Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ. (Eph 1)
Who speaks to you on this day from His Gospel heard, saying:
“And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to
his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the
last, up to the first.’”
“And when evening came…"
These are the words we will be pondering today, from Holy
Scripture. A small phrase, yet so profound from God. God includes this here in
order to show His strength over such darkness, that even there He can pay out
on His promises. This points us to the coming eternal light we now wait for,
going through Lent. This means that in life there is hope. No matter how dark
it gets, the morning is coming. Dawn awaits and we live our lives according to
that hope.
Why is it important to reflect upon this seemingly
insignificant phrase and the fact that our Lord does His work in the evening?
Because that is where we are. We are in darkness and it is in darkness that God
speaks to us. In fact, we just finished off the Christmass season and one of
it’s main points was “A light has shined on those who dwell in darkness and
in the shadow of death” (Isa 9:2).
St. John describes it in other words saying, “The light
shines in the darkness” (Jn 1:5). This perfectly sums up our celebration of
Christmass and Jesus’ invasion of this sinful realm. In the beginning, there
was darkness and the Word said, “Let there be Light”. Jesus, stepped out
of heaven, to be born of a virgin and made man. Thus, bringing Creation’s true
light back to its intended place.
But it appeared to be a struggle. Light struggling against
dark. Jesus had to be accepted by His earthly father, Joseph. Who knew if
Joseph was going to divorce St. Mary or what? A struggle. Next, Jesus had to
secure living space. With no room at the Inn, where would the Son of Man lay
His head (Mt 8:20)? Then the escape from Herod’s swords, the flight to Egypt,
and adolescence.
We were in doubt, every step of the way, that Jesus would
make it. Even when He called foreign kings to worship Him, was baptized in
front of everyone, changed water into wine, and was transfigured on earth. We
were still 50/50 as to whether or not Jesus was Who He said He was.
While we constantly remain in doubt, in our sin, the Church
season has changed. The wind has moved to the east as we begin our Easter phase
of the Church Year. This season also brings struggle, but now the tables have
turned. St John continues in chapter 1 describing this new season: “the
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
In Christ, the Kingdom of God has taken residence up on
earth, in Word and Sacrament. God’s Kingdom has come, as we have prayed for all
this time. Once God has established Himself, there is no overturning Him or
pushing Him out. All of Lent is focused on this struggle of the world, our sin,
and the devil struggling to kick God out.
In our Gospel reading, you may think it natural to hand out
paychecks in the evening, after all the work is done and before heading home
for the night. Yet, even today, with things like direct deposit and salaries,
payment isn’t always withheld until a job is finished and we receive it anytime
the bank feels like coughing it up.
Jesus pays the men at night specifically to show His power
over darkness. Where before, “the hour and power of darkness” (Lk 23:53) not
only ruled the world, but was where sin and vice went to commit their horrible,
rebellious acts (1 Thess 5:5-7). So that when the ultimate abomination of
desolation is set up, that is the Cross of God, we can remember these wages
being paid out in such darkness.
Repent. You only lament being in the darkness, because the
Spirit of God has revealed its evil to you. If you were left on your own, you
would love the darkness, because it hides you. Not just the gross sins that you
think you have not been guilty of, but it hides you: your thoughts, words, and
deeds that are soiled with sin.
For example, you believe that as long as you are a good
person, church is unnecessary. As long as you say, “Jesus is Lord” behind these
four walls or the next four walls, that you are secure in your belief. That you
will receive your due, your payment, in the end, what’s coming to you.
And you will. Everyone will receive their wages and, just as
in the Gospel, it will be the same. All across the board. No overtime. No
bonuses. No extras. Can you handle that? Can you handle getting the same thing
from God that your enemy does? Can your belief and self-righteousness stand up
to the fact that you will not be the only one on the “special boy” pay scale?
Jesus declares, in Isaiah 45, “I form light and create
darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all
these things” (v.7). God did not create sin, but He made the darkness, so
we should expect it to obey Him and not hide our sins. And in the darkness of
Gethsemane, our sins are revealed in all their shame.
In the arrest and resulting complete forsaking of our
Savior, Jesus the Christ, our sin is shown to us and that we are friends of the
dark. So it is that in the dark, Jesus is arrested. It is in that dark, Jesus
is interrogated. It is in that dark, Jesus is condemned, scourged, and
crucified. Afterwards, to be laid to rest, in the dark earth. Ashes to ashes,
dust to dust.
“And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not
know”, Jesus says in Isaiah 42:16, “in paths that they have not known I
will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough
places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake
them.”
That way and path is the Path of Life in the midst of death.
The way of Jesus’s cross is through the way of death that we do not know and
cannot come back from. Yet, the Way is the Way of Life, even in death. Darkness
covers Jesus only to encounter Easter morning light. Death enshrouds Jesus only
to be forced to spit Him back out again.
The Lord builds His kingdom during the Day, to be sure, His
is the kingdom of light, but it is of such power that no darkness can contain
or comprehend it. It is of such Life, that no grasp of death or chill of steel
can destroy it. It is such a kingdom, that it can operate in darkness and still
bring light.
That is, the Kingdom of God has come in the Person of Christ
Jesus and in the Church and Ministry of His Gospel. Darkness now struggles and
flees, because there is no other choice. In our season of Easter, though we
struggle through Lent first, it is especially important to remember God’s
Promises.
That is that there is a Vineyard, for you. That there is
work, for you. That there is fulfillment, for you. That there is an eternal
denarius waiting for you when your evening comes, and you fall asleep in Faith.
Jesus’s struggle is over. He is the Victor. Your struggle continues because you
return to your sin.
In faith, you are a child of light, God’s Own.
He works in His Church, the Vineyard, and He pays in Word
and Sacrament. “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain
salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us so that whether we are
awake or asleep we might live with him” (1 Thess 5:9-10). This was always
to be, for even “Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was” (Ex
20:21) and there they ate, drank, and saw God (Ex 24:11).
Yes, the devil is on the loose, but he is on the run.
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