Sunday Series: September 21, 2014

We all have those days when we feel that everything is against us. We feel that our friends have left us and that our prayers are not being answered. We feel alone. This is a common feeling amongst mankind, but it is one that should never be felt.

Seek the LORD while he may be found,
call him while he is near.
Let the scoundrel forsake his way,
and the wicked his thoughts;
let him turn to the LORD for mercy;
to our God, who is generous in forgiving.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
As high as the heavens are above the earth,
so high are my ways above your ways
and my thoughts above your thoughts.

As we hear this passage from Isaiah, we should all come to realize that we are never alone. The Lord is everywhere. He is in each and everyone of us. He comes to us when we are in need. But there is one thing that we must do. We must seek the Lord. He is generous in forgiving, but we must accept his generosity and show that acceptance in our own lives. How hard it is at times for us to forgive our neighbor, but do we not say in the Lord's Prayer, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." God forgives man for the most heinous crime ever committed, the cross, and it is by that crime that he forgives man. If God can forgive us for nailing him to a tree, how much more should forgive the little things our neighbors do to us.

This now leads into today's Gospel: Matthew 20: 1-16. It is harvest time, and the owner of the vineyard goes out to the market to hire laborers. The workers agree to the normal daily wage. The owner of the vineyard will do the same process throughout the day hiring more workers throughout the day.  When it became time to pay the workers, the master gave the workers who worked an hour the same as the workers who were there the whole time. The ones that came late were grateful for the master's generosity, but ones who had been there a while became envious. They thought they deserved more. The question now rises: Who are we in this story? Are we the workers who are grateful to the master for his generosity, or are we the envious ones who have been there longer? Are we the prodigal son who found a new devotion to his father, or are we his jealous older brother? Are we the pharisee who says, "Thank you Lord that I am not like this Tax Collector, a sinner," or are we the Tax Collector, aware of his sinfulness, that says, "Have Mercy on me, a sinner."?