Reverend Ref +

YEAR C - PENTECOST 18 - PROPER 22

This is one of those gospels that might make you go, "What . . . ??" It starts off with the apostles saying, "Increase our faith!" and Jesus' response, "If you had the faith of a mustard seed . . . " And then it jumps right into a discussion about expectations of slaves. If you've read this gospel and have tried to figure out what the connection is, relax. There is no connection between the two stories.

I talked last week about stories and myths and how they change and develop and grow over time. Some of the accounts of Jesus fall into that category. You have to remember that the gospels were written many years after the death and resurrection of Jesus and they are not a verbatim account. Things were remembered, or adjusted or tweaked depending on who wrote what and to whom they were writing to. So it may be that Luke as Luke was writing the gospel he had one of those instances where he said, "Oh yeah, I need to put that in there too." But you also have to remember that they all have their basis in fact and they all have the opportunity to speak to our lives today.

So what does a story about slavery have to do with our lives today? Well, how about dishes? Or laundry? Or cooking, or cleaning the bathroom, or going to work? Jesus told the story about the slave because he wanted to talk about expectations. And, just like the slave, we have expectations to live up to every day. If we don't do dishes, pretty soon we are washing the crud off one dish at a time so we can eat. If we don't clean the bathroom, the mold, fungus and hairballs soon take over. If we don't go to work or do our job, don't bother going back.

But somewhere along the line people got the idea that they needed to be rewarded for doing what is expected of them. Jesus is saying, "No, you do what's expected because that's the way it is." Two stories come to mind. The first is over in the gospel of Matthew. He tells the story about the landowner who hires some workers early in the morning. They agree to a wage, and off they go. Later in the morning, he hires a few more. A few more are hired around noon. More are hired later in the day. And finally he hires a bunch almost at closing time. When he pays them, he pays the short-timers first and pays them the same wage as the all-day guys. When the all day guys get paid, what happens? They are upset because they don't get more. They are upset because they don't get rewarded. They are upset because they get paid exactly what was expected and agreed upon.

The second story is Leon. Leon is a character in a series of Budweiser commercials that run during football games. In this one particular commercial, Leon takes himself out of the game. The coach asks if he's hurt. Leon says, "Yeah. On that last play when I dropped the ball, the fans started booing pretty hard and it hurt my psyche. I need to take some 'Leon time.'" What this character doesn't realize is that he's paid, and expected to catch passes. When he doesn't do that, when he doesn't do what's expected, the fans have a right to be upset. Since when did we need rewards for doing what is expected of us?

We all have chores or jobs to do in which we are expected to do what's required. And that includes Christianity. There are certain things that we are expected to do. Feeding the hungry, inviting the outsider, and loving your neighbor come immediately to mind. We shouldn't invite someone to church to look good. We shouldn't donate to the food bank to pad our IRS deductions. We should pay attention to our neighbor to score points. We do it becuase Jesus commanded that we do it. We do it because that is what is expected of us, and there is no reward for doing the expected.

But what would you call it if the master had served the slave dinner? What would you call it if you took your child out for ice cream after their chores? What would you call it if, after you did the dishes, your spouse said, "Sit down, watch TV and let me get you some dessert." I'd call it grace. Grace isn't a reward. There are a couple of definitions of grace, and the one I like best is this: Grace is when you get what you don't deserve. Grace is when you get what you don't deserve. Grace is offered to us because God loves us, not because we behave properly or as a reward for doing what is expected. It's undeserved, and it abounds everywhere you look in the bible.

What happened after Adam & Eve sinned in the garden? God provided clothes for them.
What happened when Ruth, a Moabite, an outsider, followed her mother-in-law? God allowed her into the family line and she became an important person in the line of David and Jesus.
What happened when Jonah prophesied to Ninevah? [In the words of my daughter] God didn't blow them up and let them live.
What happened when God became man in Jesus? He died for our sins.

Grace is there because God loves us. Yes, we have expectations to live up to, and no, we shouldn't expect a reward for that. I think this is what Jesus was getting at though. We are expected to live a certain way, and when confronted by God about it we should say, "We are worthless slaves! We only did what we ought to have done."

But remember, grace is when you get what you don't deserve. We should do what we are expected to do, but we should also keep in mind that grace abounds. And that should make us say, "We are worthless slaves! We only did what we ought to have done. Thank you!"

Every day of our lives.