The “‘Sumptions” of Grace

Matthew 20:1-16

“I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?

Or do you begrudge my generosity?”

Everybody wants to know, What does the Bible have to say about my life? Perhaps what’s behind the question is a fear that either the Bible isn’t relevant to us OR our lives aren’t relevant to God.

The conundrum is, Christians will complain about God’s not showing up for them, or God’s not speaking to them, not answering their prayers. We are very quick to complain and to blame God or the preacher or the teacher or a committee for our disconnect with faith, with God, and with the Bible.

The parable today demonstrates that grudges, complaints and idleness are not conducive to living into God’s gift of grace in our lives. Quite simply, if you want to be with God, understand his plan for your life, you have to show up in the “marketplace” willing to answer God’s call and go into God’s vineyard. It’s in the vineyard that we reap God’s sumptuous harvest of grace. We won’t find grace by standing around all day, idle in the marketplace of faith, complaining “no one has hired us.” Here’s the good news: you got the job! Will you accept it? Will you labor in God’s vineyard of grace?

The parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard is the longest parable that Jesus told.  Matthew is the only gospel that contains “The parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard.”  And the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard can teach us a lot about the theology of work, but today we will focus on what the story teaches us about God’s extravagant gift of grace.

Maybe you’ve heard this definition of grace: “Grace is when God gives us what we don't deserve, and mercy is when God doesn't give us what we do deserve” (Unknown). Grace comes from God—we cannot bestow it upon ourselves. Grace is a gift that comes from God—we cannot buy it, earn it, make it or take it. And the gift of grace that God gives is God’s choice alone. It’s a faulty faith to believe that we can persuade God to save us——that can lead to all kinds of ‘sumptions that will lead us astray:

·      Assumption

·      Consumption

·      Presumptions

·      Resumption

The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard reveals to us that we hold onto ‘sumptions about God’s desire to save us by his grace. There are at least four ‘sumptions that Christians are prone to believing, yet these ‘prove the truth of the Kingdom of Heaven in the last line of the parable, “the last will be first and the first will be last, for many are called but few are chosen.”

                   

The first ‘sumption is “assumption.”  Look at verses 9-10: “And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them received a denarius.”

We assume that we are chosen people. Why not?  We are in worship almost every week; we say grace over our meals; we do good works, we try to be kind. Assumptions are actually a mix of arrogance and laziness. You know what they say about people who assume, don’t you?!

The second ‘sumption is “consumption.” Look at verses 11-12: “And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, ‘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 of the heat.’

We are often consumed by envy when we think others have received more than they deserved. We strive to be so strong and devoted to God; we pray harder than another that our loved one would respond to chemotherapy treatments and survive, but they didn’t—and someone who did less than we did received for themselves what we prayed so hard for and yet did not receive. Be consumed by God, not by the evil eye of envy. God will be generous with what is his to give.

The third ‘sumption is “presumption.” Look again at verses 12-13: “‘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 of the heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you know wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?’

We cannot presume that we are any better a Christian than the person

who sits beside us in the pew or stands in the Pulpit before us, or

sits in the coffee shop behind us because we presume we have

struggled more or suffered more, sacrificed or served more.

The fourth ‘sumption is “resumption.” Look at verses 14-15: God alone can resume our salvation from the shallow graves of assumption, consumption and presumption. The resumption happens at this table before us, which is spread with the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ who died for us, the food and drink of God’s sumptuous grace.

Only God can save us—only God can resume the plan of salvation he wants for us; we cannot save ourselves. We have a situational faith but what we must learn is to practice a diligent faith—that our hearts are always on the path to share love and hope with those in the marketplace.

We may not get paid in this world what we are worth, yet we will surely receive God’s grace when we bear the burden of the day and the scorch of the heat for the sake of the kingdom. God does not choose to us because we are the best or the worst; God does not love us more because we are the first or the last; and God does not give us more or less because we are the most or the least in his kingdom.

God is generous and loving; God is faithful and trustworthy; God is merciful and just; and God is God and we are not. The advice from the parable is sweet and simple: “Take what belongs to you and go” with it—that’s how God has designed it. The Master says, “I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you.” Because God’s grace is his to give, whenever and wherever and to whomever, we will always receive from God far more than we will ever be able to give back. Thanks be to God for the ‘sumptions of grace. Amen.

March 1, 2015

First Parish Federated Church of South Berwick, ME

The Reverend Donna Lee Muise, Pastor

Think God can’t use y ou? Consider these people – God used them for amazing purposes despite the fact that:

Jacob was a cheater

Peter had a temper

David had an affair

Noah got drunk

Jonah ran from God

Paul was a murderer

Gideon was insecure

Miriam was a gossip

Martha was a worrier

Thomas was a doubter

Sarah was impatient

Elijah was moody

Moses stuttered

Zaccheus was short

Abraham was old

AND

Lazarus was DEAD!

If God can use them, what’s our excuse?

Little Faith Feb. 8, 2015

LITTLE FAITH

Matthew 14:13-33

“O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Why do we doubt?

·        Is it because we fear failure?

·        Is it because we know the laws of nature?

·        Perhaps it’s because we live far from the edges of the impossible?

·        Maybe it’s because we are all too cynical or deeply jaded to think outside the doubt box?

Often we hear the story of Peter’s mini-walk upon the waves as a criticism of our own “little faith.” The text surely has been preached that way. Yet, instead of hearing Jesus’ question as deep criticism of our faith inadequacies and expecting to be admonished severely from the pulpit, I would like to explore the reasons why we doubt…why we have so little faith.  

Little Faith shows up several times in Matthew’s gospel, but we’re only going to look at two. Turn to Matthew 17 v 19. The disciples have tried to cast a demon out of an epileptic man and they have failed. ”Why could we not cast it out?” they wondered. “He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith.’” If Matthew had stopped the story right there, we would only hear “Because of your little faith” as a criticism, perhaps even as Jesus expressing frustration or disdain for the disciples—and by extension, the same sentiment toward us.

But Matthew doesn’t stop there, because Jesus didn’t stop there. It’s important to  In the very next verse, we find out that Little Faith is not necessarily a bad thing; it is actually quite powerful. What does Jesus go on to say there? [For truly I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” That sounds like a promise to me.

Look back to Matthew 8:26. This is the well familiar miracle of Jesus’ calming the storm. The boat was being swamped by the waves and the disciples were in fear of their lives. They woke up Jesus and begged him to save them, for they were “perishing.” Mark records this same event in Chapter 4 of his gospel, verses 35-41: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And what does Jesus say in both texts? “Why are you (so) afraid, O you of little faith?” Then He rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. It’s possible to hear Jesus as not only rebuking the winds and the sea here, but also the disciples. Not a feel good moment—or was it?

While the disciples were being swamped by Mother Nature’s fury, Jesus was talking to both the wind and the sea, “Peace. Be still.” When we are afraid, we may beg Jesus for help. With little faith in our hearts, however, we can borrow Jesus’ words, “Peace. Be Still.” As our little faith grows more powerful, so does the nearness of the savior and the knowledge that he is in complete control. That sounds like peace to me.

Finally, we are used to being convicted in our doubts by Peter’s short-lived attempt to walk on water. Personally, I think Peter should actually receive accolades here for just getting out of the boat! Peter exhibited Little Faith when he saw Jesus walking toward them on the water. He called to Jesus, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Look with me at Matthew 14:29. What does Jesus say to Peter as the other disciples looked on in terror? Jesus said, “Come.” That sounds like invitation to me.

Little Faith gives us the same invitation Jesus gave his followers us to step out of the boat. “Come,” he said to Peter. “Come follow me,” he said to James and John, Peter and Andrew. How about…“Come to me all you who are weary and heavily burdened,” and “Let the little children come to me.” But that’s not all.

Little Faith promises us gifts beyond measure. How about, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13); “My God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:19). Then there’s “I will never desert you nor will I ever forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Also, one I promise I know you will recognize: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (MT 7:7).

·        Why do we doubt? Are we not made to thrive in promise, in peace and invitation, O we of Little Faith?

·        Why should we doubt?

o   With Little Faith we can move mountains from here to there.

o   With Little Faith, we can find Peace to carry us through the most terrible storms we experience in our lives.

o   And with Little Faith, we can keep our eyes on Jesus and do whatever he commands us to do—even if it means getting out of the boat in the middle of an angry sea.

There is no need to be doubters; Jesus calls us to be people of Little Faith. For the day is surely coming when Jesus will set before us five loaves and two fish and say to us of Little Faith, “You give them something to eat.” That sounds like Big Faith to me! Amen.

February 8, 2015

First Parish Federated Church of South Berwick, ME

The Reverend Donna Lee Muise, Pastor

It's all about Jesus Jan. 11

IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS!

Matthew 3:13-17

“Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.”

In every town and city, the people have their local legends. In Princeton, NJ, you might hear of the time that Albert Einstein was walking in front of a local hotel there. A fancy car pulled up, a dowager of much means saw Dr. Einstein, yet did not know who he was. She assumed he was a bell boy, and she ordered him to carry her luggage into the hotel. Einstein did as he was told. He was given a small tip for his efforts. He then went back to ponderings of the mysteries of the universe.

This little story may be true or may not be true, but it does have something to teach us about Jesus. Because we can look backward in time, you and I know what the dowager does not: the somewhat disheveled-looking, scruffy and unassuming, small-in-stature man is one of the most celebrated intellects of the modern era.

Another disheveled looking scruffy man was rumbling about in the wilderness near the Jordan River shouting, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The kingdom of heaven was what the Israelites had been waiting for since they escaped from Egypt in the middle of the night a thousand-plus years earlier, so they heard John’s message was good news. They took off for the river to confess their sins, be washed clean, and made ready to witness the arrival of the Kingdom of Heaven.  If there’s a kingdom coming, then there must be a king coming. They all had grand ideas of what this king would look like—big and brawny and powerful, dressed to the hilt, riding with his entourage in invincible chariots of fire.

Like the dowager, nobody at the riverside recognized the king in their company. Jesus did not look like the king from heaven any more than Einstein looked like the smartest man in the world. The confessors went down to the river to pray for forgiveness, to be washed clean and made ready to rejoice at the arrival of God’s kingdom.

We need to remember that these folks were believers who were baptized before Jesus died on the cross. Think of that period in history as a time of transition. When the sinners were baptized, they were looking FORWARD in faith to “what we now look backward on in faith to the forgiveness and deliverance that Christ would bring.”[1] From our knowledge and position today, we can know from the beginning what the river “repenters” did not: It’s all about Jesus. He was not the carpenter’s son; he was God’s son.

Yet, my question today is, do WE know—really know—it’s all about Jesus?

Jesus’ baptism is a great place to come to a deep understanding of our Christian faith—it’s all about the life, the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Life.  John wanted to refuse to baptize Jesus, but Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (v 15). Catch the importance of Christ’s baptism here: even though Jesus’ life is without sin, it is here his obedience to God through his willingness to be identified with sinners that fulfills all righteousness. The good news is that Jesus’ righteousness is credited to our account. The righteousness of God can be fulfilled in us because Jesus fulfilled all righteousness.

The Death. Christians do well to remember that the baptism includes the symbolism of death. Sam Houston “was a rather nasty fellow with a checkered past. Later in life he made a commitment to Christ and Sam was baptized in a river. When Sam came up out of the water, the preacher said to him, “Sam your sins are washed away.” Houston replied, “God help the fish.”[2] Fish are made to live under the water, but we are not.

Being under water figuratively means that one is weighed down, crushed under, and prevented from living for one reason or another. There is no air to breathe; we are trapped, we are completely and utterly alone. Sin does that to us. It’s like death. The good news is that when Jesus was completely immersed under the water: sin and death were conquered. Jesus’ death his blood washes away our sin. His gift of salvation is credited to our account.

The Resurrection. Not timidly, not weak, nor shaken, but with energy and purpose, that’s what I think Matthew means when he writes, “Immediately he went up from the water….” Jesus’ baptism marks the beginning of his public ministry and he is eager to get to it. There’s not much time and a whole world to reach. Likewise, when Jesus came out of the tomb, he didn’t wait around for people to show up to see him alive, he abandoned the tomb and took off to reach them, and there wasn’t much time. This too is good news.

In Romans 6, Paul asks us, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so too we might walk in newness of life” (vv 3-4).

The baptism of Jesus Christ is our baptism, too. When we arise and understand that our lives, our faith, our daily bread are all about Jesus, and then we also arise to the same heavenly welcome and delight that God spoke of his son Jesus by the river that day. Imagine: The heavens are opened and God from above will say, “You are my beloved [child], with whom I am well pleased” (v 17). Long for that day, my friends. Live a life that’s all about Jesus, and these very words, “You are my beloved [child], with whom I am well pleased” shall be added to your account, forever. Amen.

January 11, 2015/First Parish Federated Church of South Berwick, ME/The Rev Donna Lee Muise, Pastor

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[1] DeMoss, Nancy Leigh. “The Incomparable Christ.” www.reviveourhearts.com/radio/revive-our-hearts/the-baptism-of-Christ/

[2] King Duncan. “Collected Sermons.” www.Sermons.com.

Crossing a border Jan. 4

CROSSING A BORDER

Isaiah 60:1-6; Matthew 2:13-18

“Rise, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you…”

God and his glory cannot be separated. Glory is all over the nativity, the miraculous birth of a child, the angels, and the visit of the wisemen. Glory is the magnificence, splendor, majesty, grandeur, and great beauty of God’s will fulfilled:

Arise, shine, for your light has come,

And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

After the splendor of “God with us,” just where is God’s glory when Joseph is warned in a dream to “rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt … for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him” (MT 2:13b)?

God’s glory is in the warning. As odd as that sounds, let’s look more closely at the action that God calls Joseph to take and then see what we can learn of God’s glory for us.

We have all read and heard—more times than we can count—the story of the holy family’s emergency night flight from Bethlehem to Egypt to escape the brutality of the insanely jealous king, Herod.

Reading this story for the umpteenth time, however, I began to think about this escape to Egypt and its possible meaning for us today. I realized that this escape required crossing a border.

This border crossing was not like going from here into New Hampshire—maybe a five-minute walk. No, this border crossing involved escaping under the cover of darkness to another country! From Bethlehem to Egypt, we are talking a distance of 300 to 400 miles.

That’s like going from Chicago to Minneapolis or from Boston to Philadelphia (the long way). The journey would take between 5 to 7 hours to drive—depending on the traffic, of course!—but what if we had to walk the entire way, like Joseph and Mary did? Add in a royal pursuit to slaughter your child, and you’ve got a recipe for thick darkness.

Most of us have not been burdened in our lives with that kind of fear—when someone is out to kill us.

The Lost Boys of Sudan did know that immense fear. Driven out of their villages by a brutal civil war…their parents murdered…their sisters enslaved, these boys

“walked for days, then weeks, then months and finally for over a year. They walked anywhere from 700 to 1,000 miles, first to Ethiopia, then back to Sudan, then south to Kenya, looking for safety. Ten and eleven year olds were the elders. Seven and eight year olds became each others' parents, binding one another's wounds, sharing sips of muddy water (or urine), burying their dead.”[1]

One “Lost Boy” named Abraham Yel Nhial, relocated to Chicago was asked about having carried his Bible for years, through all his border crossings and his time in refugee camps. He answered, “Yes, It is my life. I have been called a lost boy. But I’m not lost from God.”[2]

In both of these real-life stories, crossing borders was literally about saving lives. In the United States of America, we are immensely privileged and relatively safe. What about in the church? Here we also have a call from God to cross border and save lives, eternal lives.

One of the new insights I received after going through this passage is that faith, true faith, will require of the believer, at some point in time, crossing a border.

There are many instances of crossing a border in the Hebrew Bible.

• Adam and Eve were evicted from Eden and were never allowed to cross its border again.
• Abraham was called from his homeland to go to a place God would show him; Abraham went.
• The Israelites crossed Canaan’s borders to take possession of the land god had promised them.

There are some impossible crossings that could not have happened without God’s help. Some that come to mind is Moses and the Israelites crossing the Red Sea (Ex 14:22); the Jordan River (Joshua 3:13, 15-17; II Kings 2:8 and II Kings 2:14).

Jumping to the New Testament we have the crossing of land and water borders—regions of Tyre and Sidon, Samaria and the Sea of Galilee.

Jesus intercepted nature’s borders with the

• calming of the storm;
• turning water into wine;
• feeding 5000 with five loaves and two fishes;
• healing the sick and raising the dead and
• challenging the religious establishment and
• appearing transfigured on the mountain and
• washing the feet of his disciples and
• dying on the cross for the forgiveness of all our sins.

The ultimate crossing of the ultimate border of our faith is the Resurrection. Unless Christ has crossed the border from death to life, we would all be lost boys, lost girls.

It is the time of year for the making (and unfortunately, the breaking) of resolutions. Perhaps we should think of resolutions in terms of border crossings. Is there a relationship that needs mending? Is there a debt you need to retire? Is there a goal that needs to be reached? Rise up, take what and who you need, and cross that border this year.

As your pastor, I challenge you to join me, to walk or run or flee with me, to cross a border for Jesus this year. This crossing is about rising and shining; this border is about crossing out of the thick darkness and into God’s great light.

The greatest border this church can cross is the one between our relationships with each other and our relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s to cross from same-old-same-old to rise and shine in God’s glory.

Sure, there will be times of darkness, fear, and feeling incredibly lost. That is why we must work together. We will cover more distance when we ALL pray together and ask the Lord for help crossing this border.

• What is God’s plan for us: “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you” (Gen 12:1).
• How will Jesus teach us about crossing a border? “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men [and women]” (MT 4:19).
• And how will the Holy Spirit lead us? The Spirit of truth “will guide you into all the truth” (JN 16:14).

Resolve with me to cross a great border this year: arise, shine, and give God the glory, from which we need never be lost or separated again. We are never lost from God.

May God’s will be fulfilled in us this year. Amen.

January 4, 2015/First Parish Federated Church of South Berwick, ME/The Reverend Donna Lee Muise, Pastor

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[1] “The Lost Boys of Sudan in Chicago.” Copyright © 2004-2009 BCDEnterprises.

[2] CBS News. “Lost Boys of Sudan 12 Years Later” 60 Minutes.