Sermon for Septuagesima, 2026
- Rev. Derrick C. Brown
- Feb 1
- 2 min read
The last laborers essentially received a gift. They received a denarius, a day’s wage, for work they had not done. The first laborers were not truly complaining that the landowner had failed to keep his end of the bargain, because he did. They agreed with him for a denarius, and he gave them a denarius. He did exactly what he said he would do. How can they complain about that? That is not what troubles them.
What troubles them is how much the last received. They are jealous and envious. They do not think it is right that a gift should be given to someone, to anyone. Is thine eye evil, because he is good?
This is the way the kingdom of heaven is, that the King of the kingdom is good and gives gifts to men, to us, who were hired about the eleventh hour.
We did not do all the work. We did not plow the field. We did not bear the burden and the heat of the day. We did not do that. Truth be told, we did none of it. And yet here is the gift of our salvation. And what a gracious thing it is.
Despised by the first, it ought not to have been despised, because it was a hidden gift even for them, if only they had received it. As Jesus says elsewhere, “How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing!”
The gifts of the kingdom are hidden. They appear small. They appear worthy of spite. They appear as pennies.
Readings:
Old Testament: Exodus 17:1-7
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 9:24–10:5
Holy Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16
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