God’s Generosity is the Heart of Evangelism

Sermon preached at St. Mark’s, Honey Brook, PA

by The Rev. Thomas C. Pumphrey, September 21, 2008

The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 20, year A): Matthew 20:1-16

Matthew 20:1-16 (NRSV): “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o”clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o”clock, he did the same. And about five o”clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ When those hired about five o”clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 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 heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; 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? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Today’s Gospel reading tells a story about haggling over pay, about envy and rights and due compensation. The news this week is rife with the accounts of greed by our nation’s financial institutions, and their foolish gamble on ever-skyrocketing home prices. I am amazed that these banks went after so much more money, when their business was so lucrative already—so profitable and comfortable. With all that wealth, why not be thankful, instead of being driven by some weird sense of scarcity?

We heard how such greed sets the stage for a significant collapse in the financial markets. We also heard how the mere sense of scarcity among folks like you and me might bring down economies all over the world. As long as no one panics, we should be OK, and only the truly foolish banks would take the hits. But if we all panic in a sense of scarcity, then the whole system collapses.

Something similar happens in our personal lives and in our relationships with each other and in our relationship with God. Today’s Gospel reading is about our envy and our thankfulness. I believe that there is more to the story, however. As is true for so many parables, this parable tells us something about us and our moral response. But as is also true for all parables, this parable tells us something about God. I believe that this parable is about God’s generosity and about evangelism. For the heart of evangelism is God’s generosity.

Jesus tells the parable of a landowner who hired workers for his vineyard, starting in the morning, but adding new workers throughout the day. At the end of the day, each of the workers is paid a denarius—the usual wage for a full day’s work. But the laborers who worked the whole day grumbled against the landowner, saying of the new hires, “you have made them equal to us.” So the landowner replies “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?...are you envious because I am generous?”

Perhaps our first reaction is the same as these laborers who have “borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” Don’t they deserve more than those who have worked only one hour? We are used to labor contracts and fighting for rights that maximize our benefit. Notice that we never fight for rights that reduce our own benefits. But Jesus is taking a viewpoint of rights and turning it on its head in order to say something about God, and about God’s generosity.

The landowner could have paid the newer workers less than the daily wage. That would have been fair. Then the first workers would not have complained. But instead, the landowner chose to be generous—to give to all the workers a full daily wage, regardless of how long they had been working. The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who says it’s never too late—come now and be part of the vineyard and share in the full reward given to all the laborers! This is a parable about God’s generosity.

For some reason, however, we humans resist this kind of generosity. The laborers were not upset because they received a day’s wage—what really bothered them was that the others ‘were made equal to them!’ They felt they had a right to be special—to stand above the rest, or to receive a better reward than the others. These workers were caught up in thinking about the vineyard in terms of rights and rewards—of only what is deserved. And yet—if the kingdom of heaven were about what is deserved, we would all be in trouble.

So what does all of this have to do with Evangelism? Well, let’s first apply this comparison of rights and rewards vs. God’s generosity to Evangelism. If we at St. Mark’s were to think of Evangelism in terms of rights and rewards, our priorities would be skewed, and our efforts would be fruitless. The driving force behind evangelism is not “so that we can pay the bills.” True, growing the church offers the opportunity to improve our finances. But if that is our purpose, then newcomers are only valued for their money.

The driving force behind evangelism is not to grow “until we have what we need” in ministry. True, growing new disciples for Jesus Christ does call people into ministry, and our vitality would improve. But if that is our purpose, then newcomers are only valued for their talents, and not for what God gives them.

The driving force behind evangelism is not to support a ‘fee for service’ mentality, where we attract people solely for our programming or social value to our members. True, we offer great gifts and we strive to be a place of welcome and joy. But if that is how we view ourselves, then we will never grow into the place of God’s abundant generosity that God calls us to be. We will simply be another entertainment commodity that is discarded when no longer useful, and we will be no different from other secular services that are better run and more convenient.

The ministry of Evangelism is not about rights and rewards, not about fair exchange of services, and certainly not about relieving our sense of scarcity. If we have a mindset of scarcity, then we will never enjoy the blessings that God drops right into our laps. The heart of evangelism is God’s generosity. The heart of evangelism is a heart overflowing with thanks for God’s abundance.

Think about the witness of some of the people of St. Mark’s, and how compelling that witness is. Think of Sam Barclay who lives thankfulness one day at a time, seeing each day as a precious gift from God. Think of Grier Saunders, who continued to receive each day as a gift from God, even while he was confined to a wheelchair and battling several health problems. His peace and contentment in what he was given brought joy to many hearts. Think of Kevin and Bridget Smith. They were juggling all the challenges that come with raising four children, but when another child needed a home, they did not view their situation as one of scarcity, but rather abundance! They welcomed this fifth child into their home with joy, knowing that God would provide for them as they are providing for Robby.

None of these friends of ours pleaded their scarcity or their rights to receive rewards for service. Instead of being consumed by a sense of scarcity, they gave out of God’s abundance given to them, the abundance that they looked for and found in their lives. Their witness calls to our attention the generosity of God. This is a powerful part of evangelism, for the heart of evangelism is God’s Generosity!

How crazy is it for a landowner to pay a full day’s wage to those who have worked only half the day, or only a quarter of the day—or only an hour? But God is generous in his abundance. Why would the landowner even hire more workers? Did the landowner really need those workers? Or what about the workers themselves? These were day laborers, waiting to be hired so that they could provide for themselves and their families. They needed the work, and they came to the marketplace waiting and hoping to be hired. The landowner is generous in hiring as well as his pay. And here we see the connection to evangelism.

Images of a vineyard are often used in scripture to designate God’s people or God’s kingdom. The harvest time in a vineyard is a joyous occasion—if you‘ve ever been to a winery at harvest time, the occasion is not one of dreadful labor, but of joy and celebration. When God calls people into his vineyard, the occasion is one of joy and celebration because he calls us into the feast of his abundant blessing. We could be content with the vineyard the way it is. We could view the harvest time as a burden in the scorching heat. Or, like the landowner, we could seek out more people to join with us in the abundance of the vineyard.

How odd and unusual that this landowner goes out again and again to hire more and more people? Is he not worried about paying all of them? Yet he goes out early in the morning, and again at 9:00, and again at 3:00 and again at 5:00, even when the day is almost over. Again and again, God says to the world—it is not too late to join the harvest! Again and again, God reaches out with abundance to share with the world.

We are sent out into the world to share the good news of Jesus Christ. We are sent out into the world to make disciples for Jesus Christ and to welcome them into the body of Christ in this church. The heart of Evangelism is not one of burden or need. The heart of evangelism is God’s generosity. The heart of evangelism is a heart overflowing with thanks for God’s abundant blessing in your life.

As we at St. Mark’s live lives of abundance and thanksgiving, we will go out into the marketplace, and welcome others to share our joy and our blessings. God gives generously to us. Go, therefore, and share that abundance with those around us.