Unfair!
This afternoon passes all too quickly away as I search for something to say tomorrow morning during the sermon time at my church. I am preaching for the fourth time in my life. Sermon preparation is not a strength of mine, therefore, I could not do this on a regular basis. I usually tend to find other person's sermons, which are much more insightful, steal snippets here and there, add them to my own deep thoughts, stir in a little moving of the Spirit, and then I have a message to preach.
After days of contemplation, I finally arrived at a sermon passage - Matthew 20:1-16. I am particularly drawn to this text because of its offensiveness to most people including myself. It is a familiar story told by Jesus to illustrate the kingdom of God. It is the parable of the laborers in the vineyard and the generous landlord. The landlord hires workers in the early morning and agrees to pay them a full days wage. A few hours later he notices more workers who have no work so he hires them and tells them that they will receive "whatever is right." Three more times during the day he hires more workers, each time agreeing to give them whatever he thinks is right. Since these men need money and whatever the landlord could give them for one hours work would be better to bring home to the family than nothing, they all agree to work until the day is finished. All this sounds like a normal day in the land of Palestine and normal relations between landlord and hired help.
It is what happens next that gets me. The workers line up to be paid and the unusual happens. For whatever reason the manager is instructed by the landlord to start at the end of the line with the paychecks. As he hands those who have only worked an hour a denarius the others in the front of the line get pretty excited thinking of the amount they then should receive. But as the manager works his way to the front of the line handing each man the same amount, the front of the line breaks out grumbling. "These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us," says the first to be hired. The landowner reminds them that they received exactly what they had agreed to...AND, not to mention, he can do whatever he wants to do with his money. But it is not fair!
Depending on what point of view you read this parable it can be pretty upsetting. I often read this story through the eyes of the labors who have sweated all day in the field and have calluses on their hands because they worked so hard for so long. If those who are hired later and work fewer hours get the same pay, you better bet someone is going to hear some complaints. But if you read this parable from the end of the line, from the point of view from the workers who were hired last and only worked an hour then there is great reason for rejoicing. There should be cheering all up and down the line because of the generosity of the landowner. I suspect that I am somewhere in the middle of the line. I would hope that I am amazed at the grace given me on a daily biases. I pray that when I look to the end of the line I rejoice with those who get equally what they do not deserve, just as I do.
This is what I must preach tomorrow morning: God loves all. He is generous to all. We must remember where we stand and we must rejoice no matter where God chooses to start passing out the paychecks. We must invite everyone into the labor field to receive the same as we have received. This is the gospel - we do not receive life based on who we are and what we do but because of who God is.
After days of contemplation, I finally arrived at a sermon passage - Matthew 20:1-16. I am particularly drawn to this text because of its offensiveness to most people including myself. It is a familiar story told by Jesus to illustrate the kingdom of God. It is the parable of the laborers in the vineyard and the generous landlord. The landlord hires workers in the early morning and agrees to pay them a full days wage. A few hours later he notices more workers who have no work so he hires them and tells them that they will receive "whatever is right." Three more times during the day he hires more workers, each time agreeing to give them whatever he thinks is right. Since these men need money and whatever the landlord could give them for one hours work would be better to bring home to the family than nothing, they all agree to work until the day is finished. All this sounds like a normal day in the land of Palestine and normal relations between landlord and hired help.
It is what happens next that gets me. The workers line up to be paid and the unusual happens. For whatever reason the manager is instructed by the landlord to start at the end of the line with the paychecks. As he hands those who have only worked an hour a denarius the others in the front of the line get pretty excited thinking of the amount they then should receive. But as the manager works his way to the front of the line handing each man the same amount, the front of the line breaks out grumbling. "These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us," says the first to be hired. The landowner reminds them that they received exactly what they had agreed to...AND, not to mention, he can do whatever he wants to do with his money. But it is not fair!
Depending on what point of view you read this parable it can be pretty upsetting. I often read this story through the eyes of the labors who have sweated all day in the field and have calluses on their hands because they worked so hard for so long. If those who are hired later and work fewer hours get the same pay, you better bet someone is going to hear some complaints. But if you read this parable from the end of the line, from the point of view from the workers who were hired last and only worked an hour then there is great reason for rejoicing. There should be cheering all up and down the line because of the generosity of the landowner. I suspect that I am somewhere in the middle of the line. I would hope that I am amazed at the grace given me on a daily biases. I pray that when I look to the end of the line I rejoice with those who get equally what they do not deserve, just as I do.
This is what I must preach tomorrow morning: God loves all. He is generous to all. We must remember where we stand and we must rejoice no matter where God chooses to start passing out the paychecks. We must invite everyone into the labor field to receive the same as we have received. This is the gospel - we do not receive life based on who we are and what we do but because of who God is.
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