Tag Archives: GRACE

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on July 16, 2015
Tags: GRACE, ,   

Last, First, or Somewhere in the Middle — Rev. David J. Schreffler

July 16, 2015

“The kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into the vineyard. Going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place; to them he said ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ Going out again about the sixth and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing; and he said to them ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘No one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ When evening came, he said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.'” Matthew 20:1-8

One of the nuances of living in 21st century America is how we treat those who are “first”. It begins in elementary school — when people select teams for any kind of activity, the people who are picked first are either the most athletic, the most popular, or the most liked. This reality and practice is also continued through high school and even into college. In the Professional Sports world, the first person selected in a draft (like professional baseball and football) is usually paid the most. It is a big deal to be selected first — you are honored with being first — it is a statement that you are the best of the best.

The parable of vineyard, and the selection of laborers, turns this idea completely on its head. Those selected first are not paid more, are not honored more, are in no way treated as being the best of the best. They simply are treated the same as those being selected last. Martin Luther writes, “In every kingdom, in every empire, there are privileged men; that is to say, eminent persons with rights beyond the ordinary; and the source of these privileges is that by birth or by office they are closer to the person of the prince. It belongs to the sovereign’s greatness and majesty that the luster of his crown should be in some sort reflected on those who approach him near. But if we are united with Christ, let us not look among the rich for the privileges of Holy Church. Our monarch’s crown is a crown of thorns, its luster is suffering and affliction.”

You see, G*d pays no attention to how this earthly choosing of the first and last is carried out. G*d will decide — G*d will decide — and the Grace of Jesus Christ is given to all equally, no matter when we began to labor in the kingdom.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on June 23, 2015
Tags: GRACE,   

It Is Work — Rev. David J. Schreffler

June 23, 2015

“I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:8-9

“One of the disconcerting facts about the spiritual life is that G*d takes you at your word. Sooner or later one is given a chance to prove his love. It was all very well to love G*d in His works, in the beauty of His creation…” Account of her conversion Dorothy Day (1897 – 1980) “For All The Saints”, volume II (p. 125)

It is one thing to say “I love G*d” — it is another to live your life in a manner that someone will say about you “They love G*d”. To prove that your love is genuine will come in the earnestness of your actions. And, as Dorothy Day so eloquently puts it, “G*d takes you at your word”. In other words, if you say you love G*d, then G*d expects that you live and you love in the manner G*d expects of all of us. And of course we will constantly fail — because we cannot meet the complete expectations of G*d — that is why we have Grace. But we cannot fall back on Grace time and time again and say “Well Jesus died for me so I don’t have to love every day.” That is not the kind of faith life we are all called to live. We need to keep Grace as the safety net that catches us when we go out into the world, into the unknown, into places we do not want to go, or to people we do not want to see and do loving things for them. We need to keep Grace as the safety net we need when we go out and work for peace, justice and to feed the hungry. We will not always do what we should, or to the length we should, but we need to continue to live in a manner where we prove the love we have for G*d. That sounds like works, but it isn’t — but it is work.

Pastor Dave