Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Today’s Scripture: Matthew 20:1-16
“Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?' So the last will be first, and the first will be last." (Matt. 20:15-16)
The Kingdom is about the common good the whole of society not just us, first. This most fundamental teaching of faith flies right in the face of all the selfish personal and political ethics that put myself always before all others: my concerns first, my rights first, my freedoms first, my interest first, my tribe first, and even my country first - ahead of everybody else. Self-concern is the personal and political ethic that dominates our world today, but the kingdom of God says that our neighbor’s concerns, rights, interests, freedoms, and well-being are as important as our own. - Jim Wallis, “On God’s Side: What Religion Forgets and Politics Hasn’t Learned about Serving the Common Good”, Brazon Press, 2013, p. 6.
It's true sometimes. Sometimes we are in charge, it's our responsibility, and the buck stops squarely in front of us. And although we may complain and grumble about those times, most of us kind of like knowing that we are in control of what is going on and what is coming up next. In fact, we like it so much that we tend to try to take over the reins of control when we are clearly no longer qualified to be running the show. We are constantly tempted to "play God." We quickly forget that the most basic kindergarten lesson in spirituality is this: "God is God ... and we are not."
In the parable told in today’s text, Jesus provides an ironic glance at the difference between God's designs and human desires by engaging us in his story, which many find objectionable. The landowner's generosity is bestowed on these last-hired laborers for a reason known only to him. He does not explain or apologize for the accounting system that lavishes the same wage on everyone hired, regardless of the amount of time logged on the job. The only response the landowner has to the disgruntled first-hired workers is "Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?"
Is God not allowed to do what God chooses with what belongs to God? God is God, and we are not. Jesus understood the value of all people regardless of what the culture thought of them. He gave all people value. Even the last one to arrive at the table is given a full-course meal.
In one penetrating parable, Jesus leaves us with a lot to think about. We know that we can't work our way into heaven. We can never do enough good stuff in this life to earn everlasting retirement, whether we start our Christian service at six in the morning or at five in the evening. Our IRA’s (Individual Righteousness Accounts) will simply never be fat enough to fully fund a future in eternal kingdom of God.
We also learn that we are all in need of God's grace and forgiveness, every single one of us. In the kingdom economy, we can be grateful that God chooses to be generous. We learn, too, that in God's service, we do not all have the same work to do. Some of us can teach, others sing, others cook, others organize, others visit the sick, others evangelize, others serve the poor, and others care for children, while others repair the church roof. Like, the workers in the vineyard, we have different tasks to perform, with different time frames, energy levels and abilities.
But the really cool thing is the equal nature of the rewards. No matter how menial or glorious the task, we all get paid the same. In God's eyes, you see, we are all equal. At the end of the day, we are all paid the same and are paid what is right.
New Testament professor Darrell Doughty puts it this way: "In the kingdom of God all people are already equal - because all people are loved by God." In the kingdom, every person should receive "what is right" - regardless of the work they do. In the kingdom, all people are equal, rich or poor, wealthy or destitute, righteous or sinners, and powerful or powerless. All people are equal because all people are loved by God. And since this is true in the kingdom, it should also be true in the life of the church, whether we are leaders or helpers, teachers or students, administrators or nursery attendants.
In his book Santa Biblia: The Bible through Hispanic Eyes (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996, p. 62-63), Justo Gonzales notes that this parable elicits surprisingly different reactions when read to typical, middle-class audiences in America compared to Hispanic audiences.
Most people are perplexed that someone who had worked for only an hour should be paid the same as someone who has worked for eight hours. It seems patently unfair. Moreover, most people don't understand the fuss. The logic is so clear, typical Americans cannot understand on what grounds one could argue the fairness of Jesus' approach.
When the story is read or studied by a Hispanic audience, however, the reaction is quite different. These are people, Gonzales says, who identify with the problems of the field workers. They understand the laborer who travels in his pickup truck trying to find work with little success, or, even if he finds work, he is standing around waiting until the job materializes.
At the end of the parable when the landowner pays the wages, the Hispanic congregation applauds when the laborers who worked for only one hour get paid a full day's pay. They are not confused by this, but understand that the people looking for work and who have been waiting for work need a day's pay to survive. They rejoice, then, at the grace that is not contrary to justice, but that flows with justice. They are paid what they need and deserve rather than the wages they might have been paid had society's concept of justice prevailed.
Helmut Thielicke ends his sermon on this parable with these two points: "First, you will never be able to see the goodness of God with a jealous eye ... . Second, this saving certainty - it really does have to do with salvation! - that God is good, that he is good to me, enters into my heart only if I trust that he cares for his children beyond all that we ask or think and that I, too, am safe and secure in his goodness."
In the church, we're all co-workers. And we all receive exactly what is right, from a God who's notoriously generous and lavish.
Today’s Lectionary Readings
Morning: Psalms 34; 146
Evening: Psalms 25; 91
Jeremiah 17:19–27
Romans 7:13–25
John 6:16–27
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