Exodus 16:2-15
Philippians 1:21-30 Matthew
20:1-16
What do you call a group of birds? A flock. What do you call a
group of whales? A pod. What do you call a group of wolves? A pack. What do you
call a group of sheep? A heard. What do you call a group of alligators? A
congregation. What do you call a group of Presbyterians?
That last one was a trick question. The answer is that it
depends on the location. If we are gathered in our Sanctuary, then it’s the
congregation at FPC. If we’re not, then we’re just the church, or followers of
Jesus, or believers in God. I have one more question for you. Who is the head
of the Presbyterian Church (USA)? Jesus Christ is the head of the Church, and
we are part of the body of Christ.
I say all of that to acknowledge that, particularly in our
scripture readings today, location is an important part of understanding. Yet,
at the same time, there are some truths that do not change no matter where you
stand or sit or move about. By location I mean two different things. I mean the
physical and historical reality in the reading, and I mean the place in your
life where you have received these readings today.
For the Israelites, they were physically in a no man’s land. They
were free from the whips of slavery, but they were also free from the
provisions of basic necessities. They were in a state of anxiety and
desperation, and they cried out to God as a people who had nothing left to lose
but their lives.
Paul, on the other hand, seemed downright cheery to be facing
death, as though it were a friend rather than an enemy. He had nothing left to
lose, but he also knew that he would soon gain the only thing that had meaning
to him – to be in the presence of God through the faithfulness of Jesus. In fact,
Paul wanted the Christians at Philippi to know that the love of God revealed
through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus was at the center of all
things. He wanted them to know that they, in a city bathed in the wealth and
power of Rome, had a special role in proclaiming Jesus, and not the Caesar, as
Lord. When Paul wrote, “since you are having the same struggle that you saw I
had,” he was acknowledging their lack of power as a good thing. It was a way to
prove that they knew what he had been through, and that they were on the right
track. You know, kind of in that vein of thought that says, “If someone isn’t
mad you might not be doing it right.”
Now, so far you may be picking up on the fact that we’ve been
talking about those characters in the drama of scripture who are on the ropes
with nothing left to lose, and their’s one more I want to explore – the
laborers in the vineyard. We don’t know anything about their story other than
the fact that they are day laborers.
They are part of the new economy under Rome that is different
from the Old Testament ways of Sabbath keeping, and the forgiveness of debt,
and landed families that married between tribes. They did have foreign slaves,
but they were treated as members of the household with specific roles to play.
So, we know that under Rome there were more day laborers, and all we know about
the ones hired later in the day is that they had not yet been hired. They, like
the others, had no more power before they were hired than after.
But what about those on the other side of the denarius – the
ones with everything to lose? I mention them because they are in the backdrop
of this parable of Jesus. In chapter 19, a rich young man comes to Jesus saying
that he has fulfilled all the commandments and wants to know what else he has
to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus tells him to sell all he has, give it to
the poor, and follow him. Then he says that anyone who does that will enter
heaven, but the last shall be first and the first shall be last. Then he goes
on to tell this parable about the reign of heaven that involves equal pay for
unequal work and follows it with, “So, the last shall be first and the first
shall be last.” Clear as a bell, right?
I think that the problem most of us have with this is that we
live in a world based on accumulation or scarcity, and value is placed on a
person by what they do. This parable was told to people that lived in a world
where some may profit more than others, but it was usually at the expense of
someone else and all under the thumb of Rome.
There is yet an unchanging thread in all of this, and that is – of
course – the active presence of God and the economy of God’s kingdom. In God’s kingdom,
the people cry out and God responds. In God’s kingdom, the economy is built on
sufficiency and equity –there is enough for everyone – and it moves toward
Sabbath rest. In God’s kingdom, grace and mercy are poured out in a way that is
entirely unfair but essentially just and right.
Throughout the scriptures justice and righteousness are always
hand in hand, and in God’s kingdom we are not moved so much by what is good for
ourselves as by what reflects the heart of God in our work together!
So, we, as God’s agents in the world; as land owners; as
co-conspirators with Christ, we must be willing to listen for those who are
crying out today. That’s what we are about in our work with the PDA and
Rebuilding Together Acadiana, because there are still over 600 homes on the
list. That’s what we’re doing with CUPS, and Meals on Wheels, and the Wesley,
and Family Promise, and the Okra Abbey, and the Young Adult Volunteer Program,
and all the ministries of our Presbytery and denomination!
But we can’t stop there. We can’t stop listening. We can’t just
turn off the love of God, for it is always expanding, and we must continue to
place ourselves in the center of it – for this love is the unchanging truth
amongst all perspectives. Being grounded in God’s love is the location that
gives us the understanding that we need when we talk about issues like just
compensation or food scarcity or gender inequality in pay.
Maybe we have to sit in someone else’s seat from time to time – like
in my undergrad sociology class. I remember the teacher daring us to sit in
different places in our other classes to get a different perspective and to see
how quickly people revert to grade school when someone sits in their seat (or
dare I say, pew).
Regardless of how we get there, Paul reminds us that we must
live a life worthy of the gospel by striving side by side to live out the love
of God. For the reign of heaven is like this – a flawed person, like you or me,
became able to make decisions that constantly included and equally valued
others. And we will know that we are doing it right – that we are living as
citizens of the kingdom that is to come – when others come out in force against
us for doing that.
Now, I have to say that I don’t believe that God wants us to
suffer. And there is plenty of suffering in the world that has nothing to do
with standing up for the gospel. In Paul’s case, he did suffer for the gospel,
but in ours we have to careful about inventing suffering when people disagree with
us. The truth is that we can all be a little like the all-day laborers who
resent the three-hour laborers for getting only what they needed for that day.
The deeper truth in this parable is that the last go first. That
means that the ones who came first have the privilege of standing aside to
demonstrate how amazing the grace of God can be in the lives who have only
recently come to faith. Or, you might say that we who have had greater
opportunities might rejoice when one who has not is still taken care of.
Our friend Marilyn over at CUPS said it this way when we talked
the other day about disaster recovery. You know we do flood disaster, but she
deals with the disaster of poverty all the time. Anyway, she said, “I think
that in all of these storms and disasters, God is telling us that we have to
rely on each other. We actually have to love one another the way that we should
have been all along.”
The good news is that God’s providence is with us, God’s promise
of salvation through Jesus is sure, and we have each other to turn to; to
strive with; and to encourage so that all that we do and say might be to glory
of God! Amen.
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