Rev. Avedis Boynerian had titled his sermon this Sunday morning, “Grace 101”. Indeed so. Surely Grace is profound subject in Christianity. See the sermon below. As to the song, “Amazing Grace”, it is said that it is arguably the most well-known spiritual hymn worldwide. On a personal note, there is no Armenian translation of “Amazing Grace” in the Red Hymnal, the Armenian Evangelical churches use; or anywhere else in Armenian, to my knowledge. I attempted to translate it into Armenian. I even solicited the assistance of my friend Ara Mekhsian, who writes poetry and has a very rich Armenian vocabulary. The outcome fell far short than the original lyrics, so I scraped it. “Amazing Grace” is a bona fide a uniquely American spiritual (see far below). Vaհe H Apelian
Grace 101
The landowner asked: “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ (Matthew 20:15).
Matthew 20:1-16 1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. 3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went. “He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ 7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ 8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ 9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ 13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Grace 101
During a conference on religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating various possibilities: Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death.
The debate went on for some time until C. S. Lewis, the English professor and author, walked into the room and asked, “What’s the commotion all about?” As his colleagues told him what they were discussing, he said, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.”
Grace is Christianity’s unique belief! By definition, grace is God’s unmerited, unearned favor. Grace is when God shows kindness and compassion to any one of us, even when we do not deserve it. Grace! That’s what this parable is all about! In the parable:
- the landowner is God,
- the workers are us and
- the pay is the kingdom of heaven.
And, as we study this parable, we can quickly see, it’s all about grace - it's all about God’s grace.
First, the parable says that grace is received, not deserved. We do not deserve God’s grace. Nothing that we can do makes us deserve God’s grace. All we can do is receive God’s gift of grace that God offers to us freely. No matter who we are, what titles we have, or how much we have None of it can make us deserve God’s grace because grace is given,
Second, God’s grace is about God’s mercy, not about God’s fairness. Many of us fail to understand this. What would have been fair would be to pay the later workers less than the daily wage, or pay those who had worked all day more than the daily wage. Now that would be fair. But when we talk about grace, it’s about something different than fairness. It’s about mercy. It’s about God’s mercy. God loves us and mercifully gives us more than we deserve. And that’s exactly what God’s grace is all about.
Third, God’ grace is for the last.Grace is received, not deserved. Grace is about God’ mercy, not about God’s fairness. as well as for the first. It’s easy for us to say that we deserve more because we have been faithful to God’s call, some of us for many-many years. God does not work that way. God wants a relationship with everyone, from those hired first thing in the morning, to those hired at the end of the day. That’s what grace is all about. The best Bible example of this is the father of the prodigal son, who overwhelms His son by His grace, as he runs to his son and welcomes him home.
In Jesus’ times hired laborers had to wait each day in the marketplace until someone hired them for a day’s job. No work that day meant no food on the family table. The landowner, undoubtedly, hired them in the late afternoon so they would not go home payless and hungry. The parable is about the landowner, God, who is, so compassionate, so merciful, and so generous.
God, out of His grace, opens His kingdom to all who will enter, both those who have labored a life-time for Him and those who come at the last hour. It’s not easy to believe in such a God, who offers His grace to us because we are raised and live in a merit system, in which acceptance is based on performance:“ Do this and you will be rewarded. “Fail to do this and you will be punished.”
It’s not easy to believe in such a God, who, even though we do not deserve, He offers us His grace, when a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day’s pay for his time, that’s a wage.
When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for his performance, that’s a prize.
When a person receives recognition for his high achievements, that’s an award.
But when a person is not capable of earning a wage, can win no prize and deserves no award; yet receives such a gift anyway. That’s a good picture of God and His grace, that’s God’s grace - unmerited favor. That’s what we mean by God and His grace.
So, what’s our take from today’s parable/sermon?
1. The parable is about coveting We covet what God chooses to give to others. The problem is that the laborers get the same as us; and they do not deserve it, they are less worthy hey do not deserve the same as we get. We have a tendency to covet and be resentful of what God gives to others. The owner of the vineyard asks those who have worked longest for Him. “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money”? Or are you envious because I am generous? Rhe point is that God’s grace is God’s to give away, as He sees fit.
2. The parable is about the first and the last. The parable itself displays a reversal of expectations – “the last will be first and the first will be last.” So the message this morning is this: no matter how long or how hard a believer works during his/her lifetime, the reward of eternal life will be the same given to all.The best example of this is the thief on the cross (Luke 23:39-43), whose life of service was limited to a moment of repentance and confession of faith in Jesus, received the same reward of eternal life, as anyone else.
The ultimate reward of eternal life will be achieved by all equally. In heaven, there will be equality.
Sandi Patti, my favorite Gospel singer, in her “In Heaven’s Eyes” song sings these words:
“In heaven’s eyes there are no losers.
In heaven’s eyes there are no hopeless cause.
Only people like you with feelings like me amazed by the grace we can find in heaven’s eyes.”
I believe that’s why John Newton, the slave trader, who was changed to the Christian faith, called the hymn “Amazing Grace.”In one of his sayings, he said, “I am a big sinner and Christ is a big Savior. ”God’s grace is like water. It flows down. God’s grace is a free gift. It is available to all of us. God’s grace is to the undeserved, every time, all of time
Grace is a free gift that we receive.
It’s not what we deserve.
It’s about mercy, not fairness.
It’s for the last, as well as the first.
God is all about grace
Thank you.
Got it.
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