Striving Together

THIS WEEK’S GOSPEL: MATTHEW 20: 1-16 (MESSAGE)

God's kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work. Later, about nine o'clock, the manager saw some other men hanging around the town square unemployed. He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage. They went.  He did the same thing at noon, and again at three o'clock. At five o'clock he went back and found still others standing around. He said, 'Why are you standing around all day doing nothing?' They said, 'Because no one hired us.'  He told them to go to work in his vineyard.  When the day's work was over, the owner of the vineyard instructed his foreman, 'Call the workers in and pay them their wages. Start with the last hired and go on to the first.'  Those hired at five o'clock came up and were each given a dollar. When those who were hired first saw that, they assumed they would get far more. But they got the same, each of them one dollar. Taking the dollar, they groused angrily to the manager, 'These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us, who slaved all day under a scorching sun.'  He replied to the one speaking for the rest, 'Friend, I haven't been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn't we? So take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. Can't I do what I want with my own money? Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?'  Here it is again, the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first.

How many times in life have you thought, “That’s not fair!”  Fairness seems to come up for us when we compare ourselves to others.  But is this unfair parable a story about equality and fairness or is it about something else?

Often it is hard to see ourselves as anything other than those who have worked hard all day and deserve more than those who just showed up at the end of the day and receive the same amount.  After all we have faithfully attended church since we can remember.  We were baptized as infants.  We went to youth group every Sunday.  We joined the college ministry when we were away from home.  We found another church when we were hired at our first jobs.  We were married in church.  We raised our children in church.  We will be buried with the blessing of the church.  Don’t we deserve more grace, more love, more blessing than the person who never set foot inside a church until the eleventh hour?  Aren’t we loved more by God than someone who hasn’t known God for very long?

This parable in Matthew’s Gospel reminds us that God loves all of us and shows all of us the same grace whether we have been in the community of believers all our lives or just discovered this unconditional, unlimited love and grace a moment ago.  For us, in all of our humanity, this may not seem fair. But Jesus challenges the early church and us not to judge each other with our eye on fairness. Today we are challenged to welcome each other into community with hearts full of grace. 

How can we let go of resentment and celebrate community instead? 

Please join us this Sunday, September 18 at 10:00a.m. in Christ Church, when we will bless and commission our Church School teachers, assistants and students.  This is a great day to bring to Church someone needs to know he or she is chosen and loved.  Hope to see you in Church!