Episode 81: P20A (Sept. 21) Deserve’s Got Nothing to Do with It
For Sunday, September 21, 2014
This is the Pulpit Fiction Podcast, where two local pastors discuss the lectionary reading for the week. This is episode 81 for Sunday September 21, Proper 20A/Ordinary 25A/15 Sundays after Pentecost.
Matthew 20:1-16 - Laborers in the Vineyard
Exodus 16:2-15 - Manna from Heaven
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Primary Scripture - Matthew 20:1-16 - Laborers in the Vineyard
Initial Thoughts
- Louis CK “Everything’s amazing, and nobody’s happy.” Tells story of a flight he was on. At the beginning of the flight it was announced that there would be wi-fi on the flight, which was an amazing new advancement that no one was expecting. Then a few hours into the flight, the attendant announced that the wi-fi wasn’t working, and the guy next to him was upset that the brand new thing he didn’t know about 5 minutes earlier was not working. “How quickly the world owes him something, he knew existed only 10 second ago.” Watch the clip with Conan O’Brien on youtube.
- Both of the lectionary stories are about how we scoff at God’s abundant generosity.
- Previous it the young rich ruler who Jesus tells must sell all of his possessions. This is followed by the “camel through the eye of a needle,” saying. Chapter 19’s last line is “But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
- Immediately following this parable is another prediction of his death and the mother of the sons of Zebedee asks Jesus if her sons could sit on his right and on his left.
- This story bookended by repeated “The first will be last and the last will be first.”
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- The parable expounds on this theme, which is a foundation to the Kingdom of Heaven.
- The disciples would be thinking of themselves as “first,” because they’ve been in on this from the beginning.
- They are “ground floor” disciples, so expect a reward.
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- Ground floor investors get better dividends, reap higher rewards
- Rookie cards value is higher
- Fans of bands consider themselves “better” fans if they knew them when they were playing in small bars instead of huge arenas
- “Bandwagon” fans are the worst kind in sports.
- Ground floor investors get better dividends, reap higher rewards
- Jesus declares - “There are no bandwagon fans in the Kingdom of Heaven.” there is no reward for being on the ‘ground floor.’
- Important message to the Matthew Community in particular, which is presumably largely Jewish, and might have considered themselves among the “first,” amidst a growing church of newcomers.
- The parable expounds on this theme, which is a foundation to the Kingdom of Heaven.
- Fairness is a concept learned from a very early age.
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- Fairness has little to do with the Kingdom of Heaven
- Fairness and Grace are not mutually exclusive - there simply is no relationship at all.
- Great story to share with youth. Challenges moral assurances. Challenges sense of fair. Challenges “the way things ought to be.”
- Challenging the way things ought to be a is vital part of Jesus’ understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven.
- Fairness has little to do with the Kingdom of Heaven
- Mature faith calls us to move beyond fairness and into grace.
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- My salvation is not dependent upon yours.
- The Kingdom is not a zero-sum proposition. My reward/relationship with God is not affected by yours.
- Reward from God is not about wages. It is not a scarcity-based economic exchange. Reward from God is peace, grace, love. These things are not affected by outside forces, or laws of supply and demand.
- Immature faith delights in misery of others. Even if they don’t say it like that, it comes out in ideas and concepts such as “They’ll meet their maker someday,” “They’ll get what’s coming to them,” or “Karma will catch up with them.” And while there is an element of “you reap what you sow that is in the gospel,” the overwhelming message of the gospel is that we don’t get what we deserve.
- My salvation is not dependent upon yours.
- Jesus poses two questions:
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- “Don't I have the right to do what I want with what belongs to me?”
- “Are you resentful because I'm generous?'
- The answer to both is “Yes.”
- An honest look at this story makes us see ourselves more clearly. When we see our own
- “Don't I have the right to do what I want with what belongs to me?”
- An honest look at this passage challenges the way we understand the world. We see the unfairness of the story, and our natural reaction is to wonder what kind of Kingdom this is. An honest look at our own jealousy and sense of unfairness reveals the way that we see others who are on the “outside,” and reveals to us the way we may treat “bandwagon jumpers.” Instead of worrying what others are getting, and worldly concepts of fairness, we must see the reward we already have. Instead of worrying about the unfairness of a God that blesses all, we should rejoice with those that come to join the work, even if they are late arriving.
- Seeing the world through the lens of the Kingdom changes everything. The Kingdom of Heaven is a new way of looking at the. Kingdom evangelism is not about getting people to avoid their punishment, it is about celebrating a bigger party.
- How does this affect the way we think of church membership? How many in our churches feel entitled to influence, time, resources, because they have been “members since…” We complain about phone services that offer great things to new customers at the expense of those that have been customers forever, but this passage seems to suggest they have it right. One lesson I’ve learned from The Church of the Resurrection is their concept of membership means that people must surrender their privileges. Members give up the good parking spaces. They were asked to give up the back pews in the sanctuary. Give up even the “prime time” worship times at Easter and Christmas.
Featured Musician - Bryan Sirchio, “The Manna Song” from his album Worms in the Bread. You can find out more about their music at sirchio.com.
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Secondary scripture - Exodus 16:2-15 - Manna from Heaven
Initial Thoughts
- Would you like some cheese to go with that whine?
- Bryan Sirchio’s songs are awesome
- Food Justice
- People Complain
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- “Murmuring”
- What have you done for me lately?
- Are we that much different? I don’t think so- and God is still listening and providing
- “Murmuring”
- God Provides
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- Rejection of salvation- we wish God had not saved us
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- “It would have been better” (echoes Jonah 4:1-3 - the other HB reading for today)
- It is easier to doubt than to trust
- The people do not doubt more than once about each thing (Egyptians, Water, Good Water, Food)
- “It would have been better” (echoes Jonah 4:1-3 - the other HB reading for today)
- God’s response
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- God always provides- each time, no matter how often the people complain or misunderstand, God still provides
- In providing - there is no question of deserve- everything is a gift
- God is not a capitalist, there is no working on the Sabbath, there is no storing up riches, there are no manna-rich and manna-poor
- God always provides- each time, no matter how often the people complain or misunderstand, God still provides
- Points to God
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- Saving from the Egyptians, providing water, purifying water, providing manna by day and quails by night - all point to who God is
- “Cannot live by bread alone” Deut. 8:3
- Saving from the Egyptians, providing water, purifying water, providing manna by day and quails by night - all point to who God is
- “Crisis of Food has led to a deepening crisis of faith” Carol J. Dempsey, Feasting on the Word- if we are going to share the good news, we need to be agents of blessing and feed the hungry first
- Rejection of salvation- we wish God had not saved us
- Dependance on God
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- The Israelites are utterly dependant on God and they don’t like it
- Perhaps one of the problems with the Church today is that we forgot to be dependant on God
- We are so separated from many things we take for granted: electricity, clean water, clean air, food - we forget the gifts they are and the many poeple that make them possible.
- Are we still content with our “daily bread”?
- The Israelites are utterly dependant on God and they don’t like it
- Deborah Block: People complain - God Hears - God Responds-People Respond
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- How are we responding to God’s gift?
- How are we responding to God’s gift?
- How do we balance pride/ self esteem with God’s generosity? All that we have is a gift from God- does that leave room for pride?
- Why is it so hard to think of all that we have from our 401K to our toaster ovens as being a gift from God? Where does this notion of “what I deserve” come from?
- Are we still content with our “daily bread”?
Tasty Wafer of the Week!
G-d cast Videos on the Hebrew Bible
CLOSING
TY listeners
Shout outs:
Twitter:
- Barthalamew @hermitary “Listening to@PulpitFpodcast for the 1st time - had never heard of it before recommendation on Progressive Christian Facebook. Impressed.” Then later said, “Given that I'm only on my 1st episode, does@PulpitFpodcast ever include#LGBT, PoC, non white cishet voices?” We had a nice little twitter exchange, and pointed to our Sara Miles interview. Also, we are working on doing more guest-host episodes.
- Several people retweeted our quote from Christian Piatt’s book “"Truly, fully embracing Jesus at the core of our lives causes us to be perpetually restless."
- Sybel Scott de Pech, in response to a more full quote “Once you've tasted and seen how good God is you can never be satisfied with anything/anyone less than God”
Our Featured Musician Bryan Sirchio, “The Manna Song” from his album Worms in the Bread. You can find out more about their music at sirchio.com.
Thanks to Scott Fletcher for our voice bumpers, Dick Dale and the Del Tones for our Theme music (“Misirlou”), Nicolai Heidlas (“Summertime”) and The Steel Wheels for our transition music(“Second of May” from their album Live at Goose Creek) and Paul and Storm for our closing music( “Oh No”).
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