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SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAYFebruary 1, 2026Pastor Tom SteersChrist the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto OUR OPENING HYMN: 693 “O Holy Spirit, Grant Us Grace” Lutheran Service Bookhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYpIooCfln0&list=RDeYpIooCfln0&start_radio=1CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Page 184-185 THE INTROIT – Psalm 18:1-2a, 27, 32, 49; antiphon: Ps. 18:5-6aThe cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the Lord.From his temple he heard my voice. I love you, O Lord, my strength.The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer. For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down. [You have] equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing to your name. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. The cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the Lord.From his temple he heard my voice. KYRIE (Lord Have Mercy) Lord have mercy upon us. Christ have mercy upon us. Lord have mercy upon us.Pastor: The Lord be with you.Congregation: And with thy Spirit. OUR COLLECT PRAYER – O Lord, graciously hear the prayers of Your people that we who justly suffer the consequences of our sin may be mercifully delivered by Your goodness to the glory of Your name; through Jesus Christ, Your Son; our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.OUR BIBLE READINGS Old Testament: Exodus 17:1-7 Psalm 95 Epistle: Romans 1st Corinthians 9:24 – 10:5 Gospel Reading: Matthew 20:1-16 THE NICENE CREED Page 191HYMN OF THE DAY: 566 “By Grace I’m Saved”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CAKFR_4DDI&list=RD-CAKFR_4DDI&start_radio=1THE SERMON –“The First Will Be Last, and the Last First”Today, in the Church Year, is ‘Septuagesima’ Sunday.That word means “seventieth.” It marks a time approximately seventy days before Easter.This is a pre-Lenten period that dates back to the sixth century.It is the pivot point between the joy of Christmas and Epiphany, and the repentance of Lent.The Confessional Lutheran Church has traditionally kept these Sundays because they orient us toward humility and an appreciation of the grace of God.It is not yet Lent, but a threshold — a time to remember our need for grace, and prepare for the journey to the cross.This Sunday, our Lord gives us a parable that unsettles every instinct of our old Adam: the parable of the labourers in the vineyard.This passage is framed by two identical statements— theologians call it an ‘inclusio.’At the end of Matthew Chapter 19, and again at the end of our Gospel, we hear: “The first will be last, and the last first.” Jesus wants us to see everything in between through that lens. But God’s Kingdom doesn’t operate according to human fairness, human merit, or human reward. It isn’t earned, or bought.It operates by grace—pure, undeserved, unearned grace.In Chapter 20, Jesus tells of a master of a house who goes out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. He agrees to pay the first group a denarius — an average day’s wage. But then he keeps going out: at the third hour (9 a.m.), the sixth, the ninth, and even the eleventh hour— that’s one hour before quitting time. To each group, he simply says, “Whatever is right I will give you.”Already, the parable is hinting at something unusual. No vineyard owner hires workers at the end of the day. No employer pays the same wage to those who work one hour as to those who work twelve. But this is not a parable about earthly labour relations. It’s about the Kingdom of God, where the gift of grace overturns the logic of merit.Martin Luther once wrote, “Grace is given freely to the most unworthy and to those who have deserved the very opposite.” That is the beating heart of this parable. Grace does not measure, does not calculate. Grace gives because the Giver is good.When evening comes, the master pays the last workers first. They receive a denarius. The first workers see this, and immediately expect more. But when they, too, receive a denarius, they grumble: “You have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.”Their complaint is not about injustice. They received exactly what was promised. Their complaint is about grace. They resent that the master is generous to others.This is the old Adam speaking—the sinful nature that wants God to keep score, to reward effort, to recognize our sacrifices, to give us something more than the next person. It’s the same spirit we hear in Israel at Massah and Meribah in Exodus Chapter 17.There, the people grumbled against Moses and God, demanding water as though God owed them something when He had already promised to take care of them, and was providing.It is the same spirit Psalm 95 warns us against: “Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah . . . when your fathers put me to the test.”Grumbling is the fruit of unbelief. It is the refusal to see God as gracious. It is the insistence that God must operate according to our standards.But the master responds with a gentle, yet firm rebuke: “Friend, I am doing you no wrong . . . Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?”Literally, the Greek says, “Is your eye evil because I am good?” The problem is not the master’s goodness. The problem is the workers’ envy.This parable isn’t about different levels of reward in Heaven. It’s not about comparing Christians or measuring spiritual output. It is about the nature of salvation itself. The denarius represents eternal life—given equally to all who belong to Christ, whether they came to faith early or late, whether they served long or short, whether their earthly vocations were visible or hidden.In the economy of salvation, there is no seniority. No spiritual résumé. No ladder to climb. No competition. This is exactly what Paul emphasizes in 1st Corinthians Chapter 9, where he describes himself as a servant of all, running the race not to earn salvation, but because salvation has already been given. His labour isn’t a bargaining chip with God. It is the joyful response of the heart set free, the fruit of grace.The moment we begin to think that God’s Kingdom depends on us, or that we deserve more than others, or that our service earns us a better place, we have turned the Gospel upside down. We have become the complaining workers.But the truth is this: We do not carry the Kingdom. The Kingdom carries us. We do not earn our place in the vineyard. We are brought in. We do not negotiate our wages. We receive them as a gift.This parable of Christ is a direct rebuke to works righteousness and a comfort to sinners.This is repeated in the Augsburg Confession’s teaching and the Lutheran Reformation proclamation that we are justified “freely for Christ’s sake, through faith.”Today’s parable also teaches us something beautiful about Christian vocation. The workers aren’t hired because the vineyard owner needs them. God does not need our labour. He is not short-staffed. Not desperate for help.He calls us into His vineyard because it is good for us to be there. It is a privilege to serve. It is a joy to labour in the things that belong to God. It is a gift to be included in His work of mercy, forgiveness, and love.When we see our earthly vocations—our daily callings—as gifts, rather than burdens, everything changes. Whether we’re parents or children, employers or employees, students or retirees, Pastors or laypeople, our work becomes an expression of gratitude, rather than a means of earning.The Holy Spirit, through the means of grace, renews us so that our service flows from faith, not from fear; from love, not from obligation; from gratitude, not from envy.Jesus ends the parable as He began: “So the last will be first, and the first last.” This is not a threat. It is a blessed promise.The world says: Earn your place. Prove your worth. Climb higher. Be better than others.But Jesus says: Come, all who labour and are heavy laden. Come, you who have nothing to offer. Come, you who arrive at the eleventh hour. Come, not because you’re worthy, but because I am good, and love you.In the Kingdom of God, the only ones who are “first” are those who know they deserve to be last. The only ones who are exalted are those who know they have nothing to boast of. The only ones who receive the denarius are those who receive it as a gift paid for by the blood of Christ,So we pray: Lord, keep us from the grumbling spirit of the old Adam. Stop us from comparing ourselves to others. Keep our eyes fixed on You, the gracious owner of the vineyard. And teach us to rejoice that we have been included at all— by Your mercy, by Your calling, by Your grace alone. Amen.PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Page 194 Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) Page 195 The Lord’s Prayer Page 196 Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) Page 198 Post-Communion Collect (Left-hand column) Page 201 OUR CLOSING HYMN: 923 “Almighty Father, Bless the Word”