Did you ever feel jealous or
envious? Have you ever wished that you had something that someone else had? Did
you ever think to yourself “I wish I had that or something like that?” The
current CEO of Apple once said in an interview when asked “what is the next big
thing?” his response was that “the goal of the company was to create something
you didn’t know you needed; but after seeing it or using it you knew you
couldn’t live without it.” That is a very telling statement.
As I began preparing for this week’s
sermon, I read through this Gospel reading several times. I then began to think
about this last portion of the Gospel; it is the part where Jesus uses the land
owner’s statement “are you envious because I am generous?” I started really
thinking about that statement; I thought about it personally because there was
a time when I was really envious. I was envious because there was a group of
people coming into my Lutheran church from other denominations and they were telling
of what they were finding in the Lutheran church what they lacked in their
previous church. I got jealous because I wanted that experience and I could not
experience.
I look back on the questions that I
asked did you ever feel jealous or you wanted something because someone else
had it; new car, new house, winning the lottery…you name it and I bet we have
all wanted something like that at one time or another. These workers in the
vineyard went through a negotiating period with the landowner. They haggled out
a price and they went right into the field. They knew what was going to happen
after that honest day’s work. They had a right to expect what they were going
to get; AND they got exactly what they bargained to get. They got paid! So what
is the problem?
I guess the problem for them is what
happened to everyone else in this parable. The last ones hired got paid first.
I can only imagine the anger that the first hired might be feeling. There was
grumbling (and grumbling means anger) because these people that showed up at
the last minute got to go to the head of the line. That can be a dangerous
place to be in their case. Then they got paid first…a full day’s wage. I bet
the grumbling was more anger and less grumble.
I think we can all relate to that
grumbling and even anger. We know it because we can relate. How many times have
we worked hard for something and yet someone that we know “didn’t seem to pay
their dues” but got promotions, had an easier go of things, or things seemed to
fall into their laps? We see it all the time because it is what we learned in
this world. We have learned that there is a pecking order in doing things. You
start out at the bottom level and the goal is to work your way up the rung of
the ladder of success; and just when you think you’re getting there some person
comes in from the outside and takes what you think is destined to be yours. It
seems like that is the way it turns out in many different aspects of our lives.
What we sometimes fail to see is
that God does not work that way. This parable is telling us that God does not
work that way. While we might see it as the pecking order not being followed,
Jesus tells us through this parable that there IS NO pecking order. Jesus is
telling us that the Kingdom of heaven is like this story of the landowner. All
these workers in the vineyard are valuable. They are important and do important
work in this vineyard…in God’s vineyard. We hear that some work all day, some
work several hours, and some work a very few hours.
These
last workers have been sitting all day “because no one has hired us.” They were
the last to be picked. We could spend a few hours talking about that one, but I
won’t put you through that discussion…maybe another time. Even those last few
workers are valuable to this landowner and doing Good work. What I missed in
the time that I felt jealous is that I was a lifelong Lutheran who walked away
from the church; but they inspired me to look and re-learn at a more mature
age, what it meant to be a Lutheran, to explore my own faith, and realize that
my faith journey was filled with angry moments AND moments that were truly from
God! My experiences weren’t any better or worse than anyone else’s; they were
just different.
So,
if God does not work by this pecking order or hierarchy; whatever we want to
call it. What do we do with it? Embrace it. Allow ourselves to acknowledge the
jealousy but then remember that there was no expectation put on us or our
experiences. Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, came into this world to walk with
and share our experiences. His experience would definitely be different then
our own. Yet he shared and invited us to share his experience and be a witness
to his life, teachings, his crucifixion, death, and resurrection. He invited us
to share the new covenant that was poured out and broken for our sake and for
the forgiveness of our sin.
All
of this was done with no expectation. So you see we are recipients of that same
generosity of that landowner whether we came to know God in our infancy, teen,
or later years. God’s salvation is given to us without a contract. We did not
have to haggle with God or work out some agreement. God invites us to the table
to bring our experiences from the day, week, month, and the year to experience
the God’s ultimate act of grace, forgiveness, love, and mercy. God made a
promise to us all that Jesus Christ would be with us and would save us from our
sin and from ourselves.
Thanks
be to God: AMEN!
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