September 21 - Pentecost + 19

God is Generous Beyond Our Deserving
Matthew 20:1-16
Pentecost + 19, September 21, 2008

Having raised four kids, my parents, I am sure, heard the phrase, “But it's not f-a-i-r!” more times than they would like to remember. My brother and sisters and I were masters of figuring out when something was unfair in our house, especially when it came to how my mom and dad treated each of us.

“How come he gets to stay up as late as I do? He's 4 years younger than me!” “How come I always have to do the dishes and she gets to watch TV?” “Why did you give her the same allowance? I do more around the house than she does!” “You gave him better presents than me!” “It's not fair!”

And as much as I'd like to tell you that we grew out of it as we headed into our teen years, you all know that's not true. Our complaints just branched out into new areas – like who got to drive the car, or why the curfew seemed to get later as we moved down the line of seniority.

Yes, the issues changed, but whatever the subject at hand, our demands for our parents to be fair always had to do us not getting as much as we thought we deserved, or my brother or sisters getting more than we thought they deserved – in comparison to what we had received.

Now I know that my family is not unique. Anyone here who has had a child or has been a child can imagine these scenes from their own memories. It seems to afflict us universally, this need to make sure we get our fair share and that no one else gets more than their fair share.

It's what makes this story from Matthew's gospel so powerful, because it's so real. Jesus tells this parable about a landowner who needs some extra help to work in his vineyard. So at daybreak, off he goes to the marketplace and hires some men, making a deal with them for the usual daily wage. Then, at 9 AM, the landowner goes back out, gathers some more men, & agrees to pay them “whatever is right.” At noon and 3 o'clock, he goes again and hires more men! This must be quite a vineyard! Finally, at 5 o'clock, just an hour before quittin' time, the landowner returns to the marketplace and finds men that no one had hired all day. These, too, he offers work.

All is well and good until the work day ends, and the day laborers come in from the vineyard to receive their pay. And all still would have been well, if the owner had just had 'em line up in the order they had been hired. But no. He has to have the last go to the front of the line. He pays them a full day's wage, and of course the early birds think that means he's gonna pay them even more – because it would only be fair... but when they finally come to get paid, the manager hands them a measly denarius – the same thing everybody else got! How is this possible? This isn't equal pay for equal work! Those other workers didn't slave all day in the hot sun! How dare he? “It's not fair, it's not fair!” they complain. “You have made them equal to us! It's not fair!”

My guess is, a lot of us identify with those early workers. We hear about their situation, and our hearts chime in that it's not fair. We know those last workers didn't deserve to get paid the same thing, and it outrages us! Even when we realize that this story is about much more than fair labor practices and fair compensation for the work that we do.

Because when we realize that this parable is about how God runs God's kingdom, about how lavish God is with God's grace, we are taken aback. Oh, I know we shouldn't be, but deep down, you know we all are. We Lutherans talk a good game about how we are justified by grace through faith and not through works of the law, but our inner cry against the land owner's unfairness reveals that somewhere inside, we think our works should count for something, that we who have been working in God's vineyard for a while should rank higher than someone else who comes later. Maybe without even realizing it, we think that we should get extra credit from God for our attendance at church, or the many volunteer hours we have clocked, or the money we have donated. It offends us to think that God could give the same reward to someone who spends their life rebelling against God and only answers God's call to follow in the last hour, on their deathbed. Something within us wants to cry out that it isn't fair! How can we earn the same pay at the end of the day?!

But that's just it! We think this story is all about us and what we have earned or what someone else didn't earn. But really, this passage from Matthew's gospel is not about the workers or what they have logically earned at all! It's a story about the land owner, who gives not what is fair by the world's standards, but what is right by his own standards.

This story about the land owner reveals one who continues to seek out those in need, who is not satisfied until all have work. He comes back to the marketplace again and again and again throughout the day. The truth is, the land owner Jesus speaks of probably didn't need so many helpers. But the workers needed him and the offer he brought them. Without a job for the day, they and their families would go hungry. They would sink deeper into the poverty that stalked them. And so the land owner, compassionate and generous beyond what was fair, came looking for them, taking even the workers no one else thought was worthy to be hired, the ones who had been passed over throughout the day. And when the end of the day came, he paid them all, not according to their merit or the length of time they had served, but according to their need. The ones who came at the 11th hour might not have deserved it, but they needed it just as much, and so the land owner reached out to meet that need, even though they hadn't earned it.

This story is a parable, meant to show us how God operates in God's kingdom. It is a reminder to us that God does not necessarily operate by the standards of what we think is fair, but what God thinks is right. And while we may shout, “It's not fair!” we can also thank God that God isn't fair. Because if God were fair, we would all be in big trouble. None of us, no matter how hard we work, deserve what God has given us, and yet God chooses to give anyway. All that we have: our belongings, our work, our families, our lives; forgiveness and life to come – everything is a gift from God, freely & generously given beyond our explanation, and beyond our expectations! At the end of the day, God chooses to cover us all with grace upon grace, a free gift that comes from the depth of God's love for us. Thanks be to God for loving us beyond what we deserve!

Amen.