More Thoughts - Matthew 20:1-16 (Proper 20A) - Being Good for Goodness' Sake

Rev. Todd Weir at bloomingcactus offers some great sermon thoughts on this passage. He actually placed a stepladder on the platform during his message, and used the stepladder to illustrate our typical understanding of behavior and rewards. We tend do good things to get one step higher on the ladder, continuing to climb the ladder of success. But this passage illustrates that there is no stepladder of reward in the Gospel message, and so we begin to question why we bother do good.

Our society is based upon transactions. From the cradle we learn that good behavior brings good rewards and bad behavior brings negative consequences. In school we learn that hard work results in good grades, and failing to do our homework results in bad grades. Good grades as a teenager result in car priveleges, proper use of the car ensures that those privileges will continue. In the workplace we learn that hard work, a good attitude, and being willing to put in extra time help us earn promotions and larger paychecks.

Since this transactional lifestyle is so ingrained in us, we expect God to behave the same way. Good behavior on earth should result in more crowns in heaven, or an honored seat at the banquet table.

But God's grace doesn't seem to work that way. Since grace is getting what we don't deserve, we realize that it has nothing to do with earning God's love. If we expect some people to receive more of God's grace than others, then we have bought into a cheap grace that really isn't grace at all...but more like a paycheck.

Why then should we care about being holy or doing good? If there is no system that rewards good behavior, why not simply live as we please?

Our good deeds do not flow out of a sense of looking for reward or an obligation. Rather, our good deeds are a result of God's transforming presence in our lives. Our good deeds are done as a response to God's grace, not in an effort to receive it.

I'm reminded of a song by Jadon Lavik, entitled What If (from his debut album entitled Moving on Faith). You can find the entire lyric here, I've included just a couple of brief quotes below.

What if I climbed that mountain, what if I swam to that shore
What if every battle was victorious then would you love me more

What if I ignored the hand that fed me, what if I forgot to confess
What if I stumbled down that mountain then would you love me less

What have I done to deserve your son sent to die for me
What can I give I want to live give me eyes to see
In a world that keeps changin’ there’s one thing that I know is true
Your love is stayin’ there’s nothing else I’ll hold onto

None of us deserve God's grace or His love. Not one of us could possibly be righteous apart from His grace and forgiveness. While we can never repay the debt, we can live a life that responds to God's grace, with whatever time we may have left.

Grace and Peace,

PastorJon