"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the labourers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. When he went out again about noon and three o'clock, he did the same. And about five o'clock he went out and found others standing around; and He said to them, 'Why are you standing here idle all day?' They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' And He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard.' When evening came the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the labourers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.' When those hired about five o'clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came they thought they should receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it them grumbled against the landowner, saying, 'These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat. But he replied to one of them, 'Friend I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 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."
This is the Word of the Lord,
Thanks be to God.
This parable plunges us into the upside down kingdom of God where the last are first, where our feeble understanding of work and reward is thrown out, where the younger son who returns home after spending his inheritance is given a feast and a seat beside his father. Meanwhile the older son, the rule follower, who has worked hard and been faithful complains; he can't see that his faithfulness is its own reward, he wants further compensation for being good or maybe just for being better. Just like the workers in the vineyard who worked longer or endured the heat of the day and also complain for not getting more than those who came after them. It challenges our sense of what is fair and it dismantles the competitive world of winners and losers.
This parable gets to some very human realities: our tendency to grumble and complain, to see what we don't have instead of what we do have. It identifies the problem of envy, our blinding pride, our sense of entitlement. We know these feelings and the kids do too. "She got new runners and I got hand me downs. Why is her portion bigger than mine? Why does he get to stay up later? Why do I have clean up more and get the same number of points for it? It's not fair!" Maybe if you are a parent you have some classic lines: "Life isn't fair. Get over it! Get over yourself! Fair does not mean equal. Be grateful!" Grumbling and complaining in kids drives us crazy: "Who do they think they are? Why can't they see what they have? They have no idea how lucky they are!" And yet, I am not always above it. Too easily my pride is wounded. When my efforts go unnoticed and unappreciated I am offended - I want some kind of further compensation, some kind of acknowledgement. I was handing out exclusive invitations to my pity party last week and found myself embarrassed by my own immaturity. I discovered in myself an ingratitude for God's generosity and mercy towards me; a denial of his love and forgiveness. I found myself holding on and grumbling instead of letting go and giving thanks.
I don't know about you but, I find this parable compelling because through it we glimpse a greater perspective on justice, one goes that beyond what is equal or fair, to what is restorative and generous. Jesus takes the complaint about wage and he asks us to consider the bigger question: What is harder - working in the scorching heat, or not having work? He asks us to remember two things about the owner of the vineyard: firstly, he did what he said he was going to do, he paid the agreed upon wage and secondly, he is the owner, he retains the right to be generous. The workers are rebuffed from a strong sense of entitlement to what they believe is rightfully theirs and are reminded of who they are in relationship to the owner and that they too have received His generosity.
For me this parable hits close to home because the stories of people who are unemployed, underemployed and unable to work have been a part of the conversations in our home for many years. 'Hanging idly about in the marketplace' is a painful experience that influences our identity and our sense of self worth. One can feel overlooked and unwanted, devastated by loss of work and the feeling that they do not possess value. The days are long, there is a lot of time to think and perseverate in which the temptation to despair is great and the work of staying mentally disciplined is rigorous. This parable helps us to see work as a gift. Those who went into the field first are blessed. They had the whole day to put their mind and bodies to something productive that earned them their daily bread. They were even able to agree on a wage with the owner. Those who went into the field at five o'clock with only an hour left of daylight took the invitation of the landowner without even knowing what the reward for their work would be; they were glad just to be asked. The owner took their shame and exchanged it for honour, he gave to them first though they came last, he took what was considered to be inferior and made it equal. And all had enough.
We can think back to other stories in scripture in which we discover God providing enough: manna in the desert, water into wine, the loaves of bread and fish that feed a crowd. All stories tell of a God who provides and who envisions an alternative economic order that is not based on merit but on grace and generosity. If you have been in the field all day, you have been blessed. If you are called in the eleventh hour, you are blessed.
This is wise teaching for all of us to grapple with. I hope that we will take this story home and continue to turn it over in their minds. Maybe we will find ourselves choosing gratitude over grumbling, maybe we will glimpse generosity of God in our lives. Maybe we will find ourselves thinking about God's alternative economy and what it might look like to participate in this economy in Edmonton and/or maybe we can share stories of the kingdom of God amongst us.
May God be with us all as we spend time in his word and teach the children this week.
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