Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And blessed be his kingdom, now and forever. Amen.
Jesus said, "The first commandment is this: Hear, O Israel: The Lord your God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 12:29-31
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8,9
We confess our sins against God and others.
Silence may be kept.
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
May Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.
A Hymn of Praise
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
The Collect
Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Old Testament Jonah 3:10-4:11
When God saw what the people of Nineveh did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.
But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.
The Lord God appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” Then the Lord said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”
Exodus 145:1-8 Exaltabo te, Deus
1 I will exalt you, O God my King, *
and bless your Name for ever and ever.
2 Every day will I bless you *
and praise your Name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; *
there is no end to his greatness.
4 One generation shall praise your works to another *
and shall declare your power.
5 I will ponder the glorious splendor of your majesty *
and all your marvelous works.
6 They shall speak of the might of your wondrous acts, *
and I will tell of your greatness.
7 They shall publish the remembrance of your great goodness; *
they shall sing of your righteous deeds.
8 The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, *
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The Epistle Philippians 1:21-30
To me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.
Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God's doing. For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well — since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
The Gospel Matthew 20:1-16
Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
The Sermon Fr. Nelson Gaetz
For what it’s worth, our Old Testament lesson from the book of Jonah is one of my favorites. I am sure you have vivid memories from childhood of the story of Jonah. Remember him… the fellow swallowed up by a whale. Children’s pictures abound. There are a number of things wrong with those images.
• Nowhere in the story is there mention of a whale. It just says he was swallowed up by a BIG FISH. Don’t worry about that. It’s not a big deal in understanding the text.
• It’s not about the ability to survive in the belly of the fish either.
So, what is it really about? For that we need to step back a little in the story. It seems there was this city called Nineveh where the people, from top to bottom (King to pauper), were evil people. God wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach repentance. The story gets little complicated because Jonah doesn’t want to go. The reason he does not want to go is at the heart of the issue. It’s not because it’s dangerous. It’s not because it’s hard work. He keeps telling God it’s because he thinks his preaching will work and the people will repent. That’s where the fish comes in. As he is desperately avoiding God’s task, he gets tossed off a ship and swallowed by that fish. Finally, the fish spits him out on the shore and Jonah says “OK God, you win, I’ll go.” (Or words to that effect.) And Jonah goes. You really should dig out your Bible and read the entire story. It’s a fun read. He goes and you never met a preacher so disinterested in the success of his preaching. Surprise! Everyone repents from the king on down. And that’s when we get to today’s part of the story. Jonah is pouting because of this turn of events. It seems he is angry with God for letting the people of Nineveh have this “second chance.” He thinks God is too generous. God should not forgive people who do not deserve it. Our Psalm today puts Jonah’s complaint this way:
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
And so, here we are, smack dab in the middle of the Gospel Lesson. Jesus insists that the Kingdom of God is like how God acted way back in Jonah’s time. AND, the real problem is that we act like Jonah and the workers in the parable. We think God should be kinder to good people than others. And we always equate “good people” with ourselves. God is, and always has been, in the forgiveness business. And God’s people have always been a little uncomfortable with that.
My granddaughter has two wonderful dogs with one annoying trait. Give one some attention and the other will come flying, seemingly out of nowhere, to literally wedge in between you and the dog getting attention. As if there was not enough attention to go around. I am not sure how this illustration would work if there were three dogs but there are two and I have two hands. And the bag of treats is always distributed equally. Plenty of attention to go around.
AND, unfortunately human nature has not changed much. No matter how much I have, it annoys me when some one else seems to get more. Turns out Jonah was the one really in need of repentance. Perhaps it applies to us too?
Amen.
THE NICENE CREED
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Let us pray to the Lord offering to Him the petitions and supplications of a people confident of His promise to hear and answer us with mercy.
Brief silence
That we may delight in the light of Christ and His salvation, and that sinners may find refuge in His mercy and comfort in His forgiveness, Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
That we may be served by faithful bishops, priests and deacons, especially Michael and DeDe, our bishops, and Nelson, our Rector, who preach and teach the Gospel Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
That the Gospel may be the foundation of our homes, uniting us in mission for God’s kingdom. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
That the Lord may bless missionaries far and near, that He may nurture newly planted congregations, and that He may renew those congregations in distress, that those from every nation and culture may be united with us in faith and life, Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
That we may enjoy the blessing of good government, faithful leaders, peace in our land and peace among the nations, and that we may be good citizens and neighbors, Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
That the sick may be healed, the troubled know peace, the grieving be comforted and the dying be delivered to everlasting life in Christ, and especially those for whom we pray and that we may all be delivered from fear, anxiety and despair by God’s gracious care, Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
That we may honor the Lord with praise and thanksgiving and bring to the Lord the tithes and offerings of a grateful people, Help us to live in grateful thanksgiving for all that we have been given as well as what others have been given. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
That we may not forget the witness of the faithful who have gone before us, that we may at last be joined with them in the marriage supper of the Lamb in His Kingdom without end, Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Hear the prayers of Your people, O Lord, and grant to us all things good and wholesome and keep from us all things harmful. Give us contentment, that trusting in Your mercy we may delight in Your saving will where the last are made first by Your generosity and grace; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
So now we pray with confidence to the Father the words our Lord Jesus taught us:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by the Name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
The Closing Blessing
May God almighty bless and keep us, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
We go now in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Amen.