Christ the King

This being my second time preaching for Christ the King Sunday,  I wanted to look a bit at the history of this celebration at the end of our year.  Starting last year in Advent we have arrived around again.  This celebration is one of the last added to our calendar.  This grows out of the first World War.

When we think of the history of our church we often think back two hundred years as we just passed that milestone as a congregation and we also think about two thousand years ago to the creation of the universal church.  

Pope Benedict XV began his papacy one month into world war I.  He was horrified at his inability to broker peace as bodies piled up in Europe.   He declared "There is no limit to the measure of ruin and of slaughter; day by day the earth is drenched with newly shed blood and is covered with the bodies of the wounded and of the slain."  We are horrified still.

He was replaced after his death in 1925 by Pope Pius XI who believed the aim of the papacy was to re-establish the kingdom of Christ by peace in Christ.  This is why he established Christ the king Sunday to refocus the church on the true ruler and away from unquestioning support of earthly powers.  This war to end all wars was something new that required a response.

Originally this feast was celebrated the day before all saints day.  October 31rst was the original day of this feast. It was moved to its current Sunday in 1969. This was done by Pope Paul VI, who believed that placing the feast on the last day of the liturgical year would highlight its significance.

So to me it is surprising to learn that this celebration is so new.  It seems so natural at the end of our year.  It is hard now to imagine the year without this ending.  Well at least fifty four years it has been at the end.  Wow I am almost that old.  

The themes are rather straight forward in my mind.  Jesus is the king of the universe and the Church.  Hard to believe this was not always celebrated.  The kingdom of Jesus will be established at the end of time.  Christians should follow and obey Jesus as their Lord.   Use his model of living.

   

We are also brough themes of sovereignty and who is really in charge.  Protection, power and the final judgment.  Matthew 25:31-46 is explicit on this last theme.  I read from the Amplified Bible- "The Judgment" as it is labeled.  

31 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory and majesty and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him [for judgment]; and He will separate them from one another, as a shepherd separates his sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right [the place of honor], and the goats on His left [the place of rejection].

This scripture is the end so the association with Christ the King is clear.  Also the current place on our calendar seems the most reasonable place to share this scripture.  We go around and around year A, year B and year C  and back again.  This placement at the end reassures us that there is a destination.

Two thousand years ago they did not expect this to take so long.  Maybe that is why this is such a modern celebration.  Two thousand years later the church coming out of World War I needed to reassure themselves of that destination.

Also realization of why things had gotten so bad.  Or why we might say things today are so bad.  He will separate them from one another, as a shepherd separates his sheep from the goats; this tells us things are going to be difficult until this happens.  For us it is impossible to separate them.  We do not have the ability to tell them apart.  The only thing we can do is trust.

It is a scary proposition.  Even more scary for someone who has trusted the wrong person.  Now even in this difficult situation we still can not tell them apart.  Perhaps we just trusted that person at the wrong time.  People go through things that we are not aware.  They are also motivated by things we do not know.

Not to get too far down a medical description, but people are different.  If we took one hundred people and used modern imaging technology we would find some difference.  Now would we know what those differences mean? probably not.  As amazing as science has progressed they are essentially silent on what human consciousness is.  Our Lord lays it out very simply: there are sheep and goats.

34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father [you favored of God, appointed to eternal salvation], inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me [with help and ministering care]; I was in prison, and you came to Me [ignoring personal danger].’ 

It would seem like the sheep would be able to identify themselves given all these qualities outlined in our scripture, but as we see they do not.  It seems to be the nature of the sheep that they feel they haven't done enough.  Even when someone breaks our trust we wonder was there something I did wrong.  It is the nature of sheep to be motivated by uncertainty up to the end.  

37 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You as a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 The King will answer and say to them, ‘I assure you and most solemnly say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it for Me.’

The sheep will not be able to separate themselves.  There are many people in our world that try to.  There really is nothing to be completely certain in except that Christ is King.  As subjects of Christ the King, people should treat others with compassion and justice.  And see the Lord in all.

41 “Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Leave Me, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels (demons); 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me [with help and ministering care].’ 

So here we come to the most surprising part of everything.  The Goats have the same answer as the sheep:

44 Then they also [in their turn] will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or as a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will reply to them, ‘I assure you and most solemnly say to you, to the extent that you did not do it for one of the least of these [my followers], you did not do it for Me.’ 46 Then these [unbelieving people] will go away into eternal (unending) punishment, but those who are righteous and in right standing with God [will go, by His remarkable grace] into eternal (unending) life.”

We end here with what the church often in the past focused upon.  Eternal punishment.  The fire and brimstone they used to talk about plenty around here, but I say to you as subjects of Christ the King, people should treat others with compassion and justice.  Some will be with God and some will be separated.  As far as punishments go in my mind there really is nothing greater than being separated from our creator.  This was also my father's conclusion and he had grown up in a different time.

It is important who is around.  It makes all the difference, but there is no machine to tell people apart.  There is no way for us to separate people.  So listen you are going to trust in the wrong person at the wrong time.  Might be wrong person or just wrong time, but I assure you if you trust you will make mistakes.  If you don't trust you will have nothing.

You might think you need to be careful who you trust, but I have chosen to go another way.  You trust everyone.  How many times you might forgive, well another favorite of my fathers: Matthew 18:21-22

 from the  Amplified Bible says: 21 Then Peter came to Him and asked, “Lord, how many times will my brother sin against me and I forgive him and let it go? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered him, “I say to you, not up to seven times, but seventy times seven."

'Cause it's a long way to go

A hard row to hoe

Yes, it's a long way to go

But in the meantime

Before you cross the street

Take my hand

Life is what happens to you

While you're busy making other plans

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful

Before you go to sleep

Say a little prayer

Every day, in every way

It's getting better and better

"Then these [unbelieving people] will go away"  Huh?  I think maybe till that last moment the vehicle of grace is available till they finally leave.  I think again what happens after your separated from God is kind of moot, what could be worse.  Maybe some will argue the goats were already separated and it was too late.  I'm not gonna argue, but I see something finally different in the two sides.  One saved by grace and one that gives up.  In the end the battle of good and evil is a forfeit.  

For even before there was good news we knew:

Ezekiel 34:20-24 continues

Amplified Bible

20 Therefore thus says the Lord God to them, “Behold, I Myself will judge between the [well-fed] fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you push with side and shoulder, and gore with your horns all those that have become weak and sick until you have scattered them away, 22 therefore, I will rescue My flock, and they shall no longer be prey; and I will judge between one sheep [ungodly] and another [godly].

23 “Then I will appoint over them one shepherd and he will feed them, [a ruler like] My servant David; he will feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I the Lord will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken.

So this Christ the King Sunday we remember who we serve.

Let Us Pray,

Holy One, enthroned in glory over all creation, you are a shepherd to the lost and the least. Teach us to see your face among the poor— feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, and visiting those who are sick or in prison— so that we may share in your eternal realm prepared from the foundation of the world; through Jesus Christ, who is coming indeed, to reign with justice, compassion, and love. Amen 

Benediction

"Christ Has No Body,” – Teresa of Avila

Christ has no body now on earth but yours; no hands but yours; no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ must look out on the world. Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which He is to bless His people.

It is not enough to proclaim Jesus Christ

as our Lord and King.

Our mission in life is

to make his kingdom a reality among us

and to bring it to those around us

by our words and deeds.

The way to do this is to live as he lived:

for others, in love and service.

May almighty God bless you for this task:

the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord

and to give shape to his kingdom.

Thanks be to God!

Amen.

Nottingham UMC 11/26/2023

Earth Dragon

 

Hard to know the ways around the universe

Lucky are we confined to one planet

But there are many worlds

Created all the time

Many things I know

Only outnumbered by those I do not

Hot water I never thought funny

Pound Sterling

I remember that hallway

There are some places we never leave

It was the strangest thing I had ever seen

The electricity ran out

She did not call anyone

She was not even surprised

In her flat were solutions to all of life's problems

She searched through her change for a pound sterling

Quid pro quo 

I followed her out in the hallway

wondering where we were going

I had no idea

It was just above the door

She slotted in the coin and turned the dial

I followed her back to the table as did the electricity

North London so we finished our tea

A Reason

I pay attention mostly when I think I need to.  It was freshman orientation that caught my ear, "you're here for a reason."   That was the first thing Doc told them; there was more I could hear in his voice.  "You have shown yourself to be the best of the best."

For three years I did not pay attention except curtain time.  Up stage or down stage I would be there

Doc had them play the other side of the coin and they nailed it.

You can tell the great from the chaos that follows after; in the theater you can be the bad guy in a good way.  Marko has now ended up changing his major his senior year.  The long time department head lost his long health battle.  Sometimes not quantity but quality is what is most important.  Most of the last years were compromised by the pandemic.  The black box theater mostly dark.

There was a few windows that opened.  The production they did they each took different parts.  I wasn't sure what to think about Doc performing at the time.  Today I know I will never forget what was his last performance.  There are parts no one wants to play.  Someone has to.  The other side.

Thoughts of theater have been coming to me lately.  I worked recently in a performing arts school teaching third grade.   I told them there is a reason there are not that many performing arts schools: it is very hard.  Performance is such a big part of our lives we struggle so to teach it.

Jesus as a great teacher is a great performer.  Here in this scripture we have today Jesus gives one of his more memorable performances for his most difficult audience.  Our scripture today comes from. Matthew 22:15-22 which I will read from the Amplified Bible:

15 Then the Pharisees went and conspired together plotting how to trap Him by [distorting] what He said. 16 They sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are sincere and that You teach the way of God truthfully, without concerning Yourself about [what] anyone [thinks or says of Your teachings]; for You are impartial and do not seek anyone’s favor [and You treat all people alike, regardless of status]. 17 Tell us then, what do You think? Is it permissible [according to Jewish law and tradition] to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?” 

The Pharisees along with the Herodians.  This was not a mob that would approach anyone else.  We hear often of the Pharisees, but we might be forgiven for missing the Herodians.  These were the people who supported Roman rule.  The two groups were equally convinced the other was completely wrong, but both were afraid of Jesus.

The Herodians remind me of the scene in the Life of Brian.  While they meet to discuss revolution they come up with actually a very long list of good things the Romans had done.  Aqueducts and such.  It was Herod who did the last major construction of the Temple so it is easy to understand there were some who supported him, the Herodians.  This is not strange.

What is strange is these two groups confronting Jesus.  According to Josephus, the Pharisees appeared before Pompey asking him to interfere and restore the old priesthood while abolishing the royalty of the Hasmoneans altogether, descendants of the Maccabee family.  Pharisees also opened Jerusalem's gates to the Romans, and actively supported them against the Sadducean faction.  When the Romans finally broke the entrance to the Jerusalem's Temple, they killed the priests who were officiating the Temple services on Saturday.  They regarded Pompey's defilement of the Temple in Jerusalem as a divine punishment of Sadducean misrule.

According to Josephus, the Pharisees ultimately opposed him and thus fell victims (4 BCE) to his bloodthirstiness.  The family of Boethus, whom Herod had raised to the high-priesthood, revived the spirit of the Sadducees, and thenceforth the Pharisees again had them as antagonists.

The Herodians still supported Roman Rule.  The Pharisees did not.  When they formulated this question both sides probably thought they knew what Jesus would say.  Or maybe they thought there was nothing he could say.  He had frustratingly refused to take sides in their conflict.  This is actually what brought them there together.

They figured he would have to take sides as we often feel.  We take sides.

18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, asked, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? 

They had no business together there asking this of Jesus, but he decides to take their test.  The Pharisees, who strongly opposed Herod and Roman rule, and the Herodians, who were strong allies of Herod and Rome, set aside their political differences in order to conspire together against Jesus.

It didn't matter if you supported Rome or not if you supported God.  It doesn't matter who you support or not if you support God.  

19 "Show me the coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a denarius [a day’s wage]. 20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “The Emperor Tiberius Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Then pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 When they heard this, they were caught off guard, and they left Him and went away.

The Pharisees, who strongly opposed Herod and Roman rule, and the Herodians, who were strong allies of Herod and Rome, set aside their political differences in order to conspire together against Jesus.  Every Jew was required to pay the poll-tax. It was considered a sign of subservience to Rome.

They wanted to know who's side he was on.  It was important to them.  It is almost comical.  They were so sure of their positions that they were sure Jesus would have to pick sides.  The Pharisees planned to trap Jesus with his words. They sent their disciples and the Herodians to him. The Pharisees wanted Jesus to make an unpopular statement or open himself to arrest for rebellion against the Roman Empire.

It is interesting to note in Luke 20:20 again from the Amplified Bible says: 

20 So they watched [for a chance to trap] Him. They sent spies who pretended to be upright and sincere, in order that they might catch Him in some statement [that they could distort and use against Him], so that they could turn Him over to the control and authority of [Pilate] the governor.

Luke was not as interested in the political factions of the time.  He continues in Luke30:26: They were not able to seize on anything He said in the presence of the people; and being unnerved at His reply, they were silent.  

Unnerved: deprived of courage, strength, and steadiness.  It must have felt so unnatural for them to be working together.  

The issues raised by this scripture are ones of allegiance. The lesson Jesus gives is as valid today as it was 2,000 years ago: Repay to Cesar what belongs to Cesar, and to God what belongs to God.  Some say that this passage shows that Jesus taught that Christians should support the government no matter what. Others say that Jesus doesn't care about mundane things like what you do with your money.

There are things we do not have a consensus on.  We often find ourselves picking sides.  Thirty-seven percent of people in Ohio who call themselves evangelical also support the reproductive rights amendment on the ballot.  I'm not here to tell you what to vote for or against, but to highlight our lack of consensus.

We often do not know the difference between the freedom fighter and the terrorist.  We have trouble telling between a despot and a tool of the almighty.. 

Isaiah 45:1-7 in the Amplified Bible says: 

This is what the Lord says to His anointed, to Cyrus [king of Persia],

Whose right hand I have held

To subdue nations before him,

And I will ungird the loins of kings [disarming them];

To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:

2 

“I will go before you and level the mountains;

I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron.

3 

“I will give you the treasures of darkness [the hoarded treasures]

And the hidden riches of secret places,

So that you may know that it is I,

The Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you (Cyrus the Great) by your name.

4 

“For the sake of Jacob My servant,

And of Israel My chosen,

I have also called you by your name;

I have given you an honorable name

Though you have not known Me.

5 

“I am the Lord, and there is no one else;

There is no God except Me.

I will embrace and arm you, though you have not known Me,

6 

That people may know from the rising to the setting of the sun [the world over]

That there is no one except Me.

I am the Lord, and there is no other,

7 

The One forming light and creating darkness,

Causing peace and creating disaster;

I am the Lord who does all these things.

This passage can lead us in many directions.  We may think there is no point to choosing sides because God is in charge.  Doesn't sound wrong, but there is something here we must render to God.  We must pick sides.  

The protest we make could be the wrong one it seems to me.  But I think we must take a side.  When you look at the ballot it is easy to see that these are things of Caesar.  

In the theater you can inhabit any side.  You can play one character one day and the complete opposite the next day.  Acting closer to who you are I imagine is easier, but acting further from yourself is really where the craft exists.  Up stage or down stage I would be there.  Doc had them play the other side of the coin and they nailed it.  They rendered nothing to Caesar.

Jesus is inviting us to look and make our own decisions where we lack consensus.  I don't think that morality can be legislated.  I also don't think you can reform the world.  I think that it needs saved. 

Jesus' response to the question about paying taxes to Caesar is not just about taxes but is a subtle critique of the entanglement of religious and political power. It could be seen as a call to keep them separate and to prioritize spiritual and moral values over worldly concerns.  Jesus was advocating a more fundamental separation of church and state, where believers should give their loyalty to God (what is God's) and not allow themselves to be compromised by secular authorities (Caesar).  

More traditional interpretations focus on the lesson of fulfilling civic obligations (paying taxes) while also honoring one's spiritual commitments.  I do think that everything Jesus does is meant to teach us, but it is just a remarkable response.  These two sides that really did not belong together.  They were sure he would say something wrong.  Each probably thought he was really on their side.

They didn't think that it was possible to be on everybody's side.  I sure find difficulty, but I know that Jesus is on every side.  What brought them together was fear.  We might not agree about everything but we don't have to fear.

There is a reason for everything.  With the sheer vastness of space, it seems quite conceivable that there should be more intelligent civilizations out there besides us. The observable universe contains at least 2 trillion galaxies, with each such galaxy having approximately 100 million stars on average but with some like our Milky Way Galaxy estimated as having as many as 200 billion stars and 100 billion planets.

Given the math, it is hard to believe that we are so unique that no other life could have sprouted in the far reaches of the cosmos. This conflict between the possibility of life and the fact that we haven’t seen any aliens around was famously encapsulated in the so-called “Fermi Paradox” by the celebrated physicist Enrico Fermi, who reportedly asked in a 1950 conversation with fellow physicists Edward Teller, Herbert York and Emil Konopinsky something like “But where is everybody?” referring to potential extraterrestrials.

Maybe God needed to make the entire universe just to make you.  Maybe life has been started trillions of times.  We really don't have a consensus.  Neither case would be hard for God.  Both can't be true.  The Pharisees and the Herodians were behaving in a way that suggests they had higher standards or more noble beliefs than is the case.  They did not have an answer to their own question.

So, perhaps we should behave in a way that suggests we have lower standards or less noble beliefs than is the case.  The opposite.  Maybe we could welcome the stranger and not have any questions.

Let Us Pray:

Dear Lord

Let us set the opposite of a trap

Let us be radical in our hospitality

We fail to find consensus in everything we believe

Help us to love anyways

We ask the way home

In the name of your Son Jesus Christ

Amen

Benediction

We may not always have consensus

We always have love

When in doubt love

Go with the grace of our Lord

Nottingham UMC 10-22-2023

A Reason

I pay attention mostly when I think I need to

It was freshman orientation that caught my ear.

"You're here for a reason." was the first thing Doc told them

There was more I could hear in his voice

"You have shown yourself to be the best of the best."

For three years I did not pay attention except curtain time

Up stage or down stage I would be there

Doc had them play the other side of the coin and they nailed it

They rendered nothing to Caesar

You can tell the great from the chaos that follows after

You Also

My first notion of a sermon or message or homily was a very simple one.  It seemed people had their favorites to me and just picked them to talk about.  Seemed a reasonable assumption to me.  So I had some ideas of favorites.  I could see myself preaching about todays scripture every week 

 

Might alternate with the woman at the well.  (John 4:)25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ—the Anointed); when that One comes, He will tell us everything [we need to know].” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you, am He (the Messiah).”  We are all outsiders of something so we relate easy to her it seems to me.

Today I am following the liturgical calendar as I have for the last several years.  One of the best things about writing a message is that it really can be on any topic.  This is also one of the main difficulties.  It is difficult to focus with all of creation before you.  Given a verse to start helps me accomplish the most formidable challenge for most everything: starting.

Today's story about workers being paid the same appealed to me as a child.  I had only just arrived really.  Everyone else had been around much longer it seemed to me.  This idea that I had not missed out on anything I think was the first one that appealed to me, but it is only one aspect of our story today. There is a sense for us as adults that these late arrivals could have arrived earlier.  The workers who arrived early believe this to be true.  While not against the late arrivals they simply assumed what they had done had more value and would be treated in some different way.

There are many reasons that we need work.  Really there is one main one we dance around.  On the application the most simple answer to why we want work we never give.  I worked ten plus years in employment and not one of my clients wrote that they needed money, but that is why they wanted the job I assure you.  Refugees new to the country they asked why they wanted the job.  Really.  Many were hired because they were not from here and people assumed they must work better.  Opportunity breeds success is what our society misses. 

Spoiler: the workers would not be treated differently because there is nothing less to give.  God doesn't have less to give.  Almost a constraint placed on the creator of the universe.  As for us: we can be in relationship to God or not.  More of God is pretty much equal to less of God if you want to look at the math. 

More of God = Less of God

As the calendars turn we come around here today to our scripture from Matthew 20:1-16.  My guess is I would pick this one each time to talk about, but I might not get asked to anymore.  We meet at different times in our life with different purpose.  Different meanings are infused in God's words to serve different people and different places.  It is not the bible that is contradictory, it is our civilization.  Basically in every era and location.  Double standards built upon double standards till they are ingrained.

What double standards I wouldn't want you to wonder.  What is the simplest?  Women are to be virtuous and men are to sow wild oats.  There is a constraint placed on this society.  Things will not end well until the foundations are replaced.  Jesus understood this well.  People may not like the Christ over turning our tables in the temple, but they can not ignore him.

Hear a simple story of Laborers in the Vineyard I read from the Amplified Bible:

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of an estate who went out in the morning at dawn to hire workmen for his vineyard. 2 When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour (9:00 a.m.) and saw others standing idle in the market place; 4 and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right (an appropriate wage).’ And they went. 5 He went out about the sixth hour (noon) and the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.), and did the same thing. 6 And about the eleventh hour (5:00 p.m.) he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ 7 They answered him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He told them, ‘You go into the vineyard also.’

You also.  So this owner is like none we have ever known.  A job creator to be sure.  One with so much work.  But which owner of a large estate goes and finds people to work.  Quite a scene this man out about town calling people.  Jesus always over turning the foundations of our assumptions.  The greater the estate the more men to manage more men.  The kingdom of heaven is like none we have ever known.  All we can say is it will be different than we think it will be.  The owner of that great estate will be calling...you also.

8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last [to be hired] and ending with the first [to be hired].’ 9 Those who had been hired at the eleventh hour (5:00 p.m.) came and received a denarius each [a day’s wage]. 

Here we are in the world we know and the expectations are no different somehow today.  It is really quite remarkable considering how many people claim to follow Jesus.  We all think we would get more being more hours.  What we seem to miss is maybe there isn't more.  Maybe God doesn't have less to give.

10 Now when the first [to be hired] came, they thought they would get more; but each of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they protested and grumbled at the owner of the estate, 12 saying, ‘These men who came last worked [only] one hour, and yet you have made them equal [in wages] to us who have carried [most of] the burden and [worked in] the scorching heat of the day.’

You or I in that situation might feel equally indignant that you even had to explain this to the owner.  More work is worth more is the simple math we do.  People for some reason don't like math.

When there is an adult and a child and relationship.  This is what I was reminded of as a child.  I didn't really understand work.  Best I could equate the boss or the owner to the old people in charge around me.  As a child I knew the adults did more work.  As an adult I do more work.  This seemed a good way for things to be.

I saw maybe those who were there earlier as older.  There is something ingrained in the world that it is necessary for the older people, those who have been around longer, even when they were working in the blazing sun to be bigger people.  And by bigger I mean to make themselves smaller.  This was more of a feeling I had than any thought really at the time, but it always seemed the most marketable aspect of our religion.  You were not going to get less when you came into relationship with God because there is nothing less about God.

Now I find myself on the other end and it is no longer a feeling but a job description.  Follower of Jesus I will take responsibility.  Why would anyone want to be big you don't get more, huh.

 13 But the owner of the estate replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no injustice. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go, but I choose to give to this last man [hired] the same as I give to you. 15 Am I not lawfully permitted to do what I choose with what is mine? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’ 

This was a new foundation we seem as unsure to build upon.

College debt forgiveness was recently debated in the supreme court and continues to be a topic of interest.  The argument is essentially the same as the workers who arrived earlier.  It is not fair that someone should have what I have not had.

Well God doesn't have less to give.  As a child  I felt like I arrived late in the afternoon and was getting what everyone else was getting.  This seemed like a great deal.  Today it feels like I have been here longer.  The deal is not as attractive I will accept, but there is no other deal in town I like to point out.  There are no other estate owners out in the market place calling, "you also."  They are all calling,  "me first."  This all natural and what we expect, but natural has lost all its meaning in this world.  

16 So those who are last [in this world] shall be first [in the world to come], and those who are first, last.”

Remember where Jesus started:  “For the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of an estate who went out in the morning at dawn to hire workmen for his vineyard. 2 When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour (9:00 a.m.) and saw others standing idle in the market place; 4 and he said to them, ‘You also...

I once told a refugee to come at 3 o'clock.  He arrived at 9am.  Jesus understood.

Jesus is not talking about a world we know or choose to live in just yet.  What separates us from living?   Paul probes this in the opening of Philippians (1) 21 For to me, to live is Christ [He is my source of joy, my reason to live] and to die is gain [for I will be with Him in eternity]. 22 If, however, it is to be life here and I am to go on living, this will mean useful and productive service for me; so I do not know which to choose [if I am given that choice]. 23 But I am hard-pressed between the two. I have the desire to leave [this world] and be with Christ, for that is far, far better; 24 yet to remain in my body is more necessary and essential for your sake. 25 Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith...

So we live for others Paul suggests.  Pretty good way to start a religion.  You also.  You more necessary and essential for their sake.  Sounds like community.

Someone worked in the hot sun.  Someone will need to work in the hot sun.  Someone will always arrive in the cool of the afternoon because of the efforts of our creator out in this world calling, "You Also."  Good that it is not up to us as we would certainly give up on many people.  

Today and yesterday I feel a strong connection to this simple story.  I also feel that it was not the story that changed as I grew, it was the story that changed me.  So much of what is called contradiction is in truth simple apathy.  In a "me first" world "you also" makes no sense.  Thanks to our creator and the ministry of Jesus this is a Also You world.

Nothing needs to be done to get everything, this can be hard to accept.  It seems the people we would give up should do more, but in the end you need to understand there is only relationship with God and no relationship.  No less no More.

Let Us Pray

Creator of this world and the next

Help us to understand how to work smart in the hot sun

Send us out in the market place calling, "also you."

Let us help reveal the great work of the kingdom

Life has taught us many things.

Let your love heal us from these wrong and simple views

Let us see you we ask in the name of your Son Jesus

The great hope for every world

Amen

Benediction

Go out in the hot sun

Welcome those who arrive in the cool afternoon

God doesn't have less to give

If you hear the call repeat it: Also You

Nottingham UMC 9/24/2023

When I Get Divorced

It was yesterday to me
Twelve if you count the times around the sun since

We were just doing our thing

All there ever was except I guess before

He has always told me

How I knew he was my son

He then around the sun only five times took me aside

"When I get divorced..."

I stopped him right there already the funniest thing I ever heard

I said you got Sara

You got me

We will always talk nothing has to be

A childhood in one act

With one more trip around the sun