Proper 20A; Jonah 3:10-4:11; Matthew 20:1-16; St. Paul’s, Smithfield

9/24/2017 Jim Melnyk: “Not Fair – But Good”

One of my former seminary professors once said, “Upon entering the world of parables you find yourself in ‘Alice and Wonderland’ country, where, as Alice puts it, things get ‘curiouser and curiouser,’” (Don Armentrout, Synthesis, 9/24/2017).  And today’s parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard most certainly fits Alice’s description.

It’s helpful to set some context for today’s parable.  We should ask, “What has happened in Matthew’s gospel leading up to this mind-boggling story of both generosity and frustration?”  “Jesus [tells] this parable (which is found only in Matthew) to the disciples following his conversation with a rich young man who [is] unable to give up his possessions in order to follow Jesus (Mt. 19:16-26)” (ibid).  The exchange between Jesus and the rich young man sets up today’s parable – perhaps challenging us to be less like the rich young man and more like the owner of the vineyard.  And that is quite a challenge!

It doesn’t take long for most of us to decide the pay scale in the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard isn’t fair.  Those who started work in the wee hours and toiled throughout the heat of the day must have felt like they had fallen down Alice’s rabbit hole by the time the paymaster was through.

“Look, we’re card-carrying members of Harvesters R Us, and we are shocked at the way you’re treating us!  We’ve been out in the sun all day long and you’re giving these “Last Minute Louies” the same pay as us?  It’s not fair, we’re telling you.  It’s just plain not fair.  And we demand you make it right by us.”  The truth is, the outcome in the story isn’t meant to be fair.  It’s just meant to be good. 

According to my homiletics professor, Bill Brosend, “The oddest phrase in the whole story may provide a clue [as to what’s going on.]  It’s the last [line by the owner,] poorly translated in [our reading today] as a rhyme, ‘Or are you envious because I am generous?’  The Greek…means, literally, ‘or is your eye evil because I am good?’” (Bill Brosend, Conversations with Scripture: The Parables).  Are you angry at me because I am willing to pay all my laborers a living wage?  Brosend goes on to point out that “An evil eye cannot see anything good,” and so the early workers, so intent upon feeling justified in their grumbling, cannot seem to grasp the goodness of the owner.

Last week, you may recall, we said that forgiveness is the currency of the kingdom of heaven.  Perhaps we can amend that to say forgiveness is a part of the currency of the kingdom – one of the denominations – like a twenty or a fifty dollar bill.  Once we say that, we can then say that some of the other denominations in the currency of the kingdom are virtues like goodness, and generosity, and graciousness.

As author and community organizer Shelley Douglass tells us, “God's economy is not like ours. We… stockpile; we measure out the day's pay according to hours worked. God, however, simply sees that there is enough for everyone.  In God's economy,” she writes, “there is enough. In our world, which is God's, there is enough” (Sojourner Online, Preaching the Word, 9/24/2017).  What we learn in this parable is that “In God's economy we're worth more than we could ever earn” (Julie Polter, ibid).  And that’s Good News.  We learn that today’s parable isn’t about “judgement or justice.  It’s about goodness.  Payment is made not on what is deserved, nor even on what is needed, but on what the One who is good gives” (Brosend).  “In the…Kingdom [of Heaven] all are equally loved.  Human standards are not to be used to measure God’s generosity” and that’s the hard part of today’s parable.

  

You see, we as a whole – as a society – struggle with that kind of generosity and goodness, don’t we?  We live in a world based on accomplishment – based on standing – based on one another’s worth – or one’s perceived worthiness.  Or as actor John Houseman used to say on the Smith-Barney commercials, “We make money the old fashioned way… we earn it.”  We want the workers who showed up at 6 AM to get a nice bonus if the owner of the vineyard is crazy enough to pay the latecomers the same amount as a full-day’s wage – even though he pays the first group the amount they had agreed upon.  And even if we don’t begrudge the owner his right to pay people whatever he wants, we still might be tempted to think he’s a bit crazy.  Jesus, on the other hand, thinks he’s good.

Jonah also struggles with the goodness of God.  He didn’t want to have anything to do with being a prophetic voice.  As he says to God, “I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love” (4:2).  “I can’t stand what Nineveh has been like all these years – and I just knew I’d go and pronounce a good, swift kick from you, and they’d repent and then you’d go all good on them.  It’s not fair!  They deserved to get smacked down by you, but you…you…oh, forget it, I wish I were dead.”  The God of Jonah is gracious and good – even reaching beyond the boundaries of Israel – reaching out even toward those outside the promise.  God is good, and Jonah struggles with that goodness when it goes against his own prejudices and his own understanding of common sense.

It’s a challenge to believe that there is truly no one outside the ability of God’s grace – outside God’s willingness – to reach and embrace.  Talk about a challenge!  It flies in the face of our senses of logic and fair play.  So then the challenge is for us to find ways to be good as the owner of the vineyard is good – as Jesus, himself, is good. 

If we stop to think about it, I’m willing to bet that every one of us knows a person or a time when this happens – when the currency of goodness, and generosity, and graciousness outweighs the logic of this world.  And at that moment we find the kingdom of heaven breaking through and surrounding us. 

It may be a person offering financial support in the wake of hurricanes like Harvey, Irma, and Maria – knowing that their money will go to assist people from all walks of life – not just those who fit neatly into our acceptable categories.  It may be someone working tirelessly to insure accessible and affordable healthcare for everyone, or a living wage for everyone, regardless of their perceived station in life.  We see it when so many of us reach out to one another in the midst of a pastoral crisis – where we don’t stop to count the cost or weigh our differences.

In one of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia tales, one of the children asks if the Great Lion Aslan, who for many of us is the Christ figure in Lewis’ stories, is a tame animal.  “Of course he’s not tame,” comes the response.  “He’s a lion!  But, he is good.” 

When we hear the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard we come to realize that Jesus is not a tame Messiah – he isn’t constrained by the judgmental logic of our world – he’s not constrained by our meager attempts at justice.  But Jesus is good.  And that can make all the difference in our lives – and realizing that, and embracing that, it can make all the difference in the world.