Mikell Chapel
September 18, 2005
7:45 and 9:00 Holy Eucharist
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 20, Year A |
Exodus 16:2-15, Philippians 1:21-30
Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16
A Sermon Preached by the Reverend Carolynne G. Williams
As the parable begins, a landowner goes out at dawn to hire workers for his vineyard. The laborers agree to a specific wage of $1.00 for the work of the day.
As the day progresses the Landowner sends the manager out. He sends him at 9:00 , at 12 noon , at 3:00 and at 5:00 . All of these times, the manager goes to the same place to get laborers to work in the vineyard.
At the end of the day when the work is done, the landowner instructs the manager to pay the agreed upon wages. There are several places around this city, contextually in our times that day laborers gather and wait for work. Within the perimeter, off of Sidney Marcus going towards to Home Depot, there are men, day laborers who line the street in front of Home Depot. These men, day laborers wait with hope. I’ve seen them there near the end of the day still waiting. I’ve wondered why? Why spend the entire day waiting for work? If they are in need at the end of the day, their wages could only be so much. If they were hired, their wages would have to be less than it would be for those who were chosen to work at the dawn of the day. Their wages could not possibly be the same.
In our parable from the gospel of Matthew, the workers who began working at 6:00 a.m. , at dawn, received the same payment as those who began working at 5:00 p.m. and worked for one hour, until 6:00 p.m.
Those who began working at the dawn of the day were outraged. They were on the verge of fighting because they had been treated in their estimation unfairly. They were angry about the treatment received. They had been first, anticipating their reward at the end of the day, only to discover, only to see, that their labor was not equally rewarded.
The Landowner was also infuriated. The point of dispute, the object of the unfairness from the laborers viewpoint, was the distribution of the landowners own money.
In the gospel of Matthew, the landowner told them so. I can give what belongs to me as I see fit. Who are you to tell me how to handle my own money? Are you envious because of how I handle my own money?
The landowner chose to be generous to those who had worked only an hour. The last. The first laborers were disgruntled and angry.
This parable reflects how some Christians view their service to God. There are those Christians who are always serving. You have done so just as your father did. Your parents served God in God’s church. And you, the next generation are doing the same. It is a way of living. You are serving God and your children have inherited this richness. A part of our everyday living, without discussion, becomes serving God. We in our common living serve God. The model has been set for us.
I perhaps see myself as being closer to God then those who worship and serve God only twice a year. At Easter and Christmas. I have inherited the richness of being in the presence of God as my parents before me. If one reads the Beatitudes, in the book of Matthew, the explanation is clear as to who will be first to enter the kingdom and who will be last.
It goes something like this. There will be equality among the people of God who seek to care for those who are in need in the kingdom of God . Those who care for the needs of others, regardless of rank, privilege or length of service, those who care and provide for others in the community of Christ will be richly rewarded. The first shall be last and last shall be first. I find this troubling.
Why should I carry on the rich legacy of my ancestors? Father and Grandfather, both preachers. Men who believed and had faith. They have died in the bosom of Jesus and I stand to wait for my reward. You have served faithfully and carry the torch of God the father. Your light shines before others so that you may receive your reward which is in heaven. Why are we living lives that hopefully reflect the love of God? We are living as Christians because of the generosity of God. God is extravagantly generous. God gives more than we deserve. God’s love and mercy always will exceed our best. God’s love and generosity for us and towards us will forever exceed anything we can imagine.
God’s generosity, when it comes to eternal life, is such that one person is never given less than another.
The generosity of God to us and for us can not be purchased. It can not be earned. God has a loving heart for us because we reflect the goodness of God’s intention.
Although I find it troubling that the first will be last as the last will be first; the truth of the Gospel is there is enough of God’s love for all of us. The equalizer is the great goodness of God. All of us are within the realm of the greatness of the generous giver. While I may not deem it fair, or you may see your level of service to be greater than the next; we are all loved and given grace from God the father. So, why bother? Why take the time to worship the three in one? Why live into the promise of our baptism in Christ? Why? God is sovereign. God is greater than all that we can begin to imagine. The God within us is there for us to carry out the legacy that has been given to us. The legacy of understanding that living in faith is having wealth. Being as Christ would have us to be. The goal is to live today as if this day is our last. The challenge is to live each day as if it were our last. We have been given a gift. This gift surpasses all others. And that is the gift of inner peace and love and greatness within the joy of living. Living not unto ourselves; but to one another. Seeking the face of God in one another and giving to others as Christ gives to us. The one who knows our heart and reminds us of the goodness that is there for all is fully present. If the work of the laborers is viewed from another angle, those who wait most of the day for work, the last, are they waiting fruitlessly? Are their hours of waiting unproductive?
Those who for reason of age or disability or any other cause are deprived of the opportunity for work, often feel the lack keenly and simply at the level of purpose and meaning in life. In other words, those who truly desire to find purpose in living and being are often leading delusional lives. They are leading lives that are unfulfilled. They are playing characters in their lives which are not life giving. Thus, life is meaningless on many levels. “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few”. Few in places where it matters. We labor often in vain because we labor for ourselves and not for one another as Christ commands.
In the words of Jeremy Taylor, Chaplain to Charles I and later Chaplain to the Royalist Army. At the time of his death, he was serving as Bishop of Down and Connor. He said “God hath given us a short time here upon earth, and yet upon this short time eternity depends: but so, for every hour of our life we must give account to the great judge of all and angels. And this is it which our blessed Savior told us, that we must account for every idle word. Not every word has to be designed for edification, or is less prudent, shall be reckoned for a sin, for we must remember that we have a great work to do, and that we need not fear….so that our lives may be a perpetual serving of God……” Love’s Redeeming Work, pg. 203.
Let us continue to be laborers in the work that we are given to do. Whether we are called to work early at dawn or in the twilight of our lives; the task is designed for and is a part of the whole. The work is plentiful and the laborers are few. The first will be last and the last will be first, but all who acknowledge the generosity of God and God’s grace will receive a reward, eternally. He promised at the beginning of the day. Amen.
Comments? Contact The Rev. Carolynne Williams: cwilliams@stphilipscathedral.org