Old Testament: Psalm 19
Gospel: Matthew 21: 33-46
Because we have received God’s love, therefore we live to His glory. It is not to earn God’s love or mercy or forgiveness.
Today’s Gospel reading shows us what we would have to fear if God behaved like humans often do.
Today’s Gospel reading shows us what we would face if God treated us how we deserved rather than on the basis of His love and grace.
In today’s Gospel reading we get a very clear indication of what we would have to fear if the resurrection had never taken place.
If we think for just a moment about how humans have treated God, we will realize that in many ways we have been like the tenants of the vineyard.
God has entrusted His people with this world, and has given it to them as his gift. What he asked in return was simple: He wanted His children to follow His commandments and bear fruit worthy of His name.
Instead God’s people ignored His commands, ignored His prophets when they came, and eventually ignored His son.
And we should not deceive ourselves with the pride that says that we would have done better, that we would not have stumbled as our ancestors in the faith did.
We dare not risk that heresy that says that we did not need God’s grace and salvation just as much as anyone else who has walked the face of the earth.
For we too have fallen short. We too have disobeyed. We too have been unwilling to hear uncomfortable words put before us. We cannot – we must not – think that our sins are somehow less offensive or are easier to forgive.
Why must we face our sin? Why do we begin each week of worship with a confession to God? Because it is only after we have faced up to our sin that we realize that God would have had every right to condemn us. And only when we realize our sin and consider what punishment God could have rightfully proclaimed against us can we realize the depth of God’s love that forgave us.
Otherwise, if we downplay the importance or the severity of our sin, we minimize the action of God through Jesus Christ. We diminish the cross where our sins were taken away, we shrug our shoulders at the wrongs we have done and casually look away hoping that no one will notice.
But if we come face to face with our sin, if we accept the responsibility for our actions and how they have affected our relationships with others and with God, then, then we can realize the hugeness of God’s grace and love towards us.
Because God knew of our sins, and forgave us for them all. He forgave us for how we mistreat His vineyard – this earth which he has made. He forgave us for the sins which we commit against Him and against one another.
Are we amazed by His grace? We ought to be. Are we humbled by His love? Yes, we ought to be that too. Should we spend our lives in despair and sadness for all that we have done wrong to one another and to God? Should we live our lives in sadness and despair for all that has been done wrong to us? Not at all.
We are to be people of God’s “THEREFORE.”
We are to remember what God has gone for us, and therefore we will decide how we will live in response to His kindness and love.
We are to remember that God has forgiven us a great debt, all our sins have been forgiven, and therefore we are to forgive others.
It was a powerful moment the day that I first realized that God had forgiven my sins almost 2,000 years before I was born, before I had ever asked for His forgiveness.
It was equally powerful when I realized that for me to follow Christ meant that I was to forgive even before forgiveness was asked of me. If Jesus on the cross could forgive those who crucified Him, how could I hold back forgiveness from anyone who had wronged me?
Had the Centurions asked Jesus’ forgiveness? No, they were busy rolling dice to see who would get his clothes. And yet He prayed for their forgiveness.
Because Jesus loved therefore He was willing to die on the cross. No one asked Him to, the people closest to Him didn’t even want Him to. But He trusted God and therefore accepted the cross.
We are NOT to be people of the “IF.” If is a word of doubt, or of control. If is a word that we use to set limits.
To be people of the If means that we say “If you apologize then I will forgive.” If you can give me a guarantee then we might take your ideas and suggestions. If you do this then I will do that.
That is not our calling. We are not if/then people, because if/then is not a statement of faith, it is a condition, a prerequisite for trust.
Can we say if there don’t seem to be any problems, then we will go forward? Not if we hope to ever accomplish anything.
Now there is a difference of course between faithfulness and foolishness. God gave us the brains inside our heads and I fully expect that he intended for us to use them.
Not wearing a seatbelt because we expect God to keep us safe is not a statement of faith, it’s a trivialization of God’s promises. Neither do I meant that we should try to build a tower without counting the costs. But we must have the desire to find ways to follow where we believe God is leading us, to climb the mountains that God sets before us, and continue on the path that we have begun.
We must be led by our knowledge of the love and grace that God has shown to us that will therefore lead us to live lives of faith, hope, and love.
We claim to follow Jesus, therefore we must look at how we live, how we act, in how we treat one another.
We are people of God’s therefore.
Because God has loved us therefore we will love others.
Because God has forgiven us therefore we will forgive others.
Because we have hope therefore we will trust in God to protect us and guide us.
Because we are a community of God’s people therefore we will do our best to live and work together.
Because God’s blessing has been upon us therefore we trust that God will continue to be with us for all the years ahead.
In a few moments we will gather at this table to celebrate what God in Jesus Christ has done for us. We remember His life, death, and resurrection, therefore we give our lives, in joy and thanksgiving, to the service of the Lord. Because God has promised to be with us by His Holy Spirit, therefore we have the power of God to follow the path He has set before us. Because we have the forgiveness of our sins, therefore we will not fear for those times that we fail, but will hope for those times before us when we can succeed, to God’s eternal glory and praise.
Timothy J. Luoma
First Presbyterian Church
6 October 2002