Rev. Moore is the Direct of Admissions for Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, making him highly responsible for recruiting new missionaries and pastors.

Grace, mercy and peace be unto you from God, our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text is the Gospel lesson (Matthew 20: 1-16) which Pastor Marrs just read. For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. This is a parable about unfairness, isn't it? It just isn't fair. The man hires men to work all day long. He goes out at the beginning of the day, the 12-hour day, that they worked. He finds some workers in the place where people gather, and he says I will pay you a denarius, which was a normal standard days wage and he sent them to work in his vineyard. But there was a lot of work to do and so he went out again a couple of hours later and he found some others were there and he sent them to work. He found some more a couple of hours later. Finally, when there was just an hour's worth of worth left he finds still some men there. It's kind of hard to believe, he said "What's going on?" They said "Well, nobody has hired us."   "Did they not hire you because you were hiding or what?"

He finds these last men and sends them out to work, too. Then when the time comes to pay them, he says to the foreman, Pay the ones I hired last, pay them first. And he does. And this is where the unfairness comes in. They have worked l hour, others have worked a few hours but some have worked all day long. Yet the ones who worked l hour got the same as the ones who worked 5 hours and the same as the ones who worked 12 hours. It doesn't seem to matter. They all got paid the same. That's not fair. That's communism, isn't it? I mean, that's not fair at all. When we read this, we think, well you know, that's right. God isn't fair, is he? He's just not fair. Some people seem to live a life that has no trouble at all and other people really struggle and often it seems that ones who deserve a better life are the ones who get a worse life. That's not fair. Now, I don't know if you've noticed the same thing as I have but children are very interested in fairness. Unless you have only one child, you know this for a fact. If you have only l child, you might not know this, but as soon as you have 2 you know. Children are very interested in fair.

What is fascinating is how both children can think your being unfair at the same time about the same thing. We outgrow that. No, we don't outgrow that at all. We just kinda get - we turn it into "That's just the way it is. Growing up means learning that there is no fairness out there. Well, we do need to face it. God's not fair. He's not fair - He's good, God is love, God is just, God is merciful, God is forgiving but He's not fair. What does that mean? About that Old Testament lesson. Notice that? My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways, my ways declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. And lest you miss the point, talking about the same thing we're talking about here. That's why this Old Testament lesson and Gospel lesson are tied together.

God's not fair. Now you and I would say that must mean He's unfair. O.K. We put a negative word there; we put un in front of it, making it unfair. That's not exactly the right way to do it. To choose to accuse God of being something bad, at least from our point of view, I guess. That's not the right way to go at it. We get the point of comparisons all wrong. God's unfairness and that's what being talked about in the Old Testament lesson, you can see it right there. Seek the Lord while he may be found, call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord and the Lord will have mercy on him and let him turn to our God for He will freely pardon. If that's God's lack of fairness, He is not fair to punish us like we deserve. That's where the unfairness comes in. How often do you hear a child say, "It's not fair, you gave me an ice cream cone and you didn't give one to my brother!"! That's not how it goes. That's not the kid whose talking, that kid is chewing that ice cream cone down. It is the one without the ice cream cone that's doing the talking.

We got the point of comparison all mixed up here. When we think of God's unfairness, usually what we are thinking - God you should be treating me as good as you're treating him. That's not the unfairness of God. That's what happened with these people in our text. God wasn't giving the ones who worked all day less, He was giving the others more. And look how it's turning out.

Are you envious because I am generous? The Greek said "Is your eye evil because I am good? Because God is generous, because He's good, because He loves us and gives us more than we deserve, that makes us cry foul, and say it's not fair. The fact that anybody gets any good thing, that's what upsets us. We get it all backwards.

I've been trying to remember the words to that song that is on a favorite album of mine and I knew - I said I am going to write them all down so I don't blank out, and sure enough as soon as I started writing them down, I couldn't remember the very last line of the 2 little couples here, but I remembered the part that was important anyway. It's by Rich Mullins, I don't know the name of the song and this is how it goes - Well I am a good mid-western boy, give an honest day's work when I can get it, I don't cheat on my taxes, I don't cheat on my girl, I've got values that would make the White House jealous. Well I do get a little over impressed when I think of Peter and Paul and the apostles, I don't stack up too well against them, I guess and that's the line I forget that's right after that. That's what happens to us. We're comparing ourselves to the wrong ones, and we're comparing God to the wrong ones. I am a pretty good guy, you know. I'm a hard worker and I don't cheat, and I don't steal and I don't lie, and all of these kind of things, and I'm feeling pretty good about myself. Compared to who?. Compared to the sons of the evil one, I'm not so bad. But is that who I should be comparing myself to? I don't think so. How about Peter, Paul and the apostles? And when I think about God's unfairness, because I'm so good, because I work so hard and I'm so dedicated for Him, and He should be giving me more. I couldn't do that if I had the point of comparison straight. If I knew what the standard was, I couldn't do that. That's last week's Gospel lesson – (To Rev. Marrs) Did you preach on the Gospel lesson last week? What was wrong with that guy? He had the standard of comparison all wrong. Remember he owed the master like 20 million dollars and somebody owed him a hundred bucks, and he got upset with the guy who owed him a hundred bucks, and he didn't seem to be very upset at all about the fact he owed his master 20 million. Why? Well. Who was owed 20 million dollars? The other person. who was owed a hundred bucks? Me. The center of the universe, right? Oh! Points of comparison are all goofed up. He couldn't see how much he had been forgiven.   All he could see was somebody owes me something and I'm going to get it, cause he had his standards all mixed up.

If you read your bible carefully, I do not believe that you will find anywhere in it where it says, it's a good thing to compare yourself with other people to prove how good you are. In fact, comparing ourselves with other people is just not the way, at all. Unless the comparison is with our Lord, Jesus Christ, who perfectly kept the law of God and as soon as that happens you and I kind of loose interest in comparing all of a sudden. As soon as we make that comparison, as soon as that is our standard, then all of a sudden we stop being interested in this fairness question entirely.

This parable is about turning it all around. Just turning it all around, so that we finally understand where we fit into the story. You know who we are? We were the ones hired at 5:59, that's who you and I are.

We are the ones who have been given far more than we deserve. If you want to kind of look at this, whatever length of time you and I work in the Lord's vineyard, what is the pay, a denarius? No, the pay is eternal life with Jesus in heaven forever. Does that add up? Does what you and I do add up to deserving that? I don't think so. Unless you are living a very different life than I have ever been able to live even for a minute, no it doesn't. My life deserves something alright. It ain't heaven. Not even close. Unless you count opposite as close. You and I have earned something all right. St. Paul tells us what we earned right? The wages of sin is death. The scriptures are abundantly clear what we have earned by our working in the vineyard. But we don't get paid what we earned. And it's not fair. Thank God it's not fair. Forget the whining and complaining, we need to learn to say it different than " it's not fair." We need to say oh, it's not fair. Thank God it's not fair.

Only people who get this strength can serve God. Only people who catch on to this magnificent, gorgeous, incredible unfairness. People who catch on to what God is really up to. Only those kind of people can serve Him. When Pastor Marrs said this is a great mission text, that's what we had talked about. Course I don't think he was too sure about that when I said I was going to preach on the gospel.

This, that puts us into mission is the recognition of what God had done for us that is so beautifully unfair. When you and I see, yes that's right, all the work that I ever do is far outweighed by the wrong that I have done. The things that are inside of me that come from my sinful flesh, they all come out bad, I don't deserve the gift of eternal life in heaven. You don't ever deserve a gift. When you've got that straight. When your standard of comparison for behavior is not the White House but the house of God in heaven. The temple that was Jesus Christ. When that's all straight, then you can serve Him and only then.

When I'm out recruiting for the seminary, I'm looking for men who have that straight. I'm not looking for men who say well I'm a pretty good speaker, and I'm pretty smart, and I get along with people alright. Those are nice things, all of those are true of your pastor, but that's not what we're looking for. We are looking for men who have been rescued from sin and death by the death of our Lord, Jesus Christ on the cross for sinners. Men who know that this is the most important thing in all the world. Men who can see the scales involved here, who have comparison straight, that's what we are looking for. Because only that kind of man is going to make a good pastor. Others might be able to learn the skills, but have you ever heard a pastor that has the skills but that wasn't here. It's no good. It doesn't work. Those are the ones who are going to wind up whining and complaining, sooner or later - you guys don't pay me enough money to do this. I shouldn't say this cause it's dangerous, but your pastor is not dangerous for me but either one of us would do the same thing if we had to pay the bill.

There's just no getting around it. It's convenient that you support the pastor and his family so that he has more time to do it and doesn't have to distract himself by working in some other area but it wouldn't change a thing. When you've got this trade you say o.k. let's get to work. Wish I had my son's - (Josh does that tractor still work, the one you push down on and it says let get to work. Great), he's had it since he was 2 years old. Just this great electronic voice that you push down on it and it starts up, this diesel engine and then you push one button and the horn blows, you push another button and it says "lets get to work".

When you've got it straight, you've got that attitude. The ones who were given the denarius when they didn't deserve it. I think they thought about the landowner. The ones who thought they deserved the denarius were all goofed up. There's a way not to get all goofed up -- just don't think you've earned it! You haven't. I could sit down with any of you for about 45 minutes and I think we could come up, if you were honest with me, and we could prove on paper that you don't deserve it. I mean I could have Pastor Marrs pick out the 5 nicest people in the congregation. I guarantee you if they were honest and we sat down and we talked it through, I could prove it. I could prove it about him but I haven't got the evidence right now you understand. But he would be honest with me and we could prove this. I could certainly prove it about me. Wouldn't even take me 45 minutes to prove it about me.

This is how the last become first and the first become last. The ones who think they are first are last and the ones who recognize they are last God give them the gift of being first, and that changes everything. I don't know about Dr. Kristen (Schmaltz) here but my cousin and her husband are medical missionaries around the other direction in Thailand. I visited them in January. I have never heard them complain once about the unfairness of it. After their very expensive medical education, incredible amount of hours it took to become a family practitioner doctor and a nurse anesthetist. I have never heard them complain about the difficulties of learning the Thai language. I've never heard them complain about the seventeen years, so far, of lost wages.

Do you know what, if a family practitioner doctor moved into Junction City here and his wife worked as a nurse anesthetist at the local hospital, what do you suppose their average combined income per year? Subtract from that number, which my guess would be between 300,000 to 500,00 dollars a year if they were lazy, subtract from that the amount a medical missionary is paid and you can figure out easily that probably every 3 years they have given up a million dollars in earned income. Subtract from that what the government would take away and every five years they are giving up a million dollars. It's been 17 so far. I've never heard them complain about it. I've brought it up to them and they just - like so what?

We get to be here telling the gospel to people who have never heard it before and I've been there. They sent me up on the top of a mountain. We drove forever, up, up, up, up and I thought, well gosh we got to just about be there, supposed to be a little block to the village but we'll have to park here and we parked and I said, "Now where is it we're going?" And they said there oh, there. And I said there? No they said there, and that was just where we were yet to drive to. And then we walked 6 miles. I'll tell you what, you talk about being sore. I thought I was in fair shape, anyhow 6 miles back on this ridge to this high valley where there were people who had heard of Christians and wanted to meet some. I'll tell you what, I know what little bit of money I put out so that my daughter and I could have that experience. I'd pay a lot more to have that opportunity to watch people hear the gospel for the first time ever.   That's what my cousins get to do. That's what Dr. Kirsten gets to do. By sharing with these people the gift of medicine and healing. They prove that they care.

Jesus did that all the time. He walked around, He touched them, and He healed them. I watched my cousin's husband, as he met with a new patient and what did he do? He walked in, he touched them, he said these people can go to the Thai hospital for free. They have to pay, it isn't a whole lot, but $5.

If I ever need surgery I'll fly to Thailand, I'll make a profit on the deal. My cousin will take care of it and charge a hundred bucks for taking my appendix out or whatever and I'll make money on the deal. They have to pay to come see Dr. John, but Dr. John will touch them.

The man that I sat in on, had a disease that thickened his skin. It looked really awful. Course John knew it wasn't contiguous so he's careful anyway. He touched this man. The skin that looked so awful. I wouldn't have. I don't think I could have done it. I don't have the stomach to be a doctor. That's what happens when a doctor like your missionary here, spends time with people. They come and they touch the untouchable ones and they listen.

John just sat there and he listened as this man talked. John knew as soon as he walked into the room what he was going to prescribe for this man but he let the man talk and he talked to him in his own language. Something happened there and it happens on a large scale.

People have that and they respond by opening up, what dreams you hear! Why would you do this for me? I see that you're not from Thailand, you're not of my tribe, you're not from my village and you care about me. People that have their priorities straight and their comparisons right, do this kind of stuff. And there is some of it to be done in Junction City. You don't have to go to any West Africa. You don't have to go to Thailand or Haiti or Venezuela or name a place. That work exists all around you. It's very important to support monetarily and with your prayers and your gifts. Folks that are doing that as your apostle in another place, but if you've got your priorities straight, if you know what it is Jesus had done for you, it will open your eyes and you will see. It's here. The work is here. God is not fair. Thank God he's not fair. He has been gloriously unfair to you and me who have been baptized into the name of Jesus and have tasted his body and blood. He's not fair. Oh, thank God He's not fair.

You know what I'd do if I were you I would tell someone how unfair God is. In the name of Jesus. Amen. The peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep our hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus. Amen.