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God's Generosity and Ours

The Rev. Thomas W. Simmons

This morning I'd like to talk about one of my favorite themes: the generosity of God. I think that what we believe about God - who he is and what he's like - has a profound influence on the way we live. 

Our Scripture passages this morning show us a God of extravagant generosity who gives far more than we can ask for or imagine.  And to show us how we should live, these passages contrast God's generosity with the more tight-fisted generosity of human beings.

You see it in the Book of Jonah where God calls Jonah to leave his prophetic work in Israel and go north to Assyria to preach to the inhabitants of the great capital city, Nineveh.  

Assyria at this time was a very vigorous nation on the rise and was Israel's chief competitor in the region.  For Israel to be strong, Assyria had to be weak.  And if Assyria was strong, then Israel was in trouble .  And now God wants Jonah to go and offer these people an opportunity to repent and be blessed by God.  

The message here is that though God's generous grace and saving work were primarily focused on Israel they weren't exclusivelylimited to Israel.  God's mercy and gracious intentions were in fact available to all - even to Israel's enemies.  That's how generous God is.  He has something for everyone.  

But Jonah was not happy about this.  He was a very patriotic prophet who worked hard for Israel's success and glory.  He wanted to see Israel strong.  So instead of obeying God's call and helping his enemy, Jonah runs in the opposite direction: out to sea. 

You know the story. God catches up with him in the belly of the fish and brings him up - as it were - to Nineveh where he dutifully proclaims God's word.  And guess what happens.  It works. Poor Jonah.  The king of Nineveh repents and with him the whole city. God spares Assyria, which later rises to dominate the whole region. 

Our passage today captures Jonah's bitter complaint at this outcome - and you just know how he feels.  He rails against God. "I knew you were a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing."  Jonah was so bitter about this that he couldn't even bear living anymore. "Take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live." 

Have you ever heard someone complain to God because of his grace, mercy and patience toward others? It illustrates that God's generous intentions are considerably more expansive than ours. 

We see the same thing in Jesus' portrayal of the kingdom of heaven, which he compares to a vineyard at harvest time.  There's a lot of work that needs to be done so the owner goes to the market early and hires some day laborers.  But picking grapes requires a lot of hands.  So he goes out and hires some at 9 am, then again at noon and so on through the day until finally at 5 pm he hires his last group of workers for an hour to help finish the job. 

When the day ends the landowner feels a little saucy and decides he'll be generous and pay everyone for a full day's labor.  The late-in-the-day workers are very pleasantly surprised because they weren't expecting much.  But to the all-day workers it just doesn't seem fair forthese latecomers to get the same as they who worked all day.  Typical office politics, eh?

I imagine they feel a little like Jonah did.  The Israelites had been following God for centuries and figured they deserved more than the gentile nations, like Assyria.  But now these Ninevites were getting an equal share of God's mercy and blessing.  It's just not fair. 

Jesus' audience had a similar outlook.  Many of them, especially the ultra-religious Pharisees, were dismayed by Jesus' willingness to offer God's generosity to such latecomers and un-worthies as tax collectors, prostitutes, sinners and even Gentiles. It's just not phair-you-see? 

The point here is that God's grace is like icing on a cake.  God spreads it thick and even.  The privileges of seniority are few in God's kingdom.  Jesus said it well.  The first shall be last and the last shall be moved to the front of the line.

Jesus' story of the growing number of workers in the vineyard makes me think of the growing population of Purcellville.  This town of ours has grown rapidly.  In 1950 there were 945 residents.  Some of you remember those days.  By 1980 the number had grown to 1567.  By 1990 another 200 had moved in bringing the population to 1744. 

And then things began to take off.  By 1996 500 new people came, raising the population to 2200.  By 2000 another 1300 new people moved in, doubling the size in a single decade: 3584 people.  In 2001 alone the population grew by another 500 people.  Like the vineyard in Jesus' parable, new folks just keep coming. 

Now there's Old Purcellville, there's New Purcellville and there's Really New Purcellville.  Everyone has an opinion for or against development.  Many are delighted to be here and some think it's just not fair. 

Regardless of your position on of the issue, what's important is how we deal with the reality, how we welcome the newcomerswho arrive in our neighborhoods and show up here looking for a church. 

Instead of being like Jonah and the all-day-workers, we need to mirror God's generosity for the newcomers, spreading the hospitality thick and even.  For example, I would love to see the incredibly generous hospitality St. Peter's has shown my family to be given to all who are new.  Our New Member Ministry is working hard to do that. 

That brings us to our Epistle reading this morning.  In it Paul reflects on the end of his life and weighs his final priorities and choices. Paul is in prison and he knows that he will either be executed or set free. 

He welcomes death for then he will "be with Christ" and "that is far better," than the troubles of this life.  But he also realizes that continued life "means fruitful labor for me…for your progress and joy in faith."  Paul decides that he's content to continue living for the sake of others that they may grow in Christ. 

Think of the contrast with Jonah, who was more concerned about losing the plant that gave him shade than the 120,000 people in Nineveh.  As he witnessed their repentance Jonah just wanted to die because he couldn't bear to see God being kind and generous to the pagan Ninevites. 

Paul also wants to die, but when he thinks of the inhabitants of the many pagan cities within his reach, which were in many ways like Nineveh, he is willing to go on living and working and suffering so they can experience God's generosity, too.

And think of how different Paul is from the all-day workers shocked to see the newcomers receiving the same as they.  Paul can identify with them.  Later in his letter to the Philippians he describes himself as a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee with an impeccable lineage and credentials.  If there is anyone who could look down on gentiles it was he. 

But now he is the apostle to the gentiles.  His ministry is completely dedicated to the newcomers, the late-in-the-day workers.  He wants to bring them ALL in to take part in the feast of God's grace.    He is into New Member Ministry, like we are at St. Peter's as we watch new houses being built literally right across the street and as new people move in every week. 

This past week I struggled with these passages until I realized how timely they are.  Next Sunday we will officially recognize and welcome new members to our congregation with a New Member Liturgy in the morning and a big potluck party in the evening to celebrate - to which EVERYONE is invited. 

I look forward to the event and hope that we at St. Peter's will both experience the extravagance of God's generosity and spread it thick and even in the world around us, like icing on a cake.  AMEN