough supplies to sustain them and their families for one day and that is what they all received at the end of the day. Not just for the ones who worked 12 hours but also the ones who worked just one hour.

1 From Leonard Sweet’s sermon “Is God Fair?” www.esermons.com 2 Romans 3:23a.

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Why did the owner of the vineyard give everyone one denarius? Because it was absolute necessity. There wasn’t anyone who did not receive what was promised.

It still riles us, doesn’t it? We ask ourselves a question, “Why should the workers who worked only one hour or three hours receive the same amount as the one who worked 12 hours? It just doesn’t seem fair.

However, this story is not about fairness; it is about mercy. If the man of the house does not earn at least one denarius his family would not eat enough to sustain them. It was the bare minimum necessity so the story is about God’s mercy for all people, whether they worked for 1 hour or 12 hours.

Now, even after hearing that, it still makes us feel uncomfortable because it violates our concept of fairness. We unconsciously identify ourselves with the laborers who were hired at the beginning of the day rather than the ones who were hired at the last hour. Perhaps deep down in our heart, we want mercy for ourselves and justice for everyone else.

If you think about it, we should identify ourselves with the laborers who were hired at the last hour, at five o’clock in the afternoon, rather than the ones who were hired at daybreak. It may well be that we are the last ones to arrive. If we are not the last, we are certainly not the first. The Israelites of the Old Testament are the early workers, and we are the ones who are getting the benefits of the mercy and grace of the owner. Whether we are the last or somewhere in between, we are the beneficiaries of God’s generosity.

Justice is important to God, no doubt about that. But it seems like that God chooses to exercise his mercy and grace far more than his justice.

When was crucified, he had death-mates on both sides. Two convicted thieves were crucified with him; one on his right and the other on the left. As you probably remember, one criminal taunted and sneered at him, but the other silenced him and admitted that he was getting what he deserved. In repentance, he asked Jesus to remember him when Jesus came into his kingdom (Luke 23:42). And Jesus promised this “last hour convert” that he would be in Paradise with him (Luke 23:43).

When we read this story we cannot help but to ask ourselves, “Why should anyone who has lived his entire life hurting other people receive God’s mercy and salvation at the last possible moment?” It just doesn’t seem right. It is not fair.

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The eleventh hour laborers, the thief on the cross, and the Prodigal Son who received his father’s love and restoration of his sonship are all examples of God’s mercy that is far greater than God’s justice. God is not fair. He has never been. The God who rules heaven and earth is not the God of “fairness and equitability”; but he is the God of mercy, grace and generosity.

Another point to consider about this story is the reason why this parable was included in the Bible. This parable is unique to Matthew. It does not appear anywhere else. So this raises the question “Why was this parable important to the readers of the of Matthew? What was happening in the early church that the author felt that it was important for this parable to be included?”

The was primarily written for the Jewish audience. This gospel gives 62 references of the Old Testament prophecies being fulfilled in Jesus Christ, which is far more than other . The culture that is unique to the Jews was never explained as if the author assumed the readers already knew it. It is a common understanding that Matthew was written to the Jews to show them that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Messiah they had been waiting for.

Matthew was probably written sometime after A.D. 65. According to scholars, the was written around A.D. 65, and it was the first gospel to be written. Both Matthew and Luke were written after Mark, borrowed their materials from Mark as well as other sources. This is the reason why the stories of these three gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, are very similar and are in similar sequence. Because they are so similar, we call them “the Synoptic Gospels.”

So we know that Matthew was written sometime after A.D. 65. What this means is that it has been more than and possibly far more than 30 years since Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension.

The original disciples of Jesus and his first followers were probably old by then. They were Jews and new leadership was emerging in the church. Gentiles or non-Jews were entering the community of believers in greater numbers than the Jews. The church leadership might have shifted to the Gentiles and to the younger generation. It must have been a time of struggle and change, especially for the old folks.

The last hour laborers were now in the leadership positions of the church. Perhaps this is the reason why this parable was included in the Gospel. The early

East Whittier United Methodist Church 562-698-2241 www.ewumc.org 10005 South Cole Road, Whittier, CA 90603 Sunday Worship: 10 AM Sermon by Rev. Dr. Daesun Chung God Is More Than Fair 4 church had to realize that God’s grace and mercy had been bestowed upon the new leadership.

Whether or not this was the reason for the inclusion of this story in the Bible, the church of every generation needed to hear this message.

God constantly calls for new workers. Like the owner of the vineyard, the Lord keeps employing people throughout the day. It is a matter of urgency. The grapes needed to be harvested right then. If the owner had stopped hiring after the early morning workers, the fruit would have rotted. So he continued to go out to hire more people.

Look at any church and we realize that there are people who have been serving the Lord faithfully all their lives. We have many of them here. They are absolutely valuable and needed. They ought to be honored. But there are also people who hear and respond to God’s call late in their years, even in their deathbed. The world needs their work and their witness as well.

So whether we are the early believers or the last hour believers, how shall we live our lives as the recipients of God’s mercy and grace?

I am sure many of you have seen the movie called Saving Private Ryan. It is about the invasion of Normandy in World War II. The movie opens with an elderly man walking through a cemetery in Normandy coming to a grave and kneeling down in front of it, weeping.

Suddenly the movie jumps back 54 years to the D-day, to the day of the invasion. For the next 20 minutes or so, we watch one of the most horrific and graphic war sequences ever recorded. The details of war killings and violence, so graphic, so vivid, that it is actually difficult to watch. Thousands of people were killed or wounded on the beach that day.

Then the real story of the movie begins. Eight soldiers who have survived the invasion battle are given a mission to save an American paratrooper named Ryan who was dropped behind the enemy lines.

These eight soldiers go through traumatic experiences to find Ryan. And when he was found, several men have already lost their lives trying to rescue him. The last one killed is the captain of the unit, Captain John Miller. As he dies, he says to Private Ryan, “Earn this.”

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At that moment, the movie switches back to the cemetery. The gray haired man is still kneels at the grave. The audience knows that this old man is Private Ryan. Now he is in his 70s. Slowly he stands up, turns to his wife and says, “Tell me I have been a good person.”

His wife is puzzled. She does not know what he is talking about. But the people who have been watching the movie know exactly what he means. He is asking her, “Tell me that my life has been worth saving. Tell me that I fulfilled the purpose for which the captain and the other soldiers gave their lives.”3

That is how you and I need to feel about our lives. We know that God’s grace, his salvation, is free. We know that we did nothing to deserve it. We also know it has cost Christ his life. Not just Christ, it has also cost many other Christians, who have tried to share the message of God’s love with others, their lives as well.

As the recipients of such grace, what kind of people should we be? God’s grace is amazing. It is not fair. It is not just. It is simply incredibly generous!

3 Adopted from King Duncan’s sermon, That’s Not Fair, www.esermons.com

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