It's Not Fair, God!

 

Rev. Debbie Cato
Jonah 4 and Matthew 20:1-16
Fairfield Community Church
Preaching Series on Jonah – Week 3
September 24, 2023

Holy God, your Word teaches us that all Scripture is inspired by you. As we hear your Word read and proclaimed today, we pray that you would speak to us, and inspire us to do your will in the world. Amen.

 

It’s Not Fair, God!

 

 

This is our third and final week in the Book of Jonah.

          A short prophetic book of only four chapters; a total of 48 verses.                    

Forty-eight verses filled with intrigue, humor, a myriad of emotions, and life lessons.  I think we are all Jonah’s.  We can find ourselves in Jonah.  At least I can.

          So far, in the first 37 verses…

God calls Jonah to go to Nineveh to speak judgment against an evil city.          Jonah doesn’t want to go, so he decides to run away from God.                  
         He boards a ship headed in the opposite direction.

God causes a violent storm on the sea that threatens to rip the ship to shreds. Jonah gets tossed overboard and immediately – immediately, the sea becomes calm.
                   Rather than drown and die in the sea,
                             God commands a great fish to swallow Jonah whole…                                      Saving Jonah’s life.

Jonah lives inside the belly of the fish for three days and three nights, until God commands the fish to vomit Jonah on dry land.

God is in control, and He doesn’t waste any time.  God again commands Jonah to go to Nineveh. He again commands Jonah to preach judgment to the Ninevites. Reluctantly, Jonah complies.  Jonah travels to Ninevah and he gives the Ninevites this message from God:

“Forty more days and Nineveh will be destroyed,” Jonah proclaims.

 The wicked people of Nineveh hear Jonah’s proclamation and immediately they repent. The people fast and wear sack cloth.  The king proclaims that all humans and all beasts in Ninevah will urgently pray to the God of Israel and repent. They shall not eat or drink.  They shall change their ways. And maybe … just maybe, the God of Israel will change his mind and save them.  And

 

“When God saw what they did and how they turned from their
evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.”

How often are we grateful for God’s compassion?   How often do we even recognize God’s compassion?  How often do we begin our prayers calling on God as a compassionate God?  As Christians, we assume God is going to forgive us.  We count on God’s willingness to forgive us … to give us another chance.  And another.  And another. We take it for granted.

Well, Jonah is not happy with God.  Jonah is not happy that God shows compassion to the Ninevites.  Scripture tells us that “Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry.”

In fact, in his anger, Jonah admits why he didn’t want to go to Nineveh to begin with.  He admits why he tried to run away from God.

          He admits why he boarded the ship bound for Tarshish.
                   It wasn’t because of the wickedness of Nineveh.
                             It wasn’t even because he was afraid to go there.

“I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.”

 Now we know.  (pause)  Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh because he knew that God would not destroy these wicked enemies of Israel.  He knew that God was gracious and compassionate, and that God would forgive them.  Jonah knew that in the end God would not destroy them.  And Jonah did not want the wicked Ninevites forgiven.

Maybe that’s why Jonah brought such a vague message to the Ninevites.  Remember?  He didn’t tell them he had a word from the Lord.  He didn’t tell them he was a messenger from God.  He just told them their city would be overthrown in forty days.  He was vague.  He left out important details.

But somehow, in spite of the vague message, the people knew. Even the king knew!

          They knew God was warning them.    The God of Israel.
                   They knew they were wicked.
                             They knew they needed to repent.
                                      They knew they needed to change.
                                                And they did. And God saw.

 Now, in Jonah’s defense, I think it’s important for us to remember that the Ninevites were evil people.  They were enemies of the Israelites.  They did not worship the God of Israel.

In today’s world we could compare them to terrorists. Wicked, evil people. People that most of us probably believe deserve to be destroyed. People who don’t deserve to be forgiven.  People who don’t deserve to be saved. We see evil all around us. Thanks to technology; to TV and internet, we see live pictures and reports of evil empires around the world that oppress and starve and torture and kill innocent people. 

I think that often we are skeptical that people can change.  And we think – and truly believe – that they could never change.  We believe that they don’t deserve forgiveness …. Don’t deserve a second chance…….  Don’t deserve God’s compassion. Whether they are terrorists from another country or a mass shooter right here from the United States, we don’t think they deserve to be forgiven by God.  To receive his compassion.  To be saved. They are evil.  They are wicked.

See, I like Jonah because we are just like him! We have all tried to run away from God… We have all been disobedient…  not wanting to do as He asks. We have all at one time or another reluctantly followed him, hoping to prove him wrong as Jonah did. And we have all gotten indignant… downright angry when he was compassionate or forgiving or generous or acted in a way that we didn’t think He should. And God’s response to Jonah is probably God’s response to us: “Do you have any right to be angry?”  Do you have any right to be angry?

Jesus knew it was hard for us to see God save those whom we deem unworthy; to forgive those we think don’t deserve forgiveness.  If there’s one thing us Christians are good at, it’s deciding who’s righteous and who’s not.  Who deserves God’s compassion and who doesn’t.  Who should be saved and who shouldn’t.  So, Jesus tells the parable of the workers in the vineyard.

 The prophet Isaiah likens God to a vineyard owner; the employer in this parable. The details are the sort of thing that happens time and again in any village at grape harvest. Storms can ruin the crop; timing is of the essence. The working hours are right, from dawn to sunset. The unemployment background all too familiar; standing in the market-place was the equivalent of standing in the Job Center; the unemployment office. It was all very familiar, as was the payment of the workers at the end of the day, so they could go home with money for the evening meal.  The wage is right, actually very generous for a full day’s unskilled labor.

Despite its familiarity, the parable is a total reversal of normal values.  The unions would be up in arms if any employer acted like this today. But the story is intended to show the principles on which God receives people into his kingdom.  It has to do with salvation. 

Three surprises await us in this picture of the upside-down kingdom. First, there is something strange about this employer. He really cares about the down-and-outs. He could have sent an employee to the unemployment office to find workers. Instead, he goes out himself.  Actually, he goes out repeatedly during the day – every few hours - to find them. They are hungry, unemployed and, as the day wears on, increasingly hopeless. He cares about that. He wants to give them a job and a reward.  He’s an unusual employer.

A second surprise comes at the end of the day, when he pays them for their work. He begins with the last workers that he hired. He gives each of them a full day’s pay.  Even though they only worked an hour, they are paid the same as those who worked all day long. Such is the amazing generosity of this employer.

A spokesman for the labor force complains: ‘This isn’t fair. Why should those who have worked only one hour, get the same as me and my mates who have worked all day in the boiling sun?’   (I knew you wouldn’t destroy them, Jonah complained.)

Jesus replies, ‘Friend, may I remind you that when I hired you and the other workers at dawn, I promised to pay you all a generous wage for a full days work.  I promised to pay you one denarius.  That is a very good day’s wage.  What are you complaining about?  Isn’t that what I am paying you?  I am not breaking my contract with you.  I am keeping my word.  I am paying you exactly what you agreed to work for.  Why are you upset?  What are you complaining about? 

The point of the story is plain. Length of service and long hours of toil in the heat of the day constitute no claim on God.  Length of service and long hours of toil provide no reason why he should not be generous to those who have done less. All human merit shrivels before God’s self-giving love.

Grace.  God’s amazing grace is the burden of this story. All are equally undeserving of so large a sum as a denarius a day. Yet, all receive it by the generosity of the employer. All are on the same level.

There is no place for personal pride, for contempt or jealousy. There is no ground for any to question how this generous God handles the utterly undeserving. He is good. He sees that the one-hour workers would have no money for supper if they got paid for only one hour. In generosity he gives them what they need. Who is to complain at that?

The Pharisees might complain. They were pleased with themselves and scornful of the common people. Jews in general might complain. They were God’s chosen people and yet the despised Gentiles are welcomed on equal terms with them into the kingdom.

The disciples might complain. They gave up everything to follow Jesus. It would have been easy for them to begrudge the free welcome given to those who had denied Jesus during his earthly ministry and became his followers only when the movement spread after Pentecost.

The long-standing church members in Matthew’s church might complain. They had built the church, modeled it, slaved away in it. Now here were all these new believers crowding in and wanting to make changes and take office. They did not know their place!

Members of the Church today – you and me might complain.  We have been faithful.  We study Scripture, we worship, we pray, we give our finances, our time, we help those in need.  Why should “those” people who haven’t “earned” God’s grace be forgiven and saved? 

 You see, we are all like Jonah.  We all think we have a right to decide who does and doesn’t deserve God’s forgiveness.  God’s grace. 

 But to each and every one of us, this parable presents a firm rebuttal. Our standing in the kingdom of God does not depend on human merit in any way. It depends on the sheer unmerited favor of the only One who is ultimately good.  The only One who accepts those who can never be good.  We are all sinful men and women faced with a holy, gracious God.  We cannot hide.  We cannot thwart God’s plans.  We all depend on God’s grace alone. Without it we would not have a chance. 

 There are no rankings in the kingdom of God. Nobody can claim they deserve membership in the kingdom.  And friends, that is good news for all of us, because we are all sinners.  None of us “deserve” God’s grace.  Yet, we are all welcomed.  Thanks Be to God!  Amen.