Readings for today: Exodus 10:1-12:13, Matthew 20:1-28, Psalms 25, Proverbs 6:12-15
It just doesn’t seem fair. To pay laborers who work all day the same wage as those who show up at the 11th hour. I am pretty confident if I were one of the people the master hired at dawn. If I worked all day in the hot sun. If I were tired and weary and worn out from picking grapes and pruning vines. I would be resentful of those who came later in the day. I would assum the master would make things “right” and pay me according to what I deserve. And at the end of the day, when the wages were being handed out and I saw the master hand a denarius to those who came at the very end, I am sure I would expect some kind of bonus. The fact that the master pays me the same as he does all the rest would make me angry too.
It feels like communism. Making sure everyone gets paid the same regardless of the disparity in how much they worked. It feels like the current political debates that seek to move us towards a more European socialist model of government. Free healthcare. Free college. And everyone getting a living wage regardless of how hard they work. Perhaps this is the next logical step for a generation who always got a participation trophy. Where everyone needed the same affirmation lest we make people feel bad. If you are like me, this kind of thinking is frustrating. In the “real world” there are winners and losers. Social Darwinism is a real thing. People are not all the same. They do not have the same gifts and talents and abilities. They do not have the same work ethic. They do not have the same opportunities. Some face more barriers than others. Some have more advantages than others. This is just life. So the story Jesus tells about paying those who worked for one hour the same as those who slaved all day just doesn’t sit well.
Grace never sits well. Not with me. Not with anyone. That’s really the heart of this story. It has less to do with economics or the rights of workers and employers and a whole lot more to do with the extravagant grace of God. God chooses to reward those who are late to the party as much as He chooses to reward those who are already in. Grace is the currency of God’s Kingdom. It has this leveling effect. Through grace, the first become last. No longer defined by their achievements and success. Through grace, the last become first. No longer defined by their failures and shame. Greatness in the Kingdom is defined by those who selflessly serve. Those who courageously follow the example of the Master who did not come to be served by to serve and give His life as a ransom for many.
Grace shifts our perspective. Rather than be frustrated that the workers who came at the 11th hour were paid as much as those who came in the first hour, grace causes us to rejoice that everyone got the chance to work at all! No one was left out! No one was left standing in the marketplace to go hungry! No one had to go home and tell their wives and children they couldn’t find a job! Grace celebrates the incredible generosity of the Master who extravagantly gives to all in need! This isn’t about communism, socialism, capitalism, or any other “isms” you can think of! When Jesus comes again to establish His reign and rule on the earth, all the “isms” of this world will perish. They are corrupt man-made systems not fit for the glory of the coming Kingdom of God. No, God’s Kingdom runs on grace. It’s sustained by grace. It’s powered by grace. And the great news is this...grace is a renewable, sustainable, clean source of energy that will last for all eternity!
Readings for tomorrow: Exodus 12:14-13:16, Matthew 20:29-21:22, Psalms 25:16-22, Proverbs 6:12-15