The first Sunday of Moses 

The Church put in front of us the following readings: 

The first reading is from Isaiah (40:1-17) 

In this chapter, we see that God ordered Isaiah to speak tenderly and to comfort Jerusalem. The seeds of comfort may take root on the soil of adversity. We may not escape hardship, but we may find God's Comfort as we face it. Sometimes, however, the only comfort we have is knowing that someday we will be with God. 

When Isaiah talks about preparing a straight highway means removing obstacles and rolling out the red carpet for the coming of the Lord. The wilderness is a picture of life's trials and sufferings. We are not immune to these, but they need not hinder our faith. Isaiah told people to prepare to see God work. Isaiah continues to compare the people to grass and flowers that wither away. We are mortal, but God's Word is eternal and unfailing. Public Opinion changes and is unreliable, but God's Word is constant. Only in God's Word will we find lasting solutions to our problems and needs. 

God's mighty arm, a symbol of His military strength, would establish His rule as He defeated His enemies. This same powerful arm would gently gather His lambs, a metaphor for His exiled people, and hold them close as He carried them back to Jerusalem. He wants to inform us that the mighty nation does not have a strong military but instead relies on God's caring strength. Isaiah described God's power to create, His provision to sustain, and His presence to help. God is Almighty and all-powerful, but even so, He cares for each of us personally. 

The second reading is from 2 Corinthians (1:23-2:16) 

Paul wrote the emotional letter to encourage the people of Corinth to follow the advice that he had already given before. Standing firm is not a way to be saved but the evidence that the person is committed to Jesus. Endurance is not a means to earn salvation; it is the by-product of a truly devoted life. Endurance grows out of a commitment to Jesus Christ. Times of trial serve to sift true Christians from false. When we are pressured to give up and turn our backs on Christ, we don't have to do it; remember the benefits of standing firm and continue to live for Christ. 

Paul explained that it was time to forgive the man who had been punished by the Church and had subsequently repented. He needed forgiveness, acceptance, and comfort. Satan would gain an advantage if they permanently separated this man from the congregation rather than forgiving and restoring him. 

The church must be diligent to forgive when godly sorrow is exhibited; the presence of Christ makes this possible. Otherwise, Satan will neutralize their witness by sowing discord and allowing accusations to fester. We use Church discipline to help keep the Church pure and to help wayward people repent. But Satan tries to harm the Church by tempting it to use discipline in an unforgiving way. This causes those exercising discipline to become proud of their purity, and it causes the person who is being disciplined to become bitter and perhaps leave the church entirely. We must remember that our purpose in discipline is to restore a person to the fellowship, not to destroy them. We must be cautious that personal anger is not vented under the guise of church discipline.

The third reading is from Matthew (20:1-16) 

In today’s parable, the distinction is not what time the worker showed up to work. The fundamental difference between the first and later workers is the terms under which they entered the vineyard. The first workers entered the vineyard only after agreeing to the usual daily wage. They settled for too little. They shortchanged themselves. That’s often what happens in a wage-based society. The landowner is willing to pay more than the usual daily wage. A full day’s wage for less than a full day’s work. “That’s not fair,” we might say. No, it’s not. That’s grace. 

The first workers got what they bargained for. The later hired workers, those who come at 9:00 a.m., noon, 3:00 p.m., even 5:00 p.m., did not, however, negotiate for the usual daily wage. They entered the vineyard, trusting they would be paid “whatever is right.” Whatever is right is not determined by the first workers or by a wage-based society but by the goodness of the landowner. These later hired workers received more than they earned, more than they deserved, more than they had a right to ask or hope for. That’s just what God does. “Whatever is right” isn’t about fairness but grace. 

Why settle for the usual daily wage when God wants to give you “whatever is right” for your life, your needs, your salvation? “Whatever is right” will always be more than fair, more than we could ask or imagine. Yet, we sometimes trust a wage-based life more than we trust grace. In so doing, we deny ourselves and others the life God wants to give. So how might we begin to move from a wage-based life to the vineyard of grace? 

We have to stop comparing ourselves and our lives to others, creating room for grace to emerge. Refuse to compete in such a way that someone must lose for us to win. Trust that in God’s world, there is enough for everyone. Let go of expectations based on what you think you or others deserve. Give God the freedom to pay whatever is right, knowing that God’s ways are not your ways. Make no judgments of yourself or others. That is the way of grace, the way of God. 

So our beloved Church wants us to Imagine if we all let go of those four things; comparison, competition, expectation, and judgment. Our life would be God-filled, we would make space for the life of another to be God-filled, and the world would, the parable tells us, look a lot like the kingdom of heaven.