© 2023, Dr. Tamilio
The first eleven chapters of the Book of Genesis are often referred to as the primordial history. This is where we hear stories about the Creation of the world, of Adam and Eve, of Noah and the great flood, of the tower of Babel. Starting with chapter twelve, we get the second half of Genesis, which is the story of Abraham and his descendants. We begin that part of the book with today’s reading.
This is a lengthy story about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Genesis ends with the story of Joseph and his brothers in Egypt — how Joseph found favor with Pharaoh and how he was reunited with his brothers who sold him into slavery.
For now, though, let’s stick with Abraham.
We know little about this patriarch at this point. He was quite old. As of the opening of chapter twelve, his name was Abram. The text does not suggest that there was anything unique or special about him. He was a descendant of Noah’s son Shem. He could have been a shepherd. God comes to him one day and says, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great so that you will be a blessing.”
I can only imagine Abraham’s reaction. He must have been shocked. But he had faith and followed where God led. That is the why, in part, he is held up as a paradigmatic figure. He is the model we should all follow. When God calls us to step out in faith and do what we may think is impossible, we need to have faith in God and trust in God. Paul essentially says the same thing in today’s reading from Romans.
A little background information. In the Letter to the Romans, Paul, in part, is using critical, logical reasoning to distinguish between righteousness based on works (often called works righteousness) and righteousness based on faith in God’s grace. In other words, we are reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ and the free gift of grace that we are given, not by following the letter of Jewish Law.
Back to Abraham. Paul writes, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due.” That’s true. Your paycheck isn’t a gift. It is what you earned. Paul continues, “But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness. For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.” I almost think that Paul wants us to read these verses again and again and again so that they seep into our spiritual consciousness. We are made righteous by faith in the grace we have been given through the life and works of Jesus Christ. Nothing else, even a lifetime of good works, earns you nothing.
I think the problem for most of us with all of this is our human understanding of justice, fairness, and equality. People should be treated according to what they do. If you work hard, you should be recognized: whether that means you get a raise, a bonus, a promotion, or whatever. If you do not work hard, you suffer the consequences. If it is related to your job, maybe the boss writes you up, docks your pay, or, in the worst-case scenario, he fires you. If it relates to society at large, maybe you get arrested or go to jail. In terms of the latter, your jail term should reflect the severity of your crime. This is our human understanding of justice.
That is not how God works.
God’s grace is superfluous and is poured out lavishly on all people who choose to accept it, which you do by faith. Faith does not earn you anything. Faith is simply the way you receive God’s free gift of grace. Furthermore, that grace is the same for everyone. No one gets more than anyone else.
Have you ever heard someone complain about the fact that someone who lived a horrible life gets the same reward as a person who lived a righteous life if the person who lived the horrible life confesses their sins and seeks forgiveness from God? I have heard it several times. It goes something like this: “Are you telling me that the most heinous person gets to go to heaven if he asks God to forgive his sins? What if the man is a serial killer and is going to be executed, but seeks forgiveness from God ten minutes before he dies?” Even though such an example is extreme and highly unlikely, my answer is, “If the man is genuinely sorry for what he has done and seeks God’s forgiveness, then yes: he is forgiven and goes to heaven.” The response: “That is not fair.”
EXACTLY! It isn’t fair. God’s grace isn’t fair when compared to the human notion of justice. It isn’t! Everyone gets the same amount of grace — enough to last for eternity. It isn’t parceled out as if you get more because you lived a better life. Grace is grace is grace. You cannot earn it.
Jesus told us exactly that in the parable of the workers in Matthew 20. Do you remember that story? A landowner hires people to work in his vineyard. He agrees to hire them for a denarius, which was a day’s wages for a laborer. Some he hires at the beginning of the day. Some he hires at 9:00 am, others at noon, and still others at 3:00 o’clock and 5:00 o’clock. When it comes time for them to receive their pay, the ones hired last are in line first. They receive a denarius. This makes the others think that they will receive more because they worked longer. When those hired at 3:00 pm, noon, and 9:00 am, and especially those hired early in the morning receive the same pay, they are outraged! They complain, saying, “These who were hired last worked only one hour…and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.” Jesus tells them that the landowner is free to do with his money as he wishes. They all worked for the agreed-upon price. No one was jilted. The fact that the landowner chose to give an equal amount to everyone is his prerogative. “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money?” the landowner exclaims.
And that is the way grace works, my friends. We all get the same. Whether you came to Christ as a child, whether you came to him when you were older and had kids of your own, or whether you accept him on your deathbed, you get the same gift — the free gift of God’s grace.
And so, let us step out in faith like Abraham knowing that we are held in that faith, saved in that faith, and loved in that faith — a faith based upon grace and grace alone. Amen.