First Reading Jonah 3:10—4:11
Chapter 3 10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.
Chapter 4 1 But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. 3 And now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 And the LORD said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” 5 Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city. 6 The Lord GOD appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his
discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. 7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” 9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” 10 Then the LORD said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”
Psalm Psalm 145:1–8
1 I will exalt you, my God and king, and bless your name forever and ever. 2 Every day will I bless you and praise your name forever and ever. 3 Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised! There is no end to your greatness. 4 One generation shall praise your works
to another and shall declare your power. 5 I will speak of the glorious splendor of your
majesty and all your | marvelous works. 6 They shall tell of the might of your wondrous acts, and I will recount your greatness. 7 They shall publish the remembrance
of your great goodness; they shall sing joyfully of your righteousness. 8 The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Second Reading Philippians 1:21–30
21 For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. 23 I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; 24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. 25 Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, 26 so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again. 27 Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am
absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, 28 and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God’s doing. 29 For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well — 30 since you are having the same
struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
Gospel 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.”
God ain’t Fair.
In an old “Family Circus” comic strip we see the two boys, Jeff and Billy, squabbling over the size of the slices of pie their mom has placed before them. “They aren’t the same,” Jeff pouts. Mom tries again, evening-up the slices. Still Jeff is upset. “They still aren’t the same!” he whines. This time Mom uses a ruler and absolutely proves that both slices of pie are the exact same size. “But Mom,” Jeff complains, “I want mine to be just like Billy’s . . . only bigger!” We all tend to think we deserve a bigger slice of the pie, don’t we? From the time we were little children, we were taught that doing more is worth more. What reinforces this tendency to think we deserve a bigger slice of the pie, is the hierarchical nature of how we were created and live.
From the beginning God created with a structure in mind. In the beginning God made the heavens and the earth, then He created humankind to take care of His creation. We were made to be in communion with God, with God as our supreme benefactor. God
also made the angels and the hosts of Heaven in order to take care of God’s commands and wishes. And all creation shares a common theme, God is the head and we serve Him. Even the Psalmist echoes this when he says we were created a little less than God. And
of course it was when Adam and Eve were tempted to make themselves equal to God,
that sin and corruption entered the world. And because of sin, it’s our desire to be the same or better than someone else that feeds or compounds the hierarchical nature of the world we live in.
Look at any organization and you’ll see a structure. Companies of any size will have a Chief Executive Officer or CEO. Under the CEO is the president, under the president are the vice-presidents and then comes the General Manager, the mid-level managers, supervisors and then the workers. And even within the worker class, there’s a hierarchy based in most cases on seniority. Seen even more clearly in military and para-military agencies like the FBI and police departments, you find rank structures. But this is just a few examples from our adult lives. We can trace this entitlement or hierarchical structure back even to our childhood.
How many of us received an allowance as a child? For many of us it was that weekly “reward” for doing the chores that were our responsibility? If so, you probably had your allowance and the amount of work you did to “earn” that allowance, go up as your age did. If a five year old were to get a dollar for picking up their toys and clothes, than it make sense that an eight year old should get five dollars for feeding the dog, emptying the garbage, and vacuuming the living room. Conversely, it also make sense that a twelve
year old should get considerably more for mowing the lawn, doing some laundry,
watching younger siblings, and cleaning the garage. This isn’t a bad thing, chores and allowances teach children that in this world’s economy, we have to do work in order to
receive our “rewards.” We want our kids to learn and to live the adage, “Hard work pays off.” But this doesn’t always happen.
More and more it seems that the lesson people learn is not that “hard work pays
off”, its somehow perceived as “you owe me” or society somehow owes its members
something for nothing. Somehow the message Paul was trying to communicate in II Thessalonians 3:10 that those who won’t work shouldn’t eat, is somehow reinterpreted to say that because of a perceived situation, society owes me, and all those who follow me, a
living. Whether I put forth an effort to contribute to society or not, society is expected to care for me and my family. It’s an entitlement mentality that says that someone else gets such and such, so I deserve at least that much and possibly even more. I deserve more
because I found a loophole in another program. And what compounds this entitlement attitude is that politics get involved.
Our elected officials know that people vote. They are especially motivated to exercise this right when their wallet and wellbeing are involved. So we have allowed a sub-society of dependent people to be created who are dependent on society for their day to day needs who continue to vote for those who will give them more. In essence the politicians are buying votes with tax payer money. Now I need to be extremely careful and clear here. I firmly believe that as a “kinder and gentler nation” we need to take care of those who can’t care for themselves. There are those in our society, who through no fault of their own, are unable to care for themselves and we need to care for them. My concern is for those who are able, but refuse because they feel entitled. They’ve taken God’s message of grace and turned it into a socialistic societal mandate. They confuse God’s perfect plan filled with love and the sin riddled reality of this world. It’s the reality
of being self-centered that distorts the idea of fairness.
And this altered notion of fairness seems to seek us out and find us early in life. Life should be fair; you know, an eye for and eye, a tooth for a tooth. At some level, we all find this notion of fairness comforting, if for no other reason than the basic self-centeredness
that lurks within us that says, if I get punished, so should someone else! Or, if someone else’s child gets a scholarship, why shouldn’t mine?” The problem is, self-centeredness does not find room for grace. It doesn’t easily celebrate the good fortunes of others. It doesn’t work very hard, if at all, in feeling the joy that comes to others who receive something without working for it, paying for it or deserving it like we have. The notion of the laborers in the vineyard who all receive the same pay regardless of how long they worked seems outrageous, even stupid. But Jesus pays no attention to our logic. The Kingdom of Heaven—the reality He prayed would come to earth, as it is in heaven-seeks
to live by grace, abundance and the will of the Father. Even if or when someone gets blessed without our approval.
That’s why the parable in today’s gospel text is so unsettling. It’s much
easier for us to identify with the grumbling guys who worked sunup to sundown,
through the heat of the day, and then watched in amazement as the slackers, who
worked for one measly hour, in the cool of the approaching evening no less, got
paid a full day’s wage. Of course the full day worker expects more. It’s an
issue of what’s fair. It only makes sensed that the full day worker should get more. The presentence is set. More work should equal more wages. ”Hard work pays off.” If one hour’s worth of work equals one denarii, then 12 hours’ worth of work equals 12 denarii. It’s simple math.
But it doesn’t. Not in Jesus’ story of the kingdom. Instead, those who worked 6 am to 6pm, got the same dusty denarii that the 5pm-6pm workers got. How in this world is that fair? In our human-centric minds it’s not. But Jesus’ parable is not about the human
category of “fairness.” It’s about the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom that is wholly under God’s rule. And I hate to break it to you, but God isn’t always “fair”. And our first reaction
should be thank God! We need to stop and thank our Heavenly Father that He isn’t fair. The God we serve who rules heaven and earth is the God of justice and mercy, not a God of “fair and equitable.”
In the hands of the God of justice we know that we should never doubt God’s word, or be at the impulsive whims of some all-powerful deity. For the early Christians, an unflinching God of justice was a far cry from the scheming, dreaming, self-absorbed, moody gods and goddesses of the pagan pantheon that ruled in the first century. But an unflinchingly God of justice leaves all of us still in “the marketplace,” still out of work, out of luck, and outside the vineyard that is God’s kingdom, at the “eleventh hour.”
Our life-training in the “equality” of human economics leads us to identify with those who labored in the vineyard all day long and cried “foul”, when generosity got bestowed on the late-comers. The truth is, we should be identifying with those marketplace mopes still hanging out without hope at 5pm. Fallen humanity has no place to go at the close of the day.
The “selection” of workers in Jesus’ parable is as unpredictable as life itself. Although we may proudly assert that all people are born equal, there is no denying that we are not all equally born. Some of us are born into money and comfort, but many more of us are not. Some of us are born with the grace and strength of athletes, but many are not. Some of us are born with physical disabilities that make every day a championship challenge. Some of us have intellects that stretch and soar, many of us do not. Some of us have minds with holes and hurts. Some of us get “picked” on that first round through the marketplace, but many of us do not. In fact, any one of us, may suddenly find ourselves alone and unclaimed at some eleventh hour of our lives.
That’s why all of us could find ourselves as eleventh hour people. And as such, we’re grateful for the enduring promises and presence of a just God. And at the same time we find we’re dependent upon the compassion and generosity of a merciful God. And just as the idea of fairness runs counter to natural human thought, so does the issue of mercy.
Interestingly, mercy is a uniquely Christian “virtue.” Neither the Greeks nor the Romans saw “mercifulness” as a quality worthy of “virtue” status. And while God’s mercy was poured out upon Israel countless times, the rules of the Torah tempered and tethered the extent of merciful actions Judaism acknowledged.
In Christianity, in the presence of Christ’s sacrifice, in the shadow of the cross, mercy became not a weakness, not an exceptional event. Mercy became a strength and signpost. The word which we translate as “sin” is hamartia. It literally means “missing the mark.” Can anyone here say that they hit the bulls-eyes every time? How many of us score a direct hit every time? When we miss the mark, mercy is not an option. Mercy is an imperative. God is just. God is merciful. Both qualities define the all-powerful, the absolute nature of God.
This of course reminds me of the story of a woman who sat for a portrait painting of herself. When the artist finally completed his work and showed it to her, the woman was upset. She didn’t like what she saw. The artist defended the accuracy of his work by declaring to the woman that everyone he had showed the portrait to had said that it did her justice. The woman retorted, “I’m not looking for justice. I’m looking for mercy.”
In Jesus’ own earthly “eleventh hour” it was mercy that reigned. And it
still riles us. As Jesus hung on the cross, despite the defection of His disciples, He still had companions. On either side of him, suffering on their own crosses, two convicted thieves were Jesus’ Golgotha neighbors. One taunted and dismissed Him. But the other admitted he was getting what he deserved. In contrition he asked Jesus to “remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). Jesus promised that crucified criminal, that
“eleventh hour” convert, “today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). The last human being to speak with the earthly Jesus was a convicted criminal. Our world centric, fairness-minded nature quickly asks, why should that thief be offered a “get out of jail free” card? Why should an executed criminal get a carte blanch clean slate, at the last possible moment?
Jesus’ Golgotha site mate, is the poster boy for “death-bed confessions.” And
yet despite the fact that this charged, convicted and sentenced public enemy is
getting what he deserves, Jesus extends to this man, the fullness of God’s
mercy. Jesus promises this crucified thief, this last-hour-faith-follower, that he would be the first to enter into Paradise with Him. And the thought of this rankles our worldly, fairness minded, hierarchical nature.
The eleventh hour laborers, the thief on the cross, the Prodigal Son who deserved nothing, yet received the fatted calf, a golden ring, and his father’s love, they’re all examples of God’s kingdom. They’re all testimonies to the strength and power of God’s justice and God’s mercy.
Wendy Porter is a singer and songwriter, as well as a professor at McMaster Divinity College in Canada. She’s written a number of incredible songs, but one of her best is called “God of Mercy.” The words of the song are this:
God of justice, we have seen your fiery blaze, God of justice, we are fearful of your ways, but God of mercy, have mercy, and don’t turn us away.
God of power, all creation knows your fame, God of power, how we tremble at your name, but God of mercy, have mercy, and hear us as we pray.
God of glory, we have seen you from afar, God of glory, you have shown how great you are, but God of mercy, have mercy, and meet us in this place.
God of wonder, all of heaven sings your praise, God of wonder, earth and sky your will obeys, but God of mercy, have mercy, and touch us with your grace.
The bottom line for us today is that we must realize that God isn’t fair and that’s
good news for everyone who believes. If God were fair, none of us would ever be able to satisfy the debt that sin demands. But because God is merciful, all those who believe will share in the eternal reign of God; no matter when we enter the field. Whether we’re chosen at the first hour or the eleventh hour, we all have a reward coming! God’s mercy doesn’t see the way the world sees. It’s not about what’s fair, it’s about God’s love and mercy. Salvation and eternal life isn’t something we earn, it’s God’s gift to give. And as one of the latter laborers invited in to do God’s work, I thank God for His perfect love and never ending mercy, for I too will receive the same reward; eternal life in the presence of God.
Amen.
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