FIRST AND LAST THINGS

Text: Matthew 20:1-16


This parable of Jesus is probably the most controversial of his stories. As he does with many of his other parables, he begins with “…the kingdom of heaven is like….” So we know he’s telling us how God operates. To start with, the setting for the parable is a vineyard, which is frequently used in the Bible as an image for God’s kingdom. And then he launches into this story about the workers in the vineyard, how some work 12 hours, some work nine hours, some work six hours, some work three hours, and some work one hour. And this is the catch – all of them get paid a full day’s wage. How can that be fair? And that’s exactly what the workers say who put in a full day. They grumble and complain to the owner of the vineyard, “These people worked only one hour and you’re paying them the same as we who worked all day in the heat.” In other words, “It’s not fair.” And they’re right; it’s not fair. What does Jesus say? “You received what we agreed upon – a full day’s wage. I choose to pay the others the same. Do you mind my being generous?” But of course, in their way of thinking, they have been wronged.

Wouldn’t we also agree that they have been wronged? Equal treatment, a day’s pay for a day’s work, fair’s fair, democratic principles…and all that. Fairness is a good principle. But sometimes another value supersedes fairness. In this case, generosity takes priority. Besides, as Jesus says, are those who worked longer hours hurt by the fact that others receive the same for less labour? Not really; they got what they bargained for. Being practical, perhaps those who worked one hour had stood around all day waiting for work and needed the full day’s wages in order to eat for a day. Nobody suggests that the wages were more than subsistence. So in that sense, perhaps Jesus was being fair – to make sure that each worker was able to eat an evening meal, maybe the only food he got that day.
If that is the case, we can say that whereas a superficial reading of the text suggests that Jesus is not being fair, in actual fact Jesus demonstrates a concern for justice in the matter of poverty and hunger. Is it fair to give food to the hungry even if they haven’t had to work for it? When we think about it, most of us would say yes. We would agree that everyone has a right to eat, even if they can’t work or can’t obtain work. In fact, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has in the last decade made a declaration about the basic human right to food. Each person, they declare, is entitled to access to safe and nutritious food. The World Food Summit, a meeting of nations and agencies, gave a mandate to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to define the rights related to food and to propose ways to implement and realize those rights.

Well, it might be easy to say there go those bleeding heart liberals, whining about giving people rights to things they haven’t worked for. I ask you, did you “work for” your good fortune in being born into a family that fed and cared for you well, and encouraged you to get a good education? Did you “work for” the good genes (G-E-N-E-S), or the good brain, or the good health you inherited? No, I don’t think so. So do you mind if someone else who wasn’t born into a supportive family or who didn’t inherit all those good things gets a bit of a break? When you think about it that way, I imagine you probably don’t mind.

What is this place called the kingdom of heaven that Jesus describes in these parables? In fact, there are ………Parables of the Kingdom, which indicates that it’s something he talked about a lot. First of all, it’s not a place, unless perhaps it’s heaven itself, and when we get there, maybe then we’ll know that it’s a place. On this earth, it’s a state of mind, a way of believing, thinking and acting. It’s also a community of faith, the gathering of believers, the followers of Jesus. And there are things that it is not: it’s not an exclusive club of people who have passed some religious test; it’s not a group of achievers on the moral high road; it’s not the Olympic sport of who can keep the most rules. The Pharisees were the winners at that game, and Jesus condemned them for it.

When it comes right down to it, we understand the kingdom of heaven to be not a place, not a right way of thinking, not an achievement of any person or any group, but it’s a condition of the heart. There is a wonderful chapter in the book of Romans - chapter 10 - where the Apostle Paul outlines the difference between the Law and the Gospel. He says “Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that ‘the person who does these things will live by them.’” That means that if you choose to live by the law – if you insist that keeping the moral and social and religious rules is the way to heaven – you will be judged by those rules, and woe to you if you fail to keep them. But Paul goes on to say, “…the righteousness that comes from faith [that is, the Gospel of Jesus Christ] says ‘The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart.’” (Roman 10:8) In other words, Jesus Christ himself, the Word of God, lives within those who believe – and Jesus described that condition as “the kingdom of heaven…within you.” So don’t be too quick to judge anybody – others or yourself – because you don’t know what is the condition of another person’s heart; if you’re honest, you probably don’t even entirely know the condition of your own heart. Only God knows that, and God isn’t telling anybody. That’s the danger of fundamentalism – that fundamentalists claim to know what’s in God’s mind. I heard a commentary the other day on the religious views of Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska who is the Republican vice-presidential candidate in the American election. There are people who are concerned that her fundamentalist religious views might be a problem if she becomes vice-president, and even more so if John McCain became president and dies in office, because then she will be the President of the most powerful nation on earth – the “leader of the free world”, the commentators said. And someone who has fundamentalist religious views believes they know the mind of God. Such a person takes a dualistic view of the world: that means they believe everything comes down to a conflict between good and evil – “black and white” thinking, you might say. And how does that work out if the leader of the most powerful nation on earth thinks in such simplistic terms? We might well be afraid of that kind of thinking: define the enemy as anyone who doesn’t think like we do, demonize everyone who is not like us, destroy those who oppose us. The commentator said we could be “at war forever” with that kind of leadership. Not a happy prospect.

And on the other hand, we have Jesus the Saviour of the world, who does not make such categorical, simplistic judgments. Instead, in today’s parable we see him as thoughtful, kind, generous and careful about the claims and the rights of others. And that raises a point about human rights. In our day we have so many concerns about an individual’s or a specific group’s human rights that we often disregard that individual’s or specific group’s responsibilities. I don’t think that was Jesus’ concern. He was quick to point out responsibility – and the Christian Gospel, even though it bestows many gifts, given abundantly by God, also bestows huge responsibility – not for earning God’s gifts, because gifts cannot be earned – but for service to others. Jesus concludes this parable with the radical statement “…the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Does that frighten you? Does that sound as if God is into depriving us of everything in this life in order to make us holy? In one sense, yes. God wants us to put material and earthly things in perspective. In another sense, no. God wants to give us all the privileges and benefits of the kingdom of heaven. In the kingdom of heaven, we don’t belong to ourselves; we belong to God. Our lives and our hearts and our energy and our possessions and all that we are and have belong to God. We are servants, with no rights except to serve God and all those others whom God loves. So never mind your “right” to anything; focus on the privilege of serving God and others, and on their “right” to have what they need. God will see that we have what we need to live as people for others.