PENTECOST • 17

How can we be more Like Jesus? (Reflecting on God’s mercy and generosity)

SONGS FOR PRAYER

reading for: Tuesday Night, 19 september

Matthew 20:1-16

Do We Begrudge the Lord’s Generosity?

  • READ

    This parable is carefully a part of a series of parables (Matt 19:13–20:34) that deal with issues of status, wealth, greed, and discipleship. The underlying message in this section is that “Kingdom values are the reverse of this world’s values”.

    Here’s a brief outline of the parable:

     

    v. 1a: kingdom introduction

    vv. 1b-7: the sequence of hirings (early, third, sixth, ninth & eleventh hours)

    vv. 8-10: the payment

    vv. 11-12: the complaint of injustice

    vv. 13-15: the defense of goodness

    v. 16: concluding proverb

     

    In all five hirings the owner goes out, the time is specified, and workers are sent to the vineyard. In the second and fifth the workers are found standing in the market. In the first, second, and fifth dialogue is reported, but only in the last do those being hired speak.

    Matthew 20:1-16

    “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 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.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”

     

    The parable immediately offends our sense of “justice” and “fairness”. Since the beginning of time, human beings have been continually comparing themselves with others, trying to assess what is “just” and “fair” based on the level of accomplishment and this is exactly what the disciples were doing. If we read the parable carefully, the only fact that causes the first hired workers to complain is when they compared their wage with that of those who were hired after them. They never complained at the start about the amount of one denarius when the master offered it as payment for a day’s work and they accepted it. As with most humans, justice for the first workers was about not giving anyone else any kind of advantage over them. So even when the owner saw people later in the day who had not found any work (and therefore would have no income) he extended his generosity towards them by hiring them and giving them all the same wage because without it those hired later would likely not have enough to live on.

    But because the first workers understood justice and fairness from a self-centered perspective, their sense of injustice and unfairness to them shrouded the generosity of the owner towards the poor and disadvantaged.  

    The owner defends his actions as ‘fair and just’ because he paid those hired first the agreed upon amount. It was a two-way agreement between him and them. And because he is the owner of the vineyard after all, he has every right to do as he wishes with his own property and in verse 15 he addresses their envy or stinginess.

  • REFLECT

Do we compare our service of God to others? Do we have an expectation of payment from God that commensurate with the ‘amount’ of work we do for Him? If we do, perhaps we have not fully grasped or experienced God’s generous unconditional love. Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and draw you into a deeper experience of God’s unconditional love through Christ.

The parable breaks any chain of logic connecting reward, work, and human perceptions of what is right. God’s judging is not regulated by human perceptions of justice, and lurking behind that statement is a whole theology of mercy. The parable is not trying to say anything about human effort and salvation. Rather, just as no one should begrudge a good man who goes beyond justice and gives to the poor, so no one should begrudge God’s goodness and mercy as if God’s rewards were limited to strict calculation.

Why do we find it so difficult to rejoice over the good that enters other people’s lives, and why do we spend our time calculating how we have been cheated? Or are we envious of a family member’s else’s success? Are we bitter that a spouse or a relative has a better life than us? Or is a friend unfairly healthier than us? Or does a particular colleague or superior do less work and yet seem to be getting all the promotions and accolades? Envy — displeasure at someone else’s success — is contrary to the kingdom. Jealousy and all thoughts of ranking or privilege must be ejected from your heart. Confess and repent before God if this is the case. Ask Him for forgiveness. The Lord is ever-ready to forgive us our sins and lead us into His freedom and joy.

Justice is not some fixed standard or ideal. We worry about justice, but too often we dress up as justice what is in reality, jealousy, or we use justice as a weapon to limit generosity. True justice — at least God’s justice — seeks mercy and ways to express love. Ask God to renew your understand of ‘justice’ and ‘fairness’ and align it with His.

reading for: Wednesday Night, 20 september

Exodus 16:2-15

Encouraging our family and friends to trust the mercies of God

  • READ

    After God showed his manifold mercies to Israel by delivering them from Egypt and bringing his people across the Red Sea. Israel went out into the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they found water but realised they could not drink it, for it was bitter. Instead of trusting the Lord, they grumbled against Moses. Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord turned the bitter water into sweet water. They were commanded by the Lord to listen to his voice and keep all his statutes. The Lord then brought them to Elim, where they found a plentiful supply of water and shade.

    2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3 and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

    4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For what are we, that you grumble against us?” 8 And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the Lord.”

    9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, ‘Come near before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’” 10 And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11 And the Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”

    13 In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. 14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.

    The Lord led the people of Israel to set out from Elim, and they came to the wilderness of Sin. Again they grumbled against Moses and Aaron for they had no food and were hungry. This time, the Lord provided for his people by raining bread from heaven so that they would not go hungry. The Lord did not provide all the provision at once, but commanded them to gather bread every day, except on the sixth day where they were to gather two days’ worth. The Lord also gave them quail meat to eat every day. Israel went to gather the provision of bread and meat, but they again failed the test for they were not to keep any of it until morning.

    We see in this passage that God has extended mercy upon mercy to Israel. He provided them with water and food to eat and drink. We witness the grumbling of God’s people every time they faced an obstacle. It is as if they have forgotten the previous mercies of God and refused to trust God.  One must not forget that the people of Israel was a collective people organised into tribes and families. The people of Israel murmured and grumbled as a whole. When they saw their neighbour and family members complaining they did not put a stop to it. They did not encourage the other person to trust God.

  • REFLECT

    God is faithful even when we are faithless. He is merciful to us even when we fail him. Even when the people of Israel failed Him time and time again, God extended mercy upon mercy to them. Praise the Lord for his mercies, which are new every morning, in spite of our failures.

    Like the people of Israel, we are also organised into families and tribes. We have people in our spheres of influence at home and in our communities whom we can influence. Let us take every opportunity to positively influence and encourage each other to stop grumbling and learn to trust and obey the Lord.

reading for: Thursday Night, 21 september

Philippians 1:21-30

To Live is Christ and to Die is Gain

  • READ

    Our reading tonight begins with a profound statement  - “To live is Christ, and to die is gain” (v21). These words of Paul were written while he was imprisoned in Rome, not knowing what tomorrow may bring. Maybe he will live. Maybe he will die. It didn’t really matter. Both outcomes are good. Should he live, he gets to labour for Christ (v22). Should he die, he gets to be with Christ (v23).

    Paul felt torn between the two. Dead or alive, Paul had nothing to lose and everything to gain. What a hard choice! However, after wrestling with it, Paul concludes that for the sake of God and the church in Philippi, it would probably be best for him to stay alive and to watch them grow up in their faith (v24-26).

    Nonetheless, Paul is unsure when or if he will ever see them again. Thus, he urges the Philippians to ensure that their lives is in line with the gospel and to strive for the gospel with one mind and spirit (v27). Using his own life as an example, Paul acknowledges that they will face hostility and that suffering is inevitable as they seek to live the gospel life (v28-30). There is indeed no escaping hardship but the momentary affliction is nothing compared to the eternal weight of glory. To live is Christ and to die is gain!

  • REFLECT

    In Christ, we have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Apart from Christ, we have everything to lose and nothing to gain. However, the world has inversed this truth and seeks to tell us otherwise. And the enemy wants nothing more than to have us believe that to live is self and to die is waste.

    Paul’s plead to the church in Philippi echoes true today – “Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.”

    How is your walk with God? When was the last time you took stock of your relationship with the Lord? What was the last thing you heard the Spirit say?

    Most of us probably do not like to be confronted with such invasive questions and we definitely don’t feel comfortable posing such questions to one another. However, if we truly love God, then we must face it. And if we truly love one another, then we must hold each other to it.

     How else will we know if our lives are in line with the gospel? How else will we provoke one another to good works? How else will we come to the same conclusion as Paul did and learn to give our lives away for the cause of Christ that we may gain the crown of Life?

reading for: FRIDAY Night, 22 september

Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45

Praising the God of Our Families

  • READ

    Psalms 105 is first and foremost an invitation to give thanks to the LORD, to call on His name and speak about what He has done (v. 1).

    We are to sing to Him and speak of His wonderful works (v. 2).

    To glory in his holy name by seeking Him (v. 3) and to remember the wonderful works He has done(v. 5).  For we are His chosen people (v. 6). 

    Is it just because we have been chosen by Him? Is it simply because He is worthy?

    The rest of the Psalm gives us further reasons, specifically from the history and life of Israel. The particular stage of life from verses 37-45 comes from the passage we read this week from Exodus.

    God delivered and provided Israel from Egypt with silver and gold (v. 37)

    He covered them and protected them in the day and in the night (v. 39).

    He gave them food and water (v. 40-41).

    He even gave them lands and possessions so that in a land flowing with milk and honey they might obey and follow the ways of God (v. 44-45).

    For God promised and made a covenant with Abraham so He delivered (v. 42-43). 

  • REFLECT

    In your family or as a representative of your family (you might be the only believer), how often do you give thanks, call and praise the Lord for what He as done for your family?

    Each of us have experienced God’s act of deliverance and provision to our families in one way or another. And we as God’s children are able to see and recognise this. Thus we can acknowledge and give thanks to Him. Thats what sets us apart as His children.

    If there are fellow believers in your family, would you consider setting time during a meal each week to share about what you see God doing in your family?

    If you are the only believer, would set time to sing and praise Him for what He has done?

    By doing this, we learn to center and acknowledge that God is the God of our families.

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