Matthew 21:28-32;
September 28, 08
Philippians 2:1-13
Patrick Preheim
Working Out Our Salvation
No doubt many of the congregation take this for granted [hold up the Saskatchewan health card]. I do not. In my last year of work in the United States the church was paying nearly $10,000.00 in health care premiums. In addition there was a $2500.00 deductable which I would pay before the insurance kicked in. The insurance company provided this generous coverage (note the sarcasm) even though I was healthy, didn’t drive to work, or engage in any risky behaviour outside of presiding at religious services. When I immigrated to Saskatchewan one year ago the kind officials in Regina graciously asked where they should send my health card-- to church or to my home. “But I am not Canadian”, I said. “Sir, that doesn’t matter”, he said. “But I haven’t taken my physical”, I said. “Sir, that doesn’t matter”. “But you don’t know what preaching does to my blood pressure”, I said. “Sir, this is Saskatchewan and that means you get the card”. My brother has five year old twin daughters who had to go without coverage for couple of years because they were born premature and were “high risk” the insurance companies said. Even now, the policy they have does not cover a whole list of respiratory ailments defined as pre-existing conditions. There is no excuse for the richest nation in the world which confesses itself “one nation under God” to allow any of its residents to go without medical coverage. Our salvation is based upon actions we take, not the lip service we give in pledges. No, I do not take this card for granted. I track it back to one man who sought to work out his salvation with fear and trembling.
[look at the high school section] Do they teach you about Tommy Douglas in your schools? I had never heard of him before coming to Canada. Since he was voted the most famous Canadian last year I decided to read up on him. Tommy Douglas was a Baptist minister in Weyburn during the depression of the 1930s. "This period," he writes, "was probably more difficult than any other time to be a minister of a church. The economic depression started about October 1929 . . . I buried a young man at Griffin, and another one at Pangman, both young men in their 30s with families who died because there was no doctor readily available, and they hadn't the money to get proper care." Inspired by his religious beliefs, Douglas worked to help people keep their faith alive in order to face their difficulties... Eventually he came to believe that he could do [as much] for people from a political platform [as] from a pulpit (www.weyburnreview.com/ tommydouglas/tommydouglasintro.html). I am sad the superintendent of the Baptist Conference told Douglas he could not address needs pastorally in his congregation and systemically in politics. I am grateful, however, that Douglas took the plight of his people seriously. He did not rebel against the task God set before him. He did not stay in the safety of smug promises of an afterlife paradise. He did not understand salvation as something he or his people could attain with a pledge or a confession. Every day Tommy Douglas sought to faithfully work out his salvation with fear and trembling in the vineyard to which God had sent him.
Our texts point us to three actions that help us work out our salvation in the vineyard. In the scripture passage from Matthew you will see a phase repeated in verses 29 and 32: change his / your mind. The particular Greek word from which the NRSV scribes get “change your mind” can also be translated repent (see any Greek language lexicon; In this passage the KJV and RSV translations use the word repent while the NIV uses changed his mind in verse 29 and repent in verse 32). Repent is a harder term to our ears than to change our mind. The point is that we all have attitudes that prevent us from going to the vineyard. Son number one is rebellious. He has the posture of a defiant child-- I will not go and you can’t make me. He does not respect his father. He does not refer to him as Lord. His mind needs to be changed from rebelliousness. The other son of the parable has a different problem—that of smugness. He says all the right things. He addresses God as Lord-- Kyrios is a term that can be translated either as Lord or sir. He commits himself to go to the vineyard. But all his confessions and promises, in the end, mean nothing. He does not go to the vineyard. His mind needs to be changed to understand that faithfulness will mean leaving the gated communities of friends and family which keep us well separated from the vineyard dwellers. Lest we miss the point of the Matthew parable, repentance (a change of mind if you like) is transformation of thought that allows us to do something different. Repentance is doing, not saying.
Worship, as it turns out, is an important action that helps us with this business of changing our minds and getting to the vineyard. Philippians 2:6-11 is widely acknowledged by scholars as a hymn sung in the small groups of Christians which formed after the death and resurrection of Jesus (google Phillipians Hymn for a comprehensive view of opinion). The poetry and cadence of the Greek text almost certainly point to its use as a hymn. It is a short ballad extolling the power found in humility and servanthood. Many of you were here two weeks ago when I preached on the role of music in shaping our religious lives. Well, here we have a case of a 1st century hymn. The text affirms that God’s way is that of humility and service. It states that God’s servants will be exalted by God even if they die (comforting news if you happen to be facing martyrdom). It is a social commentary on, and alternative to, the way Greek and Roman leaders carried themselves (David Seeley’s “The Background of the Philippians Hymn, JHC 1 (Fall 1994), 49-72). Our minds are changed (we actively repent) through meditation, song, and worship of Jesus Christ. The more we focus on Jesus the easier it is to follow after him. It is for this reason that a course within Ignatian spirituality asks its members to spend an hour a day in Christ centered prayer (19th Annotation). The transformation of meditation is something pastors and lay people need as well. Since Jesus went to the vineyard, our mediation on him and his experience will lead us there as well. Worship is active and leads to action.
The culmination of a changed mind and a life imprinted to Christ through worship will be activity in the world. Work, work, work-- three times in the verses following the Philippian Hymn Paul uses the term work. We are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling; God is at work in us enabling us to work for God’s good pleasure. With all this repetition Paul is trying to make some kind of point. I don’t know exactly what Paul was trying to imply, but I will share how I have seen all this work played out in my life. I don’t understand salvation the same now as I did when I was 18 or 25 or 30. My salvation and understanding of salvation has been progressive. I have followed after Jesus as best as I have been able, and this has taken me many different places: refugee camps and summer camps, psych wards and back yards; BBQs with people who are evangelistic and atheistic. In these places I offer what I have, and I receive what others offer. I have to be humble, like Christ was humble, when I visit and serve. God has been with these other people before I appeared in their lives, and likely there is something for me to learn even as I have something to share. The interactions I have with these different people expand and refine my understanding of God. It is as if God is working in me even as I try to do God’s work in the world. Christ’s Spirit and example have shaped my life and the world for good. I am a better person because of my meditation on Christ. Following after Christ has given me meaning and promise, and this is salvation. In this respect I have seen salvation and am saved. And at other level, I am still working out my salvation with fear and trembling. Like son one, I still rebel. Like son two, I still fail in living up to my confession that God is Lord. I am still learning. I only progress in my salvation work in so far as I meditate on God and the life of Christ. This meditation gives me direction for my action. It helps me find the vineyard. And then I reflect on what I find. It is an endless cycle of meditation, action, and reflection. This is how I work out my salvation with fear and trembling.
Saskatchewan is a better place because Tommy Douglas meditated on Christ. I
am grateful that I live here and have a health card. In the kingdom of God, like
Saskatchewan, everyone is entitled to a health card. There are a lot people who
are unaware of this benefit. Some even ask silly questions when the health plan
is offered. The card itself does not protect a person from the accidents and
ailments that are a part of this world. Rather, it gives a person access to
resources that can help enrich life- bring salvation in a manner of speaking.
There are weekly seminars on how we might improve individual and systemic
health. There are support groups that gather to talk about healing. There is a
great physician who is always available for consultation. In a kingdom as
abundantly rich as ours, there is no need for someone to go through life without
a health plan. Let us go places where God’s healing is needed. Let us go with
humility knowing that God is already there. Let us continue to work out our
salvation with fear and trembling even as we trust that God is working in and
through us. Amen.