Today’s show notes are more like…
Sermon Notes:
I. Intro
Good morning, church. I am honoured to be sharing today’s homily with all of you. I am so grateful to each of you for enabling me to serve Victory this year as I learn from our excellent clergy. And, although I have not yet met every single one of you, I have been touched by the warm welcome I’ve received from those of you I have met.
One of the joys of my last few weeks has been the three seminary courses I’ve had the pleasure of beginning. I’ve been taking a Holy Spirit course on Tuesdays, a preaching course on Thursdays, and an introduction to diaconal ministry on Saturdays. Funny enough, yesterday’s diaconal class also happened to be on preaching. Although I probably shouldn’t be telling you that in case I do a bad job today!
I was doing the reading for my Holy Spirit course a couple of weeks ago and I came across a prayer called the Sequence for Pentecost. I want to speak a part of it over us as we dive into today’s sermon:
Come, oh Holy Spirit!
Come, power of God and tender sweetness of God!
Come, you who are both motion and rest!
Renew our daring,
Be our companion so that we will not feel lonely in this world.
Create in us intimacy with God!In Jesus’s name we pray,
Amen.
II. It ain’t over ’til it’s over
I don’t know if you can relate to this, but growing up, I was completely useless at sports. I know Pastor Roland can relate, but don’t tell him I said that.
The only sport I was kind of okay at was soccer. One of the sayings I would always hear as a soccer player and fan was: “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.” I did some research this week and it turns out that the saying actually originates from baseball. A coach by the name of Yogi Berra is said to have used it in 1973 when his team — the New York Mets — was the lowest-ranked team in the National League. The Mets went on to win 21 of their subsequent 29 games and wound up winning the National League. The coach’s words proved 100% correct. It is indeed not over until it is over.
You might be wondering why I’m telling you this story. The reason I’m telling you this story is because when I spent time in this morning’s Gospel passage throughout the week, I couldn’t help but think of Berra’s quote. The landowner in our passage hired men at 5pm for a job that had begun at 6am.
Think about it. That’s quite remarkable. And, as we know, he ended up paying those men the same rate that he would later pay the earliest workers. I don’t know about you but, to me, this story screams: “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”
I would say that it’s pretty evident the landowner in this story represents God. You could also say that the land being worked represents the mission field. I am reminded of the sign above our main exit—You Are Now Entering the Mission Field. I don’t care if you’re 9 years old or 90 years old this morning, God is hiring for the mission field. That’s because we all have a job to do for His Kingdom. Our job is to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.
III. MOTION & REST
In today’s New Testament reading, we read words from a man — St. Paul — who dedicated his whole life to this mission:
21For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. 22But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. 23I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. 24But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live. 25Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith.
There is a fascinating tension here. Paul longs to physically dwell with God in heaven. While he waits to be called home, however, he pairs his longing with labour. He goes on to describe himself in verse 27 as a “citizen of heaven.” He knows that he is no longer of this world. He knows that he now belongs entirely to God’s Kingdom. And yet, as he awaits his homecoming, he is focused on doing the King’s bidding here on earth.
In this way, he mirrors the Lord Jesus Himself, who, being God in human flesh, certainly understood what it was like to be a foreigner in this world. He no doubt longed for heaven, even as He laboured here on its behalf. He showed us that the Christian life is one of longing and labouring for home. He missed being in the physical presence of His Father, but he had a job to do while He was on earth: to announce that the Kingdom of God is at hand.
When it was finally time for Him to go home, He made sure to leave us a helper, His Holy Spirit, to aid us in our longing and labouring. Our opening prayer described the Holy Spirit as motion and rest. This is because the Spirit is the one who gives us motion for the labour we are called to do in the mission field, all while reminding us that the rest we ultimately long for is with our Heavenly Father.
He helps us experience the power of God and the tender sweetness of God. He renews our daring and He is our companion so that we will not feel lonely in this world. All in all, He makes it possible to live the Christian life just like Christ did: Looking forward to heaven while proclaiming the Good News on earth.
This brings me to my next point. What is this Good News we are called to proclaim on earth? The Bible says in Romans that “beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news.” But what is the good news we are meant to bring into the mission field?
Isaiah 55:7…
7Let the wicked change their ways
and banish the very thought of doing wrong.
Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them.
Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.
He will forgive generously. The good news, folks, is that God not only forgives us our sins, but He forgives generously. So generously that it is often difficult to for us to fully believe it. It sounds too good to be true. Luther understood our struggle for faith. He wrote in the Large Catechism:
Indeed, the human heart is by nature so hopeless that it always flees from God and imagines that He does not wish or desire our prayer, because we are sinners and have earned nothing but wrath. Against such thoughts, we should remember [the] commandment [to] turn to God, so that we may not stir up His anger more by such disobedience. For by this commandment God lets us plainly understand that He will not cast us away from Him or chase us away.
He will not cast us away from Him or chase us away. This is amazing news. The language reminds me of King David’s prayer in today’s Psalm.
9Do not turn your back on me.
Do not reject your servant in anger.
You have always been my helper.
Don’t leave me now; don’t abandon me,
O God of my salvation!
He wanted God and he was aware that God wanted him:
4The one thing I ask of the Lord— the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. 8My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”
And yet, He couldn’t quite rest in the truth. After all, He knew all too well what it was like to be rejected by family. (1 Samuel 16)
He was wrestling with his demons, but the Spirit of God was upon Him and would show him the truth:
10Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord will hold me close.
This is the God who is calling you home today. He is waiting for you with open arms. And he wants to hold you close.
Nicky Gumbel, one of the pioneers of the Alpha course, describes God as the “perfect parent” in his commentary on Psalm 27. He lists seven characteristics of God the Father:
His faithfulness is without question. His generosity is perfect. His affection is tender and loving. His presence is permanent. His acceptance of you is unconditional. His communication is up-building and for your best interest. His authority is right and true.
Sin does separate us from Him. But Jesus came down to bridge the gap, to reveal God to us, and to pay for our sins once and for all, so that nothing can stand between us and the love of God.
IV. The night is coming when no man can work
Professor: There’s no point in writing anything in your 20s. When you’re young, you aren’t wise. You’re bursting with too much energy and enthusiasm. Thus, you aren’t rational. You can’t produce anything original and you’re going to make plenty of mistakes. To write well, wait another 15 to 20 years.
Mircea Eliade: But, Professor, if I wait another 15 to 20 years, maybe I’ll be dead by then.
It ain’t over ’til it’s over, but the work day does eventually come to an end. John chapter 9 tells us that the night is coming when no man can work. This applied to the labourers in the parable. Their work day ended at 6pm. It applied to St. Paul. And it applies to every single one of us.
Today’s Old Testament reading encouraged us to (quote)
6Seek the LORD while you can find him.
Call on him now while he is near.
13You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.
It is clear that God has appointed “today” for us to seek and to call on Him. There is an inherent urgency to His call on our lives.
Whether you’re 9 years old or 90 years old today, the truth is that tomorrow is not promised. This is why today is the day to believe the Good News, to believe that it is not too good to be true, to enter into relationship with the God who loves you. And this is why today is also the day for every Christian among us to enter the mission field.
V. Outro
And as we are strangers and pilgrims on earth, help us to prepare for the world to come, doing the work which you have given us to do while it is day, before that night comes when no one can work. And, when our last hour shall come, support us by your power and receive us into your everlasting kingdom, where, with your Son our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, you live and reign, God forever, Amen.
