That isn't fair...
He has a larger piece of pie than me....
She was given more presents than me...
They earn more, they have more fun, he has more friends...
I want what they have, I want more, deserve more, need more....
How many times have we heard complaints like that, I can certainly remember making sure that everyone received the same amount of cake, or at least as far as I could make it, budgets were set for birthdays and Christmas and gifts given accordingly, in fact they still are. There is something intrinsically right in fairness, I suspect that, that is why we have a tendency, if we are honest to feel for those who had worked all day in the vineyard, surely they deserved a greater reward, surely the vineyard owner wasn't being fair...
But just stop and ask yourself the question what is fair...
The vineyard owner in Jesus parable had gone out to hire workers at the beginning of the day, those who were gathered were hired, and were happy at that point with the days pay that was being offered to them. They hadn't questioned it, it was a fair days wage, what they would have expected, and what they needed to feed themselves and their families. In short IT WAS FAIR!
It was fair, it only became unfair when expectations were raised as the last workers were also paid a days wage for an hours work, suddenly hopes were raised, greed made an entry, then hopes were dashed and greed turned to envy. It is not fair!
Put yourself in the workers shoes; watching the later workers receive their pay and suddenly the world centres on you, you had been happy with a days pay, but when you saw that they were given a days pay, you knew you deserved more!
The workers grumble, and the vineyard owner in Jesus parable is confronted; just listen to his response; "Are you envious because I am generous?"
What craziness is this? How could those lazy workers be worth a days pay?
This says Jesus is the great reversal, many of the first shall be last, and the last first...
We listen to what we've been taught so many times, and the penny drops, the way to earn our salvation, our rightful place in the kingdom of heaven is of course to give ourselves away, to put everyone else first, to work hard and to do so much good that in the end we will have a great pile of richess in heaven to enjoy for all eternity....
It will all be fair in the end....
Clunk, the penny bounces as we turn the great reversal back on it's head, and once more we've made the whole story about how much we can get and somehow we've missed the point again.
Let's turn our gaze then from the workers to the vineyard owner...
At the beginning of the day he gathered a group of workers, surely being a good and sensible landowner he would have hired enough men to work his land for the day, and when he gathered them they were content. Yet something drove him back again and again to the town square where those waiting for work waited hopefully, each time he gathered more workers together, bringing them to join the workers in his field.
He didn't go back just once either, he went back again and again, 4 times in all, each time drawing more in, and at the end of the day all were given a fair days wage.
All were given a fair days wage, all were treated equally no matter how long they had laboured, in the economy of the vineyard owner all were worth the same...
Here then is the challenge in an unfair world...
Let me take you to another teaching of Jesus; we find him surrounded by Pharisees and Sadducees asking question after question, what is right what is wrong?... who is in, who is out? At last they come to the question about the greatest commandment, and Jesus response is this:
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
Who then is my neighbour? Do I really question what they are worth?
Let me tell you a modern day true story; Lynn, our Comfort Zone Chaplain was asked a couple of weeks ago what we needed in the way of ladies clothing to give out; among the items on her list was ladies underwear.
A few days later she received a phone call, the group had thought about her requests but were uncomfortable with the thought of giving out secondhand underwear. Lynn suggested this was not her intent when asking, the response from this very well heeled group was astonishing...
"Oh we won't be buying new!"
In short, they are not worth it!
They are not worth it, we might be worthy of new underwear, yet whilst it does not seem right to give second hand, "we won't be buying new"...
Now listen again to the vineyard owner;
"Are you envious because I sm generous?" Are you angry because in my economy everyone deserves a fair days wage, all need to eat, and all are treated equally? Are you angry because I value these last ones as highly as I value you?
Do you love yourself so little that you are unable to love and rejoice with your neighbour that you all have enough? Do you understand so little of the love that gives of itself to you that you want to grumble about fairness?
In a world that is unjust, the radical grace and fairness of God seems crazy, in a world where we are too often valued by what we have and not for who we are the apparent unfairness of the vineyard owner in Jesus parable is challenging, and even upsetting...
Yet if we could catch hold of the heart of radical grace that goes back and back, drawing in the workers, back even at the end of the day to bring in those waiting hopefully for the meagre wage of an hours work that would be better than nothing, and dare we say it, even to those who might have sauntered into the square at the last hour just in case there was some work to be had...
... and all are counted worthy, and all are given enough, a fair days wage...
For all are gathered in and loved and celebrated... this is grace, and fairness pales in comparrison!
So the question is will we choose to be like the vineyard owner who chooses to value all and to give freely, will we choose to follow Christ who gave himself away pouring out his life on the cross, and his life into our lives when we dare to receive the Spirit who calls us into radical grace, who calls us to see through the eyes of God who knows and loves us? Will we dare to give ourselves away, to store our treasure in heaven not for ourselves, but because that is where true treasure, treasure of the heart, is stored?
Or will we choose to turn in on ourselves, and be wrapped up in ourselves, our wants, our desires? As my wise 104 year old friend points out; those wrapped up in themselves make small parcels...
The choice is ours, will we participate in the generosity and grace of God....
In the words of St Francis; " it is in giving that we receive, and in dying that we're born to eternal life..."
Image Hidden; (In Christ) mine
