Cinnamon, Sugar, and Oleo

Welcome to this weekly sermon from Trinity Episcopal Church in Vampir in Arkansas.

Thank you for joining us.

Let's listen to today's message.

I'm gonna take an indulgence here.

Apologize.

Apparently I talked a lot this morning.

You see all the pages?

What does that mean?

Aren't you wishing for pew cushions now?

Cinnamon, sugar, and olium.

As a youngster, I and my three other older male cousins have the often occasion of either staying the night for the weekend or even just the day at the home of my grandparents' land us.

Those days always led to some great adventure.

And maybe just maybe I'll tell you about some of them during my time.

But today's not the day.

Each of these days almost always began the same, whether bringing up the name for my grandmother landed us had made us a robust breakfast or not.

For on the table in the center of the kitchen there was always a corral leather dish decorated with little yellow butterflies, and in it a stick of poly oil.

For that's what my grand called it all my life.

She's from Nebraska originally, and that's what they call Marjorie.

Do any of you know it?

Yeah?

Okay.

It sat there each day on the table all day long.

In fact, 24 hours a day it sat there, softening to a creamy amazingness.

And next to it sat a shaker with cinnamon.

And beside it sat a similarly decorated sugar bowl to that butter dish with a spoon in it.

And of course you guessed it.

Sugar.

On the counter we knew there would be a long loaf of soft white bread.

And beside it a four-sliced toaster from Cedars.

And that meant that four boys could each toast their bread at the same time.

And until that toaster went off, we hovered over it like it was the second coming.

And then the race was on.

And we would grab our bread, our slice of bread from that toaster and run to the table.

Because you see, Graham only ever allowed us to have one knife at the table.

And whoever got there first would get their cinnamon and sugar toast first.

And I'm proud, and maybe I'm supposed to be a little ashamed, that I was often the victim as I was the oldest.

There was never a question of who was going to get cinnamon toast.

Everyone would get it.

But the question was, who would get the first of the oleo that was so soft and creamy?

And the first and the most of the cinnamon and sugar.

I can still taste it right now.

And in fact, I may have had some other taste for it for breakfast.

But I have to say, it also is never the same as it was on those mornings at my grandhouse.

And I'll never get those moments back.

But below it, our gospel this morning is not that much different from this story I've just told you.

For both involve justice, equality, reward, and bread.

Now I want us to take a moment, if you will, and pray together a prayer that might seem foreign to some, but not all of you.

And it's found in the prayer book on page 364 as well.

Many of you may not have seen it before.

If you haven't, just join in.

But if you haven't, say it with festo.

So beloved, let us pray that prayer which Christ has taught us when he said.

Now, because he's get the large part of the surface, he's not even done with the circle.

But this prayer that we have just spoken together directly relates not only to this parable, but to almost the entire gospel of Matthew, and especially the readings that we have heard during our discipleship season this year.

You see, the workers in the vineyard are squabbling about a day's wages.

And this is where this kind of fits in.

Specifically, why some work less at the same wages as those who work the whole day.

You see, beloved, there seems to be a lack of what?

Equality, justice, and yes, reward for doing more for the vineyard owner than those who came later.

Let's think about that for a second.

There is flopping over a day's wages.

The day's wages we learned last week was how much?

A denarius.

Guess what else is a denarius?

Bread for a family for the day.

Biblical scholars tell us that this parable could represent several different things.

It could be the late comer and the longtime worker, just at face value.

It could be that each type of laborer are different generations of the people of Israel.

And it also could be simply Jesus' disciples.

All could it be, in fact, true.

We really don't know for sure the allegory meant to be according.

But what we do know is that Jesus is making a point.

A point about what God's justice looks like, and it's not maybe what we want to hear or expect.

But beloved, it's what we need.

For you see, the work in the vineyard is not just labor.

Labor is a gift from God.

Wait, what?

Labor is a gift from God.

Catherine Blanchard writes this in feasting on the word, a commentary on the holy scriptures.

There is no room for human pride, since our only choice is either to answer God's call to us to be laborers in God's kingdom, or to stand idly by and waste the gifts God has given you for that very work.

Love it, last Sunday during Ralph Day, over 18 of us said these simple words that are echoed through Scripture when God calls you.

Here I am, Lord.

Send me to the vineyard.

I will use my gifts to God's glory.

That's awesome.

But why?

Well, that's a good question too.

Perhaps, beloved, they chose to not sit idly by, but instead, like our opening hymn so gloriously sung this morning says, I will rise up and have done with lesser things.

And give heart, soul, mind, and strength to serve the King of Kings.

Strange, that sounds familiar or doesn't it to our ears?

Maybe because we heard it last Sunday.

It's one of Jesus' greatest commandments.

And we love it.

We have response.

Each Sunday after the users gather the offering, they present it to one of our lay readers or acolytes at the steps of the sanctuary, and they hand it, those lay readers hand it over the altar as a thanks offering on your behalf.

And I, if I present either, accept those offerings, and I say something that I think is intrinsically important for the people of God to hear when they present their offerings to God for the work of God's kingdom, especially through this church.

All things come of thee, O Lord.

And you reply without me ever having put it in the bulletin, of thine have we given thee.

What we are giving has been eternally and is and will be God's in the first place.

Not ours.

Never ours.

And that's what this parable is reminding us, beloved.

No matter when we show up, we all get the same justice from God's abundance.

Remember that grace and mercy from last Sunday?

But maybe not as we might want it in the moment.

But enough grace and mercy, not only for us, but for all the laborers, no matter when they come to the field.

And I know that sometimes things get confusing around this, and so I thought I would tell you the story of a man.

Now this man wanted desperately to win the lot.

So he prayed each and every night to win the lottery.

And God faithfully heard his prayers.

And so year after year after year after year after year, the man prayed every night.

And year after year after year after year, God listened and heard those prayers.

But then in old age, one night, in utter despair, the man flung himself on the ground and cried out, God, I have been faithful in daily prayer to you.

You promised to hear my prayer, but you have not listened to me.

And suddenly the room was filled with a heavenly glow.

And the man wept, for he was in the presence of the living God.

And God simply said, I've heard all your prayers, my child, and your despair.

The man said then, God, why have I not won the lottery?

I could have done so much with it.

I could have helped so many people.

I could have built the church to your glory.

But God looked at him lovingly and said, I heard you.

And I know your heart.

The child of God.

Can you help me out in the building of God's kingdom?

And by that ticket.

You see, the man was crying a lot.

But like so many of us, we forget that we have a place in God's religion.

And it requires us to go into the world.

So maybe always pray with the assurance of God that God hears our prayers.

The assurance that God hears our prayers.

And head to the field.

Ready to word for God's glory.

When we ask for our daily bread, God is going to wait for us to receive it.

That's what we do.

We invite you to join us each and every Sunday and to follow the podcast.

You can stay connected with future messages until next time.

God bless.