Matthew 20:1-16
1 "For the kingdom of heaven
is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his
vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent
them into his vineyard. 3 When he went out about nine o'clock, he saw others
standing idle in the marketplace; 4 and he said to them, "You also go into
the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. 5 When he
went out again about noon and about three o'clock, he did the same. 6 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?' 7 They said to him,
"Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, "You also go into the
vineyard.' 8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager,
"Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and
then going to the first.' 9 When those hired about five o'clock came, each of
them received the usual daily wage. 10 Now when the first came, they thought
they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage.
11 And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12 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.' 13 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? 14 Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give
to this last the same as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose
with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?' 16 So the
last will be first, and the first will be last."
The kingdom of God is for everyone.
That’s simple enough, right? The kingdom of God isn’t closed to anyone; no one
is outside the reach of God’s love, and no one is kept from inclusion in God’s
kingdom. We’ve heard that all before, and we rejoice in it. “Amazing grace, how
sweet the sound that saved a wretch
like me…” We’re glad God’s kingdom is for everyone, that it is for
“whosever,” for as that old gospel hymn says, “whosoever surely meaneth me.”
The wonders and riches of God’s grace are to be praised and glorified as it
goes so far as to save even a sinner like me! We celebrate the love of Christ,
the grace of God, the calling of the Holy Spirit when it penetrates our hearts,
when it calls us out of the bondage of sin, and into the liberation of
salvation. It’s a wonderful thought, to think of how, despite my sin, Jesus still loves me; God still calls me into that divine fellowship
and eternal communion. Oh, what a joy to know that God loves me.
But…
when that same grace, that same love seems to reach just a little lower…when
that same joy is given to someone I’m pretty sure I’m better than…when that
same salvation is freely given to someone else who isn’t nearly as pious as me,
who lives a more “sinful lifestyle” than me, who doesn’t read their Bible, go
to church, or pray as much as me…when the same God who loves me, loves those beneath me, those who came late
to the party, those who don’t work as much as me, those who don’t give as much
as me…well…I’m not so anxious to sing “Amazing Grace” anymore. In fact, I want
to look up the root of the word “whosoever” and see if there actually might be
an exception or two.
You see, it’s been my experience that we too often seem to be
conveniently ignorant of our own privileges and the grace which has been
extended to us. We tend to want every advantage, every grace, every possible
break, any leg up we can get, but we hardly ever want that for someone else,
especially someone we have judged to be “below” us. I’ve found this to be true
whether it’s something like financial assistance for college or something as
trivial as a pick-up game of basketball: we want every advantage, and we
certainly don’t want anyone else to have even so much as a head start.
Of course, it’s not just about advantages and grace; more often than not,
this reality plays out in the way we insist on controlling even those things
which are not ours to control, in the ways we try to write our own rules for
things which were gifts given to us in the first place. When someone who hasn’t
invested as much as we have, someone who hasn’t worked as hard, someone who
hasn’t given as much, someone who hasn’t “paid their dues,” someone we don’t
like gets the same privileges, the same payment, the same grace that we have
received, we cry out, “That’s not fair!” But grace isn’t fair. Love isn’t fair.
I think we’ve forgotten that. I think we’ve allowed ourselves to be
coaxed into thinking that all that really matters is “what’s in it for me,” and
I’m afraid the Church has to confess that it’s played a pretty big role in
creating such an attitude, especially among its members.
I think about the young family that shows up at the big church in town,
baby in one arm and a toddler pulling on the other. They want to join the
church, but first they want to know what’s in it for them. The pastor says,
“Well we’ve got a nice, new children’s wing—state-of-the-art. Just pull your
car up to the door under the covered driveway and a staff member will retrieve
your child and give you a pager, so you can join your friends at the coffee
shop across town. You don’t even have to get out of the car!” Or the young man
who expresses his desire to me a part of a local congregation, and someone says
to him, “You’ll love our church. We’ve got the best singles’ ministry in the
county. We have a higher success rate in matching couples than eHarmony,
match.com, AND farmersonly.com!” Or how about this: “What’s that you say?
You’re into fitness and exercise? Well, we’ve got the latest work out equipment
in our church gymnasium: elliptical machines, stair climbers, treadmills,
free-weights, a walking track—and all of that is free to members of our
church!” Or, “If you like good music, we’ve got the best praise band in the
country; our worship leader is known around the world (you can buy his CDs in
the church coffee shop)…if you like to hear words that will ‘bless your heart’
then you’ll love our pastor. He always preaches sermons that make you feel
better about yourself, and he always has the best smile, the sharpest suits,
and the best haircut!”
You think I’m kidding? The truth is churches have created an environment
of congregational entitlement. For many, this is simply understood as the
ministries provided by the church, the “perks” of church membership, but for
others, this sort of constant appeasement has created a sense of power and
control, as the church has continually said, “Whatever you want, you can have.”
This is most dangerous to the life of a congregation when someone sees
themselves and their preferences as more important than others because of their
self-made “rank” in the church. They’ve forgotten the teaching of Jesus—the
hard teaching from the parable before us this morning: it’s not about what’s in
it for you, about what you can get, about an exchange of influence for money or
time. It’s not about what’s fair, because grace isn’t fair.
This is one of what I refer to as Jesus’ “frustrating parables.” There
are those familiar parables that we like because they at least make some sense.
There’s the parable of the Good Samaritan: the story of a man who is helped by
the last person you’d expect, by the racial outcast, and we are told in that
story what it means to be a good neighbor. That’s an easy parable to hear, an
easy one to preach most of the time. Then there’s the parable of the Prodigal
Son, a story about a son, a brother, who takes his father’s inheritance and
blows it all with fast, sinful living, yet the father welcomes him back with
joy and a party. That’s a good parable; that seems to be a better parable for a
day like today when we celebrate our fathers. Of course there are also those
short, simple parables about lost sheep and lost coins and how there is much
rejoicing when they’re found, just as there is much rejoicing when one sinner is
found and restored to salvation. But this parable…this parable is frustrating
because, well, because it just isn’t fair.
A man needs to hire some workers, so he goes out in the morning and hires
some day laborers. He agrees to pay them the fair wage, so they hop in the
truck and off to work they go. Well, at lunchtime, the boss realizes he needs
more help, so he goes back and hires some more workers. When it’s time for the
afternoon coffee and smoke break, the boss looks around and realizes he’s not
going to get everything done before dark, so he goes back two more times and
hires some more workers. When the whistle blows and payday comes, all the
workers are paid the same thing, whether they clocked in at nine in the morning
or at five in the afternoon. Of course, those who were hired first complained
that it wasn’t fair that those who had only worked a few hours got paid the
same as those who labored all day in the field—and they’re right. It’s not
fair. But grace isn’t fair. Love isn’t fair
You see, that’s a comforting thought when love’s imbalance tips the
scales in our favor, when we’re let off the hook for our ignorance and sin, but
when love’s inequity favors others
who don’t deserve it…well…that’s not right! It’s the last line of this parable
that peels back the veneer of our piety, that exposes the truth of our
selfishness and our claims of superiority: “So the last will be first, and
the first will be last." That’s what the kingdom of God is like.
Just when you think you’ve earned the top spot, right when you think you’ve
worked hard enough to hold the most influence, just when you think you’ve given
enough money to pay for a spot on the board, Jesus says, “the last will be first, and the
first will be last." That’s not fair!
When you approach church membership with the attitude of “What’s in it
for me?,” the implication is that there ought to be some transaction, some
exchange of your membership, your presence, your giving, for benefits, whether
those benefits are programs that suit you, your control of committees, or even
your preferences for worship. But the
truth is, being a church member means you don’t ask “What’s in it for me?”
Rather, it means asking “What can I do to serve?” Being a church member means
being last even though you may “deserve” to be first. Being a church member
means laboring for the Lord and when payday comes, understanding that it won’t
be fair. Being a church member is about working for the Kingdom of God,
striving for justice, longing for peace, praying for reconciliation, loving
everyone, inviting all to the banquet table, and doing it all without the
selfish thought of getting something in return. That’s hard. That’s not fair.
But grace isn’t fair. Love isn’t fair. I thank God that it isn’t, because the
truth is I can work harder than anybody, give more than everybody, show up when
there’s no one else around, and still
not earn the grace and love of Christ. Thank God grace isn’t fair. Thank God
love isn’t fair. Thank God “the last will be first, and the first will
be last,” because that means we’ll still get to be in line. Amen.
