Enough

Preached at Ellicott and Simla UMCs

Why would he do that? I have many questions for the landowner in the reading from Matthew. First of all: why didn't he just hire all the workers he needed when he went out the first time? Why would he hire workers so late in the day? Why would he pay the workers who were only there for a short period of time a full day's wages? Why would he have the manager pay the workers he hired at the end of the day first? He knew all the other workers would be standing there waiting and so they would see that they got paid the same? And why not save some money and pay those who worked a partial day a partial wage? There does not seem to be much logic to this scenario.

The sensible version of this story might go something like: the landowner went out in the morning, hired his workers for the agreed upon wage of a denarius which is enough to provide a family with food for one day. Later the landowner realized he needed more workers and since these workers had not been out in the hot sun all day he agreed to pay them for the number of hours they did work. No one felt wronged. That seems fair.

But of course as we all know … life is not always fair. As a mother of a three and six year old I often hear the words “that's not fair!” Sometimes it's true. Sometimes things are not fair. At snack time some kids get brownies and candy and others get carrot sticks and grapes. As we grow older we realize that some people get ahead not because of how hard they work or how long they practice but just because of who they are, their name, their status or a lucky break. Some people work grueling, back breaking jobs and make less than others who sit in air-conditioned offices and do little. Good guys don't always finish first. Life is not always fair.

But that isn't exactly what is happening in the story we read today. While you may argue that the actions of the landowner are not even or logical, they are just. The workers who were hired earliest in the day agreed to their wages and they were paid what they agreed to. He paid them a good day's wage and he paid them when the work was complete. All of the workers were paid enough and on time. Maybe they didn't think it was fair, but it was just.

What made the actions of the landowner baffling or illogical was mercy. This parable begins by saying “the kingdom of heaven is like …” and two things we can learn from it are justice and mercy. Even those who came late in the day were given a wage to live on. Those who were not called first, the ones that get there late in the game, the ones who think they will get nothing, are given the same reward. It may not follow logic but it is merciful.

The kingdom of heaven is guided by justice and mercy. This is good news. No one is above anyone else simply because of who they are or where they come from. No one is pushed out for failings, shortcomings and sins. This is hope for all of us who have shortcomings, failings and sins. This is good news for all of us who have been angered by injustice, who have suffered or watched others suffer at the hands of evil and injustice. This is a big sigh of relief for those of us who do not always get it right the first time and need forgiveness and mercy. So why then does it not always feel like good news?

In the story the workers found an employer who will pay them fairly, stick to what they agree to and provide a living for many people and yet they are upset. I think that perhaps the problem is not with the landowner or the manager, but with themselves. It's their own issue. Just like when God chooses to show mercy to others and it defies our sense of logic or what is fair it is not a problem with God's action but rather something within us. Our own inability to accept the abundance of God's grace and the worth of all children of God.

The other day I took my sons to play mini-golf and there was a school bus there. We were behind another family and all around us were groups of very young children from a daycare with caregivers spread out monitoring them. Some of the kids went back and redid holes, some lingered and played with the statues of animals for a while. All the kids got water bottles and snacks and happily played. As they were leaving I heard the family in front of us complaining to the front desk about the kids from the daycare. She didn't understand why they needed water bottles and snacks just to play golf or why they got to redo holes. She was mad that some of the children were running around. As far as I saw the children from the daycare did not disrupt her playing in any way but she was mad at what she felt was unfair.

Sometimes it's mini-golf, sometimes it's a new register opening up when we are paying after we stood in a long line, a bigger scoop of ice cream for another at the same price we paid, sometimes it's seeing another person get a discounted education that we paid full price for or love and forgiveness given to someone who wasn't around for the hard stuff. Sometimes mercy feels unfair.

Right now my three year old is trying to figure this out in his own way. He is struggling with the fact that I also love his brother as much as I love him. Whenever my oldest gets hurt my youngest immediately starts crying and runs to me because he knows I am about to give attention to his brother. The other day I told my oldest that he was “just the sweetest” and then I heard a sad small voice down the hallway say “mommy, why didn't you say I am the sweetest?” And when my oldest was at school my three year old said “Mommy, you love me more than Oscar … right?” I try to explain to him that when I give attention and care to Oscar it does not take away from my love for him. I try to explain that my heart is equally full for both of them. I try to explain that I am a mommy to both of them and will always be. But right now he loves me with his whole heart and the fact that I love someone else as much can make it feel like it isn't reciprocated.

For the earliest audiences of this parable in Matthew, there was a different kind of issue of unfairness happening. There were Jewish Christians, those who were the first to hear the Good News of Christ and then there were Gentile Christians, those who came later to the faith through missionaries and preaching. There were those who had been studying the law and the faith for their entire lives and then there were these new people who did not understand the history and the intricacies. They show up with their strange ways claiming the message of Christ for themselves and believing to have an equal share in God's love and in the kingdom of heaven. It was a problem … not for God … not for the kingdom of heaven, but for those who felt it was not fair.

It touches on so many of our worst parts: jealousy, envy, greed, feeling sorry for ourselves... I for one am guilty of all of these things at one time or another. Who among us has not at some point in our lives begrudged another's good fortune because of our jealousy? There's nothing like forcing a smile as you look through someone's amazing Caribbean all-inclusive vacation photos after you have spent the last three nights cleaning up vomit and doing laundry.

But maybe there is something even deeper happening when we cringe at the happiness of another. Maybe when we see someone who has done really vile things forgiven or a lazy person win there is another reason we don't feel like forcing a smile. It isn't because of what God has done. It is not that we are mad at some outside force like fate or good luck, but maybe it's our own thing. It's within us.

Perhaps those workers who were hired first thing and toiled in the sun all day, perhaps they were upset because they felt that the landowner's action meant they had not done a good enough job or they weren't as valued. Maybe we have such a hard time accepting the wideness and richness of God's mercy and love for others because we are having a hard time accepting it for ourselves.

We are used to assessing our value in life by comparing ourselves to others. If we do better than someone else we feel good. If we feel badly about ourselves we just look to someone doing worse and feel better. In school an A only has value because other people got Bs, Cs, Ds and Fs. A promotion only means something if it raises you above someone else. A win is only a win if it is a loss for another.

But maybe … in the kingdom of heaven we don't have to do that. We can just know that we are loved and valued and forgiven and cherished just as we are. There is enough grace for everyone. We do not have to stand on top of someone else for recognition. The joy and happiness of someone else can only add to our own rather than take away from it. Justice and mercy are poured out even on those of us who get jealous or greedy.

Some day my three year old will come to understand the depth of my love. He will love others and experience the joy that comes from an expanded heart with room for many. Some day he will know that when I hug his brother it is a way of reassuring him too that I am a loving and kind mother and that my love for him and his brother does not run out. But in the meantime as I try to teach this to him I am going to watch my words and actions to make sure I model this truth. That I don't bash others when I feel insecure, or get angry at the success of those seemingly “undeserving,” that I do not teach him by my words and actions that we are more worthy than others just because of who we are, that I force that smile and keep working on it even when I feel like pouting in envy. It's something we are all trying to learn and work on because unconditional love, unending grace and mercy poured out for all is not something we see often. It is not our experience of the ways of the world and our hearts have been hardened, our skin thickened and our expectations lowered. But God tells us that this is what the kingdom of heaven is like. This is our God- just, merciful, loving and full of grace. This is good news. There is enough to go around even to those showing up late, even to those who don't get it right, even to you, even to me. Amen.