Where Can I Be A Gate?

Exodus 32:1-14 and Philippians 4:1-9          

       Our scripture readings both deal with intercession.  In simple terms a person who intercedes stands between two opposing forces and brings peace and protection.  I was reminded that at one point Christ referred to himself as the gate in a sheep hold.  He stood between the sheep and the wild animals and thieves who would come to do harm to the sheep.  This is intercession.

       Our message from the Hebrew Bible is an interesting story that has so many possible sermons in it.  We could talk about how quickly these people turned their backs on the God who saved them from slavery.  We could build a sermon around Aaron who so easily gave in to the pressure of the people.  We could focus on the righteous wrath of God toward this ungrateful congregation of freed slaves.  However, the thing that jumped out at me years ago when I first read this account was that Moses argued with God and God relented!

       Let us take a look here starting in verse 7 “God said to Moses, “Go back down there. Your people whom you brought out of Egypt have ruined everything.”

       Did you catch that?  God told Moses “YOUR people whom YOU brought out of Egypt”

       I want to ask the parents in the crowd to ‘fess up to something.  When the kids have just done something that just got on your last nerve, have you turned to your spouse and said, “YOUR kids are driving me nuts!”  Not MY kid or OUR kids but YOUR kids.

       God is saying that they’ve already turned from the way He commanded them to live. They’ve made a statue of a calf for themselves. They’ve bowed down to it and offered sacrifices to it. They’ve already made idols for themselves and said, ‘Israel, here are your gods who brought you out of Egypt.’ ” 

       God is saying to Moses, “You haven’t even had a chance to take them the commandments that I’ve given you and they’ve already broken three of them! “I’ve seen these people, and they are impossible to deal with.

       They are impossible to deal with!  I have four children of my own.  I love them each dearly.  I remember telling someone that I wouldn’t take a million dollars for any one of them.  However there are days I would have given you the SET for free! That is not true of coarse but, in a way, I can relate to the frustration that God is feeling.  Here He is just moments from fulfilling everything that He had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Here is the NATION that God had said would come from their seed.  This plan had been in process for over four hundred years.  In just a short time they would reach the promised land.  Land that God had made rich for them (remember “a land flowing with milk and honey”?). 

       God had brought Moses to the mountain to give them ten laws (the shortest list of laws that any nation has ever had to live by) and during that very time, they had turned to worshiping a god created by their own hands.  No wonder God was saddened and disappointed by this ungrateful and unfaithful mob of people.

       God’s plan had been irreversible changed by the very nation that He had brought into existence.  He was ready to go to plan B. So He said, “Now leave me alone. I’m so angry with them I am going to destroy them.”

       Gasp! What?  But God is a loving God who is willing to forgive over and over and over! (Remember Jesus saying to Peter that he had to be willing to forgive seventy-seven times?)

       Yes He is.  However, He has limits.  Remember the story of Noah begins with God saying nearly the same thing.  The people have become so far gone that He decides to tear it all down and start over – again!  He had been pushed past that 78^th time!

       Then God promises Moses the same thing that He had told Abraham, then Isaac and then Jacob; “I’ll make YOU into a great nation.”
       Moses could have done the same thing that his ancestors did, accept the covenant from God.  But instead Moses pleaded with the Lord his God.  He becomes the gate between God and the nation of Israel when he said, “why are you so angry with your people whom you brought out of Egypt using your great power and mighty hand?”

       Moses reminded God that it was God and not he, Moses, who brought these people out of Egypt.

       Don’t let the Egyptians say, ‘He was planning all along to kill them in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth. That’s why he brought them out of our land.’ Don’t be so angry. Reconsider your decision to bring this disaster on your people.

       Moses said to God, “Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. You took an oath, swearing on yourself. You told them, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. I will give to your descendants all the land I spoke of. It will be their permanent possession.’ ”
       Moses reminded God that it was God who had made the original covenant and then repeated it to successive generations of Abraham’s line.  This was not a contract that men had made with God.  This was a contract that God had made with men and could not be broken.

       So the Lord reconsidered his threat to destroy his people.

       God reconsidered.  God relented because Moses interceded for the people.  This vast multitude of people would have perished without the persistent prayer of this one man.  God listened.

       In the new testament reading Paul asks the congregation at Philipi keep their relationship with the Lord firm! And he encouraged both

Eu-o`-di-a and Syn`-ty-che to have the attitude the Lord wants them to have.

       There was a division in this church that was destroying it.  God’s plan for this people was in jeopardy of being destroyed by the people themselves.

       Paul intercedes and becomes an advocate on behalf of the whole congregation by reminding the ‘combatants’ to be open to the love that God intends them of have.  He is asking them to look past their differences and remember that they are both children of God and should love each other as family.

       Then Paul gives them guidelines on how to achieve this harmony.  He says, “Always be joyful in the Lord!”  That is so important that he repeats it by saying, “I’ll say it again: Be joyful!’     Remember the image of the gate on the sheep hold?  Paul is standing between the sheep and the wolf and saying, “Be joyful in the Lord!”  What amazing insight!  How can there be conflict where there is the joy of the Lord?

       So step one is joy. Step two is being considerate.  Being considerate means that you look at the situation from the other person’s point of view. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

       Now step three is never worry about anything.  You know what worry is?  Worry is the interest that the Devil charges on a debt you don’t owe.  Worry is nonproductive waste of time and energy.

       It is easy to say, “Don’t worry.”  But how do we do that?   Paul explains, “In every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks.”  Turn it over to God.  Leave it in His hands and trust that He will turn it to good.

       Here is the good news.  If we follow these simple steps, then God’s peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard our thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus.
       Paul’s final thoughts on this conflict resolution are, “keep your thoughts on whatever is right or deserves praise: things that are true, honorable, fair, pure, acceptable, or commendable.”

       As you read the Bible it is very easy to find examples of people of God stepping into situations where they became the gate between warring people and factions and brought about a peaceful settlement; examples where righteous people have provided shelter for the weak and guidance to the hurtful.

In my own life I can think of times when someone has stepped in to do intercessory work on my behalf.  I’m sure that you can think of examples in your life also

       We know that we have an intercessor in Jesus Christ who sits at the right hand of God and acts as an advocate for us.  This same Christ commands that we do the same for others.  We are to be the bringers of peace and love to the world. We need to look for opportunities to be gates in the sheep hold.  Amen

“Problems in the Vineyard”

Isaiah 5:1-7 and Matthew 21:33-46

       The reading in Isaiah and the reading in Matthew start out a lot alike.  A vineyard has been established.  A wall has been built around it.  Rocks, shrubs and weeds have been removed.  A watchtower has been built so that the fruit can be protected from the wild beasts and thieves.  A winepress has been built in anticipation of the harvest to come.  

       Just preparing the land has most likely taken the first year in the life of this vineyard. And finally the vineyard is planted with grape vines.  Each plant placed by hand into the hole and the soil carefully replaced around it being sure not to leave air pockets.  Usually a little dirt is added, a little water is added, a little dirt is added a little water is added, a little dirt etc. until the hole is filled.

       Now comes the careful watering.  Until the root system is established the ground must be kept moist but not wet.  Too much water will drown the young plants.  Gradually the dry plantings will begin to show signs of green, signs of growth. 

       Now the next four years is spent tending the vines, pruning, supporting and training them to the trellis.  Plus tending the ground, keeping in loose enough for the water to soak in.  And keeping the weeds and varmints out goes on for a long time before it gets to the harvest stage.

       Sometimes when we read these illustrations we fail to realize the amount of time the landowner (God) has put into this vineyard (us).

       Now in the Isaiah story, the good grapes have gone wild.  The expected harvest will not take place.  Imagine all that work and nothing to show for it!  No wonder the owner wants to withdraw from this piece of property and let it go back to its uncultivated nature.

       God had planted his vineyard.  He nurtured it and trained it.  He had built a vineyard / a nation.  He settled them in the perfect spot for them to grow.  He had given ten simple laws for them to follow, though they themselves added many more from their interpretation of His laws.  God had done all that he could do to insure its survival and yet it had gone wild.  God was not pleased.

       In the Matthew reading Jesus is reinterpreting the Isaiah story and saying that the landowner after doing all he could to get the vineyard established had turned the day to day care to some tenants.  The harvest is done and now it is time to collect his share of the produce.  Being still in a far country, he sent his servants to the workers to collect his share of the produce as agreed upon. 

       The tenants in their greed decided that THEY had done all the work for this crop (which was only THEIR point of view because they were discounting all the time, money and effort the owner had put into it first).  But in their greed they chose not to give the owner his share. 

       Remember that we are really talking about God and – well – us!  How often have we denied that it ALL belongs to God?  We are only stewards.  And yet, we look around us and say, “Look what I have done! Or See what I have made!” 

       My three-year-old great granddaughter is at that stage where she is defining boundaries. She’ll look at me as I’m getting a glass of water and say, “That is not YOUR glass, gran’pa.  That’s Daddy’s glass.” Or “This is not MY backpack.  This is Sissy’s!”  Well, this is not MY world.  It is God’s, along with everything else in existence.  But praise God He let’s me use it.

       Remember what you had in your pocket the day you were born?  That’s right – nothing!  And that is all that belongs to you - nothing.  By God’s grace we have what we have and only asks for a small token to be returned to His service.

       Now some of you are maybe starting to think I’m talking about tithing.  Well I am, a little, but that’s not all.  Yes, as far back as the Garden of Eden a sacrifice, was given to God.

       That reminds me of a cartoon I saw of a family sitting in a restaurant.  The son turns to his dad and says, “Why does the waitress get 20% and God only gets 10?  Let us not begrudge God’s his 10% but be thankful that He lets us have the 90%. 

       Okay, so now that I’ve talked about tithing let’s get down to what God REALLY wants from us.  He wants our love.  He wants us to honor him by doing that which he has set before us.  He wants us to care for His creation like good stewards.

       You see, He has a job for each of us.  All it takes is for us to love Him enough – to trust Him enough.  And then we need to give God the thanks and the glory that are rightfully his.

       Back to the illustration: The workers took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned a third to death.

       Instead of seeking revenge or retribution for these deaths, the owner is still only trying to receive his portion of the harvest as is his right.  So the landowner sent more servants. But the workers treated them the same way. 

       Stepping out of the metaphor and into reality for a moment, let’s look at who these servants were.  Well these were the judges, prophets and righteous people that God sent to his people to get them back in alignment with his purpose.  In this day and age we would recognize them as being Pastors, Sunday school teachers, Christian musicians, Christian authors as well as our family and friends who offer us sound advice.  Time to ask ourselves how well we have received these servants of God.  I doubt that any in this congregation have actually beaten and killed God's messengers.  However, have we received them with the love and with justice as God requires?

       Then Jesus says, “Finally, he sent his son to them. He thought, ‘They will respect my son.’ “When the workers saw his son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him and get his inheritance.’

       Now we know that approach is pure foolishness.  Killing the son in no way puts them in line to inherit anything but the father’s wrath!  But greed and other sins can cloud our judgments and make us do really stupid things.

       So the tenants grabbed the son, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

       Jesus was of course talking about himself here!  He knew what these rebellious people were planning for him.  But Jesus never backed down.  Instead he asks these leaders, “Now, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those workers?” 

       Jesus is checking: do they really not understand right and wrong; or do they know right from wrong and just choose wrong?

       They answered, “He will destroy those evil people. Then he will lease the vineyard to other workers who will give him his share of the produce when it is ready.” 

       By their own tongues they were condemning themselves but had not yet realized it. They had not seen themselves as the “evil tenants”.  They didn’t realize that the “vineyard” was about to be taken away from them and given to those people that these leaders looked down their noses at.

       Okay reality check!  Who do we turn our noses up at?  Are we SURE that we are so much more deserving of the vineyard than they are?

       Then Jesus asked them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The Lord is responsible for this, and it is amazing for us to see’? That is why I can guarantee that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce what God wants.

       Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken. If the stone falls on anyone, it will crush that person.”
       Okay, these guys might not have got the point the first time around but, when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard this illustration, they finally knew that he was talking about them.  This angered them and they wanted to arrest him but were afraid of the crowds, who thought he was a prophet.

       Again, we have to be VERY careful with casting judgment on these religious people.  They were, for the most part, good people.  However, they were people so locked into their customs and mind sets that they could not accept what Jesus was telling them even when he explained it to them. 

       We need to be careful that we are not looking at the splinter in their eye and not aware of the log in our own eye.  For we too, can fall victim to the delusion that we are always right because we keep the letter of the law but do not always filter it through the love of Christ as he taught us and command us to do.

       Part of our communion liturgy says, “Christ our Lord invites to his table all who love him, who earnestly repent of their sin and seek to live in peace with one another."  So, during this time of communion let us each examine our own lives to see if we have the righteousness of God within us or if it is our own self righteousness which can blind us to the true purpose that God has for us.

Pockets: the Beginning of Greed.

            Imagine a world without pockets.  Imagine a world without purses, wallets, bags, boxes or luggage!  Imagine not being able to take your ‘stuff’ with you!  Does the thought make you uncomfortable or does it make you liberated?

            Very early one morning this week, I woke with this strange thought in my head, “pockets are an invention of the Devil!”  You see, if a person has no pockets and they find an interesting stone.  They may stop and admire it.  They may pick it up and examine it more closely.  They may drop it back to where it was or toss it away.  If a person with pockets sees and interesting stone, they may also do all of those things.  However, they may also put it into their pocket.

            Once it is in their pocket, it becomes “theirs”.  That which was accessible to everyone now becomes property.  Property needs to be protected, defended, cared for, added to, and admired.  From the simple step of putting into a pocket, all kinds of potential sins can arise: greed, lust, hate and more.

            The Devil is often so subtle with his temptations.  Perhaps pockets are an invention of his.

Matthew 6:19 “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:”

Widow's Bread

WIDOW’S BREAD

1 Kings 17:10-16 CEV

                ¹⁰ When Elijah came near the town gate of Zarephath, he saw a widow gathering sticks for a fire. “Would you please bring me a cup of water?” he asked. ¹¹As she left to get it, he asked, “Would you also please bring me a piece of bread?”

                ¹²The widow answered, “In the name of the living Lord your God, I swear that I don’t have any bread. All I have is a handful of flour and a little olive oil. I’m on my way home now with these few sticks to cook what I have for my son and me. After that, we will starve to death.”  

                ¹³Elijah said, “Everything will be fine. Do what you said. Go home and fix something for you and your son. But first, please make a small piece of bread and bring it to me. ¹⁴The Lord God of Israel has promised that your jar of flour won’t run out and your bottle of oil won’t dry up before he sends rain for the crops.”

                ¹⁵The widow went home and did exactly what Elijah had told her. She and Elijah and her family had enough food for a long time.¹⁶The Lord kept the promise that his prophet Elijah had made, and she did not run out of flour or oil.

            A handful of flour and a little olive oil that is a very basic recipe for bread.  There was no time for livening.  The widow and her son were starving to death.  This was to be their last meal.  All that was at hand to eat was flour, oil and water. 

            I made bread from this recipe, although I added just a pinch of salt.  This bread is for our last communion meal for the year at Cutty’s campground.  It seemed a fitting way to end our season of worship. 

            Because space is at a premium, campers and RVers know how to “make do with a little”.  With this handful of flour and a little olive oil we will feed the twenty or so people who attend our last worship service. 

            The story of turning a little into “a lot” or at least “enough” is the story of God’s love for us.  We turn over the little we have to God and He makes it enough.  Sometimes He makes it an overflowing blessing so that we may bless others.  The widow did this with Elijah and certainly Christ has done it for us.

The End of Summer

            Today (August 29, 2011) was our next to last worship service here at Cutty’s Des Moines Camping Club.  We started on Memorial Day weekend and will end on Labor Day Weekend. 

            It has been an interesting couple of months for me.  For the first time, I’ve had the responsibility for preparing a sermon every week.  It has caused me to find a new way to do Bible study.  This summer I have had to think about interpreting the scriptures for corporate worship.  That is different than reading the scriptures for personal inspiration.

            Now, that I will be going back to my home church and back to occupying a pew most Sundays, I am going to miss our worship time at the campground.  I have decided that I will continue to prepare a sermon every week to keep in practice.  I’ll continue to post them here on my blog.  I hope that you have and will continue to receive a blessing from reading these sermons.

Q & A

 Matthew 21:23-32           

        Our message begins on a typical Sabbath morning.  Jesus had gone into the temple to do what he had been doing all His life (being about His Father’s business).  Here he was teaching and explaining the Law and the Prophets when the chief priests and the leaders of the people came up to him.

        They asked, “Dude, who do you think you are?  WE are the teachers here.  These people pay US to tell them how WE interpret the scriptures.  WE spent years studying with a respected rabbi before we were allowed to teach.  What right do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?  Where is YOUR diploma?”

        Now I know that the Bible doesn’t say that Jesus had a twinkle in his eye and a smirk on his lips when he answered, but I believe He did when He said, “I have just one question to ask you. If you answer it, I will tell you where I got the right to do these things.

        Can you see the fear on these priests and leaders faces?  You know they were not used to being challenged; not here in the synagogue.  This was their home turf.  I can imagine them starting to sweat and beginning to back away.  Then Jesus asked the question, “Who gave John the right to baptize? Was it God in heaven or merely some human being?”
        Oh man!  They knew it!  He was setting them up!  They thought it over and said to each other, “There is no way we can answer Him. We can’t say that God gave John this right. Because then Jesus will ask us why we didn’t believe; and there is no way we can defend ourselves there.  On the other hand, these people think that John was a prophet, and we are afraid of what they might do to us. That’s why we can’t say that it was merely some human who gave John the right to baptize.”

        So these religious leaders did a quick huddle and decided to play it safe.  So they told Jesus, “We don’t know.”
        Jesus said, “Okay, so you won’t be honest with me.  Well then I won’t tell you who gave me the right to do what I do.”

        Now right here at verse 28 the story appears to take a sharp right turn.  It almost appears that Jesus is changing the subject.  But hang on; He knows where He is going with this lesson.

        Now Jesus, while he has these leaders’ attention says, “I will tell you a story about a man who had two sons. Then you can tell me what you think.”

        Oh yeah! I’m sure that they are looking forward to THIS quiz.  After all, they had done so well on the last one!

        Jesus began the story, “The father went to the older son and said, “Go work in the vineyard today!”  His son told him that he would not do it, but later he changed his mind and went. 

        The man then told his younger son to go work in the vineyard. The boy said he would, but then he didn’t go to work after all.”

        Okay, the parameters of the story have been explained.  Now Jesus asks, “So, teachers, which one of the sons obeyed his father?”

        The chief priests and leaders answered, “The older one!” Wow! This test was easier than they thought it was going to be!  This was not near as tricky as they had feared.  The answer was so obvious!  The one who obeyed was the one who obeyed, even though he had at first refused.  Simple, really, when you thought about it.
        Then Jesus told them: “You can be sure that tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you ever will!

        What?  Why?  We answered your question correctly!  We know we did!

        “Because, when John the Baptist showed you how to do right, you would not believe and follow him.  You were the son that said you would but then refused to follow.  By your own tongues you have judged yourselves.

        But these “evil” people, the tax collectors and prostitutes, did believe.  They may have been disobedient at the beginning but then they repented and changed.  And even then, when you, priests and teachers of the Law, saw what they did, you still would not change your minds and believe.  What good is to say ‘yes’ with your lips and ‘no’ with your actions?”

        Now it is our turn to answer Jesus.  We sing on Sunday morning; “Follow, I will follow thee my Lord”, “Where he leads me I will follow”, or dozens of other hymns that speak about our obedience to the Lord.

        Are we just moved by the music and mouthing the words without thought?  If so, how many lies do Christians sing each week?  Can we better defend ourselves to Jesus questions than did the “religious” people of His day?

        If we can’t do better than they, then what makes us think that Christ will be any easier on us for our disobedience?

        We are good people!  We know we are.  However, the chief priests and synagogue leaders were also ‘good people’.  For the most part they were trying to do what they thought was expected of them.  They said all the right words, just as they had been taught.

        It was their actions, or their lack of actions that was getting them into trouble with Jesus.  It is what can get us into trouble with Jesus. 

        We hear, we listen, we nod our heads in agreement and may even shout, “Amen!”  But to what avail if it has caused no change within our lives?

        James 1:22 says, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”  Sometimes James is misunderstood as saying that people are saved by their actions.  He only says that the proof that they are saved is the changes it makes in their actions.

        If we have been changed, if we are new creatures, then those around us should be able to notice.  I pray that when we sing, “Where He leads me I will follow” we will be singing the truth of our hearts.

        Amen.

A Carpenter Talks About Farming

Matthew 20:1-16

       Has it ever occurred to you that Jesus told stories about really “odd” farmers?

       Maybe it is because I have grown up in the Midwest where agriculture is so important.  Or maybe it is because of all those hours working in my mother’s half-acre garden.  Or maybe it is because I worked on a dairy farm and for Pioneer Hi-Bred.  Whatever the reason, the stories that Jesus told about farming, always have seemed a little “off” to me.

       Maybe it was because he was a carpenter and not a farmer.  But then again, he had a pretty good grasp of fishing and shepherding.  Those parables hold up very well with the realities of those professions.

       However, these stories of farming?  Well, here, let’s examine them for a minute.

       He told a story about a farmer who scattered seeds on the path, amongst the rocks, and into the thorns.  Now in that day and age, seed was precious.  To have seed to plant, you had to save part of last year’s crop, which meant that you could not eat it when times got tough.  If you consumed it all today, you would starve tomorrow. 

       Also the seed was scattered by hand as you walked through your field. You had precise control of where the seed landed.  Why in the world would a farmer waste seed by throwing it where it had little or no chance of growing.  That would be a very foolish or a very nearsighted farmer indeed who would waste his precious seeds.

       Jesus also told the story about the farmer who had planted his crops and “an enemy” came and threw “weed seeds” in with his crop.  Then he told his help not to pull the weeds because it would damage the crop.  Certainly not what modern farming practice would dictate?  The weeds would be using up vital nutrients that should be going to the crop.

       A good farmer does everything he can to get the weeds out and keep them out.  We use various methods to keep our crops clear of weeds.  We hoe, pull, mulch and spray to control those weeds.  When we see a field that is full of weeds, we tend to believe the farmer is lazy or does not care enough about his crops to protect them and keep them clean of weeds.

       Now the part about an enemy who sewed weed seeds.  Really?  I can not imagine that happeing in modern times.  Did “enemy farmers” actually resort to sabotage against their neighbors?  I do not know for sure, however it seems unlikely.

       For one thing, how much time did this enemy farmer spend harvesting weeds to gather those seeds.  Did he intentionally not plant crops one year so that he could grow weeds? Seems pretty odd to me.

       Then in today’s gospel reading we meet another peculiar farmer who has a vineyard.  His grapes have grown.  His vineyards have done very well indeed, what we would call a bumper crop and now it is time for the harvest. 

       His problem was that he had more work than he had workers.

       The solution was simple enough, go into town and hire ‘day laborers’.  And that’s what he did. He offered those that he found a fair wage for their day of labor and they accepted the contract without negotiation.

       However, the landowner soon discovered that there was still more work than workers.  So, back to town and hire more workers.  He offered them the same contract as he had the first workers and again they accepted and went to work.  Several times he did this right up until almost too dark to harvest.

       In each case the farmer promised each group a “day’s wages”.  A day’s wages means that each person received enough money to feed himself and family for the day.

       Finally, the job was done and it was time to dole out the pay.

       This is where the “blip” in this story starts.  He pays everyone the same, no matter how long they worked.  I wonder what union these folks belonged to?

       Those that came latest were paid first.  They took their wages and felt glad to be able to feed their families for another day.

       At last it came time to pay those that were hired first.  Well, understandably the ones that worked the longest were upset because they earned “only” the same as the people who worked the shorter day.  That means that although the earned the same for the day, they made less per hour than the ones who came later in the day.  They were upset.

       Do you see what I mean, that none of these stories make sense?  Not if you are actually thinking that they have anything to do with agriculture! 

       Of course, that is the point, they are not stories about farming.  They are stories about the Kingdom of God.

       When scattering the seed that is the Word of God, we are to be like the nearsighted farmer and scatter seed everywhere.  We are to tell everyone about Jesus. 

       We understand that not everyone will listen – but we are not to prejudge them.  Let God do that, it is His job. 

       Maybe He will spend some time cultivating the rocky ground and clearing the weeds, so that the next person who sews seeds of the Gospel of Christ will find good soil where the bad soil had been.

       I, for one was a hard packed path on which nothing could grow.  I heard the word, had seed scattered on me, countless times before it started to grow.  Thank God that enough people were willing to cast seed in such an unlike spot as my soul.

       And, of course, we are not to pull the weeds from the field.  Again, that is God’s job to sort out the good from the bad. 

       Frankly, we would be very bad spiritual weed pullers.  We can only see the past and the present.  (Although sometimes we can’t see the present because it is hidden by our knowledge ot the past)  So we make judgments without knowing the “rest of the story”.  God can see clear to the end which makes him the only one who can determine whether it is a weed or valuable plant.

       And, in today’s gospel reading, we understand that, while paying farm works a full day’s pay for an hour’s work makes little financial sense, if you realize that when “paying” workers in the Kingdom of God for bringing in souls, it makes sense. 

       The reward, life eternal, is the same regardless of when you enter into it.  Nobody gets half of an eternal life, or a quarter, or and eighth.  The reward is the same for all. 

       So it doesn’t make any difference when you started “working” for God – as a youngster, or as an oldster – the reward will be eternity with God.

       Remember, when we work for God, the pay is always fair – and the retirement plan is unbeatable!

       Praise God.  Amen.