Bah! Humbug! (The Redemption of Scrooge Sermon Series)

The Redemption of Scrooge- Bah! Humbug!

Nov. 26^th, 2016          Matthew 20: 1-16

            A few years ago, when he was just beginning to understand the Christmas tradition of exchanging gifts, my nephew gave us a look that we would never forget. With dreams of receiving every item on his Christmas list, my nephew began to rip open package after package with glee. And then he came to his grandma’s gift. Full of expectation, he tore open the paper, opened the box…and scowled. As he slowly and begrudgingly picked up his new clothes from the box, his scowl turned into a full-blown cry. He had gotten clothes for Christmas! Now that he’s a bit older, my nephew has come to appreciate a new shirt or a new pair of jeans, but that one particular experience been a good reminder for all of us, both young and old, that the spirit of Ebenezer Scrooge is never far away.

            For many folks, Christmas is, as the old song puts it, “the most wonderful time of the year.” Unless you’re Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge is, of course, the main character in Charles Dickens’ famous work entitled “A Christmas Carol.” You’ve probably seen one of the movie renditions that tell this transformational story of this man who is best described as a crotchety old miser who never seems to smile. For Ebenezer Scrooge, Christmas is most definitely NOT the most wonderful time of the year. In fact, nothing is wonderful to Scrooge, except for maybe money. Scrooge eats, sleeps and breathes the chance to make a buck. What he’ll do with the money someday is never a thought. He just needs to make more. Day and night he works hard, and forces his employees to work hard, because every day is the chance to earn another dollar. And the people who don’t have enough? Well, they just don’t work hard enough! If you asked Scrooge about his life philosophy, he’d probably share with you the old adage, “You reap what you sow.”

            Now, on the outside, the “you reap what you sow” principle seems to make a lot of sense. Those of you who garden understand this. If you want lots of tomatoes for your spaghetti sauce and salsa, you need to plant enough tomato plants to do the trick. Or how about our students. You also get this. If you want get good grades, you need to put in the time to study. The more you study, the better chance you have when test time rolls around. Or any of us who are in relationships. If we want a good relationship with our significant other, we have to put in the time to communicate, to show our appreciation and play our part. You reap what you sow. And so, this principle, which works so well with so much of our lives, has found a cherished place in Ebenezer Scrooge’s heart…and our hearts as well. The only problem is that God’s economy (or God’s way of doing things) doesn’t usually work that way.

            In God’s economy, the only currency that matters is grace. It’s not money or hard work or moral living; it’s grace. Grace is one of those terms that many of us would admit we aren’t quite sure how to explain, but we still love to throw it out there and talk about. It’s just a word that rolls off our tongues and sounds so sweet. But the meaning behind it is even sweeter. A simple definition of grace is this: God’s love freely given to you without merit. And it’s grace that lies at the heart of today’s teaching from Jesus.

            If we’re honest with ourselves, we experience just a little bit of frustration when we read this story. We expect the story to be black or white, but then Jesus throws in a twist that messes up our typical worldview. The first group of hired hands have worked harder and longer, so they should get paid more. They’ve put in the time, the effort, the sweat equity…and they deserve to be compensated handsomely. But when the whistle blows and the boss calls them over for payday, they are as surprised as we are. Instead of receiving more than all the others, they receive the exact same amount as those who were hired last and worked only a single hour. It didn’t matter how much each hired hand had sown throughout the day; they each earned the same reward. You can almost feel the irritation and anger intensifying as the first workers realize that they are no different than the last ones in the eyes of the landowner. And at the same time, you can almost sense the relief springing up within the last hired workers as they recognize the same gift.

            Not long ago, my good friend, Keith, preached a message on the Parable of the Good Samaritan. In his message, he challenged us to see ourselves as the one who was left for dead on the road instead of putting ourselves in the shoes of the good guy who finally stopped to help. Because we always want to be the good guy. But when you see yourself as one in need; when you see yourself lying for dead on the road with your only hope being the chance that somebody will stop and notice you, you read the passage differently. I’ve been challenged this week to read this story of the vineyard workers from the perspective of the hands who were hired last. Now this story is not so much about the seeds I’ve sown in my life, but the landowner who was willing to take a chance on me and treat me with love, dignity and respect…regardless on when I began my journey.

            Truth be told, I think we’re all in the last category in one respect or another. We might want to think of ourselves as those who started this journey from the beginning, and certainly there are those who have been journeying with Jesus for quite some time, but none of us have entered this Jesus journey on our own merit. We’re all the product of a God who noticed us and invited us to come on in. Some of us grew up in a church, fell away, and thought we no longer had a chance. And then we realized that God still cared. Some of us were deep in grief, believing that we would never heal. And then we discovered that God still wanted to heal. Some of us were deep in addiction and had all but given up on hope, and then God invited us to give him a try. And some of us were simply tired of trying play the game of life, seemingly never able to get ahead. And then this mysterious landowner said, “Come work for me.” This is grace.

            In a way, the entire plot of “A Christmas Carol” is a story of grace. If anyone deserved the worst, it was Ebenezer Scrooge. His hardened heart and selfish lifestyle sucked the joy out of others. In his quest for riches, he couldn’t see beyond the end of his own nose. But then someone came knocking at his door, offering him another chance and a new way to see the world. Mr. Scrooge didn’t ask for the ghostly visitors; he didn’t pray for them to come his way; they just came. Into his misery, into his hopelessness, into his lost-ness…and Ebenezer Scrooge begins to see what he had been missing all along.

            You see, what makes Christmas such an astounding proclamation of good news is that God notices us, comes to us and invites us in. Not because of our hard work; not because of our moral living; not because of anything we’ve done. Simply because God desires to love us. Romans puts it this way: God proved his love to us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” And that love-inspired death on a cross began when Jesus Christ was born into a world that didn’t know it had everything all mixed up, into a world that misunderstood God as somebody who had to be wooed and bribed. Like the ghosts that visited Ebenezer Scrooge on that transformational night, God entered our world and opened our eyes to a new way…a way of grace. And when grace gets ahold of us and we are discover the knowledge that God deeply loves us (no matter what!) and is not done with us, that’s enough to make our Bah! Humbugs! flee and the Ebenezer Scrooge’s inside of us sing for joy.

            At the end of this story, we see a new Ebenezer, a redeemed Ebenezer, an Ebenezer that is ready to give his life away! All this of course, begs the question: If a joy-killer like Ebenezer can receive new life, can I? Without a doubt, the answer is yes. But the answer isn’t yes because you want it to be yes. The answer is yes because God is in the business of making all things new. I wonder tonight if you need to receive God’s grace? I wonder tonight if you feel as if you have life all mixed up and you’re ready to accept God’s new way for you? I wonder tonight if you just need to know that God loves you and is not done with you. As we come up for communion tonight, I’m going to be available to pray. If you’d like prayer, would you join me?  Amen.