Getting what we deserve is a matter of perspective

A lot of how we feel about life, our relationships, and what is “fair” has more to do with one word than most people give credit.  Perspective.

Today, in worship, we heard the story of the generous vineyard owner who paid all his workers the same day’s salary whether they were hired at the start of the day or at five o’clock.  (Matthew 20:1-16)

Whoa, this is an emotionally charged story for me!  It really messes with my sense of what is just or fair.

Yet what is just and fair is really a matter of perspective. 

Whose perspective is truly more just and fair?  Mine, based on the equity of work performed vs. pay?  Or God’s, based on the solution of daily bread for all?  

In this story, the vineyard owner calls to task all who question his generosity to do what he wants with what is his.  Did we not agree, at the start of the day, to the wages we were paid?  So what have we to complain about that the Lord saw to it that no one was left without the means to feed his family at the end of the day, regardless of the amount of work they did?  In the Lord’s perspective, everyone worked and everyone will be paid.  No one deserves more or less than another.

As Pastor Fred reminded us this morning, when we pray for God to “give us today our daily bread,” we are not asking for daily bread for 5 days, but for today.  If we trust in God to provide for our needs, we do not need to fear what is just payment… we all will have what we need.

The justice in this story, seen from the perspective of the owner of the vineyard, is a hard pill to swallow.

And yet, it is just this kind of story which can help us to see how abundant God’s love is.

For we will all find ourselves in the position of the five o’clock worker at some point in our lives…hoping for work and wages to make ends meet (or asking forgiveness, or some other venue in which we have been less than successful) and being given the riches of God’s Grace, completely and unabashedly undeserved, yet freely given to us. 

Human beings too easily fall prey to sin and selfishness.  We are incapable of creating a society where we can accept the perspective of the generous vineyard owner as a way of doing business. 

It is only in God’s house, where that perspective can reign and prosper.  In that, this story gives us a glimpse of the glory of what God’s heaven is like, and what we have been promised for our eternal life with God. 

It calls us up short for all the times we think we know what is right and wrong, and points out a different perspective of what is justice for all.

It’s all a matter of perspective.  Mine might prosper me now, but God’s will prosper all for eternity.

What do you think of this story?  Have you witnessed God's Grace in ways that initially seemed unfair to you?  Leave a comment and tell us your story of seeing God's abundance and generosity in action.

It’s probably a good thing God doesn’t give us what we deserve.  Amen.

Join us for worship on Sundays at 8:30 & 10:45 am.

Christian Education at 9:45 am

St. Andrew Lutheran Church

335 Reynolds Ave., Parsippany, NJ  07054

www.elcaandy.org

On 9-11 God will not be silenced

Today is September 11, 2011.  The 10^th Anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on America.

It also happens to be Holy Cross Sunday in the Lutheran Church.

I have been listening to various radio shows, television broadcasts, and reading various news productions and blogs in recent weeks, with an ear for where God is being fit into this anniversary remembrance.   It seems many people in the news production arena have forgotten to where many people, including the news media, turned for comfort, inner calm, and hope in the days following the attacks.

What did you hear on 9/11/01?  Please pray for…. God bless America… Our thoughts and prayers go out to… Thank God for first responders….  Pray for the safety of….

To whom were people being asked to pray?  Who was being asked to bless our nation?  God.

God.  The one God who is the Father of Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

And yet, this anniversary celebration was to be put together with a secular bent?  Mayor Bloomberg has deemed no prayers will be offered at the 9-11 Memorial in NYC.

Shame on those who would claim God has no place in remembrance… our sorrows, our hopes, our forgiveness, our anger, our prayers. 

We could call on him then… but not now?

Good sense prevailed in some places.   President Obama read from Psalms.  Other mentions of prayer and God and faith are spilling into the news feeds I am finding for today.   God will not be silenced.    

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem in the week before His crucifixion, the crowd of people shouted:  (Luke 19:38-40)

“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”  Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” But Jesus answered,

“I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”

God will not be silenced.  The actions of the faithful speak louder than the rhetoric of politicians.

St. Andrew is participating in the Parsippany Library 9/11Tribute Exhibit.  We picked up our twin towers plywood cutout and decorated it with crosses, Jewish stars, and a crescent moon and star.  It is mostly filled with crosses.  The only statistics I could find regarding the breakdown of the faiths of those who perished on 9/11/01 indicated that although no religious denomination records have been kept (I find this incredulous), it appears that about 500 were Jewish and about 2 dozen were Muslim.  I’m guessing the rest were Christians (and/or atheists). 

So on this Holy Cross Sunday, when Lutherans celebrate the faith, hope and love of Jesus, may we all remember and honor those who died on Sept. 11, 2001. 

And, may we be not afraid to speak of that faith, hope and love… for God will not be silenced.  

Not by terrorists, …

and not by a media machine or government leadership more concerned with being politically correct than morally straight.

Come join us for worship.

Sundays @ 8:30 and 10:45 am.
St. Andrew Lutheran Church
335 Reynolds Ave.
Parsippany, NJ  07054
(973) 887-6713
www.elcaAndy.org

What will tomorrow bring?

Today is September 10, 2011.

Tomorrow is 9/11/11.  Ten years after the terrorist attacks on America.

What will tomorrow bring?

It’s tempting to dwell on the emotions, loss and grief associated with our remembrance of 9/11/01.  It’s also tempting to get caught up in the fear of ‘credible threats’ that our security forces have said warrant our extra vigilance.

In the big picture, September 11 is just another day in our lives.  In the microcosm of our lives, it is a day we will never forget, and shouldn’t forget.  Our lives were forever changed on that day.  

Jesus has some significant words for us on the subject of worrying…Matthew 6:25-34

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

As I write this there is a chipmunk sitting outside my window on my picnic table bench, munching on a nut. He knows nothing about what tomorrow means to Americans.  He only knows that this is the season of harvest… yippee, the acorns are beginning to fall!  God provides for His creation.

Some things will forever remind us of the events of 9/11/01.  For me, every time I see a sunny, bright blue sky (Crayola Sky Blue) with large white clouds and feel the cool September air against my skin, I am reminded of that day, forever seared into my memory with the scars of smoke plumes drifting across that same blue sky, and with the loss and grief of so many people. 

We are changed forever, but yet we are still the same children of God.  It is because God never stops loving His children, we can go forward into each new day without worry and fear.  We are called to live with hope and love.

I think it is an interesting thing to note that the 10^th anniversary of this date falls on a Sunday.  The Church (large C) is calling for us to think on this day as an opportunity to work toward forgiveness and peace.  Imagine the world-wide possibilities if everyone attended worship tomorrow morning and heard the calling for forgiveness and peace, instead of worrying about the things that cause us fear.

Those people whom we loved and lost on 9/11/01 would certainly want us to remember and honor them, but they also would not want us to live in worry and fear.  We can honor them best by living lives free of fear. 

Jesus gives us the antidote for the affliction of worry…

Trust in God.

I hope to see you in church tomorrow.  St. Andrew worships at 8:30 and 10:45 am.  We are located at 335 Reynolds Ave. in Parsippany, NJ  07054.  (973) 887-6713.

Come and see our community tribute tower display and help us share the news that we are ALL children of God.

11 Things I am Thankful for after Hurricane Irene

It’s been a wild year, weather-wise, in the U.S. , especially in the Northeast.  We had an unusual amount of snow and ice at the beginning of the year.  We had an unusually wet spring and summer.  The ground is saturated.  We had a 5.8 magnitude earthquake centered in Virginia but felt up and down the east coast.   And now, we’ve had a hurricane….correction, tropical storm.  71 mph instead of 75 mph sustained winds.  Hurricane Irene.

St. Andrew cancelled worship services to ensure everyone was safely home during what was forecasted to be the windiest and most intense period of the storm.  Now we know that, although the winds knocked down a lot of trees and power lines, it was the flooding from the incredible volume of rain that has done the most damage.  Whole communities are underwater with flood waters from swollen rivers at 4-12 feet above flood stage. 

Once again, I reflect upon all that I am thankful for and on the blessings which I have been granted.

1.      I am thankful that I was raised by parents who trusted in God to provide for our every need.  I learned at an early age, when hot dog soup was a frequent dinner while my father was out of work, that “we can’t worry about everything.  God will provide what we really need and we just have to work hard for the rest.  We just have to have faith in Him.”  This mindset has helped me not to panic about events over which I have no control.

2.       I am thankful that God has gifted people with hearts for public service.  How different our recovery from this storm, and other disasters, if not for the dedication of firefighters, police, emergency medical technicians and ambulance drivers, electric and utility company personnel, disaster relief workers, military and National Guard men and women,  food pantry workers and emergency management personnel?

3.       I am thankful that God has given us the scientists and technology to improve our weather forecasting models.  The weather tracking systems apparently accurately predicted the track and intensity of this latest storm to within 10 miles along the NJ coast, enabling people to get to safer locations.

4.       I am thankful for the safety of my family and the comforts of my home…the electricity, flush toilets and hot showers, the gas stove and hot water heater, the refrigeration, the television, the telephone and Internet communications.

5.       I am thankful for the crickets that chirp outside my windows.  I could not hear them over the roar of generators during the past few days.

6.       I am thankful for neighbors who shared their electricity and generator power with those who did not have it.

7.       I am thankful for neighbors who offer the use of their freezers (to save us money and wasted food) and Internet to those who didn’t have them. 

8.       I am thankful for people who cared enough to check in on us and offer whatever we needed.

9.       I am thankful that I listened to my gut/smarts/Holy Spirit and refused to buy a cheaper home in a flood zone.  The anxiety, devastation and repair costs would never be compensated by the difference in the home price, no matter that “it hasn’t flooded here in 15 years.”   I pray for the people who have lost so much due to the flooding and hope they are helped to find ways to put their lives back together.  (Click here to see how you can help: Lake Hiawatha/Parsippany flood relief.)

10.   I am thankful that everyone I know has weathered this storm without a loss of life or injury, and I pray for those who have lost loved ones or suffered injuries in the chaos.

11.   I am thankful  that the 10 mighty oak trees that surround my home remained rooted to the ground and denied the urge to drop any limbs on my house.  They are beautiful, tall and provide an abundance of cool shade for my home, but even they might not be able to stand up to the forces of Mother Nature when she decides it’s pruning time.

There is a multitude more things for which I am thankful and about which I feel blessed.  These are some that I have pondered today.

Join us for worship this Sunday at 9:30 am (Labor Day weekend) and say “thanks” for your own blessings. 

We resume two worship services on Sept. 11, with worship at 8:30 and 10:45 am.