Pentecost 19 Year A

Pentecost 19 Sept 21, 2008 Matt. 20:1-16 Rev. Benton Quest

I was driving down I-96 a while ago and there was a billboard along the road with an American flag blowing in the wind and the words, “God Bless America” emblazoned across the flag. You may not have seen the billboard, but I am sure you have seen something similar.

Now this might seem rather obvious, but you will note that the signs, songs, whatever, say “God Bless America”; there are no signs around saying “Jesus Bless America.” Some of you may say that when we pray for God to bless America, we are including Jesus and the Holy Spirit in on the deal. You know, that Trinity, Three-In-One, thing. But I think there is a different reason. As Americans, we would like for God to bless America, however, we probably do not want Jesus to bless America. If Jesus were to bless America, life as we know it would be thrown into chaos.

It is not an accident that we are the country that created Mr. Clean, Rosie the Riveter, and The Marlboro Man. Part of our national myth is the belief that through hard work we can reach our dreams. We profess equal work for equal pay. We speak of putting our nose to the grindstone and working to achieve our dreams. We are the country where anyone can grow up to be president but where there is no such thing as a free lunch.

This whole school of though is the way we often view the God of the Old Testament. The God of the Old Testament gives blessings to those who obey and follow directions but strategically places earthquakes to swallow up evildoers and turns into pillars of salt those who do not unquestioningly follow the rules. The God of the Old Testament is pretty much a you-get-what-you-disserve kind of God. In this way of thinking, the harder you work, the more blessings you get. Understandable. Straightforward. We like this way of thinking, it appeals to our sense of moral value.

It is this moral framework that allows us to feel good about ourselves. We can look at others and feel that we must be better than they are because look at how horrible their lives are. If they were only; good, more self disciplined, thinner, less lazy, more charitable, less self-serving, more educated, less educated, more responsible, more easy-going, whatever, then their life would be better. Because of their personal lack, they are getting what they deserve. Also, because we are better, we have the better life that we deserve.

We may not like to face this portrayal of life, but I think it is something we all believe at one level or another. It is what surrounds us as Americans and it is not a totally bad mythology. It has created a hard-working, creative people. However, it has also created strife, violence, and hatred. It has created the highest standard of living on the planet. However, it has also created problems of pollution, exploitation, and abuse. But in our worldview, here in America, we need the belief that you get what you deserve.

As I said before, you notice we don’t say, “Jesus Bless America”? If Jesus were to bless America, things would have to change big time! The whole “you get what you deserve” philosophy would be gone. This is the meaning behind the gospel for today. You see, in today’s gospel we are dealing with that mind-boggling concept of grace. The blessing of Jesus is not simple payment for being “good” or for being “hard-working,” the blessing of Jesus is so much more!

The blessing Jesus tells us of today is the blessing that comes from abundance. I think we have difficulty understanding the world as a world of abundance, we usually only focus on the scarcity and lack in the world. We are much more willing to complain about what we don’t have instead of reveling in what we do have. Focusing on lack is the way of the world, focusing on how we are blessed is the way of Christ!

What happens, when we focus on abundance, is we realize we do not need to grab so tightly to the things of the world. We do not need to hang on so tightly as if nothing else will ever come our way. Abundance assures us that we will get what we need when we need it. Abundance challenges us to be thankful for what we have and to not compare ourselves to others.

In the gospel reading, we have workers and an employer. The employer goes out at various times of the day and hires workers of the fields. At then end of the day, the employees are paid. Those who were employed last are the first to get their pay. They are paid, let’s say for the sake of argument, $200. Now the people at the end of the line, that would be the first employed and the ones who worked the longest, were thinking, “Wow! If they are getting $200, we should be getting over $1000! We are obviously much better than they are because we worked more than they did!” Still, when those who were first employed got to the front of the line, all they received was $200.

Now these, the first employees, were not amused. They felt they deserved more money. They felt they had the right to complain to their boss. I think we would probably agree with them; they worked more so they should get paid more. I know I would be grumbling if this were to happen to me! But it is the grumbling that is the hallmark of our lack of understanding. The workers grumble because they assume there is only a certain amount of work and a certain amount of wages. We would grumble because we believe the same thing. We believe that what we see is all that there is.

If we have learned anything as Christians I would hope it is that in the reality of Christ, what we see is just a hint of the true reality of things. That in Christ the blind see, the lame walk, and the dead are raised! Christ is a “never say never” kind of guy! In Christ, there is much more to life than what we see! We need not worry about getting equal pay for equal work because the pay is endless! Tomorrow there will be pay, and the day after that, and the day after that! We don’t need to grumble because others seem to get more than we do but seem to work less; in the abundance of Christ, there is more than enough. Besides, in the realm of Christ, we are given eternal peace and eternal forgiveness. When the gift is the eternal, it is hard to justify the need for getting anything “more.”

Now this brings up an interesting point: When we hear this story we get upset because we place ourselves in the role of the workers who have been toiling in the field all day while others are just loafing until the end. We get angry because we worked so hard when we could have been playing. We feel it is an outrage because we were there working while the others were getting paid for doing nothing.

Unfortunately, we do not know what the other workers were doing before they were hired. Maybe the others had to take care of their families. Maybe they had to bury a loved one. Maybe the ones who were hired later were trying to find work in some other place. We don’t know what kept those who were hired later from being present when the master came. So in this situation, if we were the ones who were first hired, we should be glad to have had the good luck to be present when the master of the field stopped by. We were there because we were not dealing with the tragedies of life nor were we wandering aimlessly. We were there because we had a purpose and a place. We were there to be called and therefore we received our reward.

The others who came later may have been dealing with the trials of life. They were late, but you know what? The reward was there for them also! They were given the gift of working in the garden and were rewarded for their work. If we are the first to have been hired, we should be glad that the other workers made it to the fields and could now provide for their families.

However, I think we are often the ones who arrive at the field later in the day. We have been searching for other ways to earn a living and finally end up in the town square lost and begging. It usually takes us a while to find the field of Christ. Often we go to the field of possessions, or maybe the land of money. We may take a path into public recognition. Eventually, we find that it is only in the field of our Lord that we find prosperity.

And when we finally get to the field, aren’t we glad that our Lord is a generous giver? Aren’t we glad we are paid not as to how much we have earned but paid out of the immense abundance of God? Aren’t we glad God is willing to look beyond our shortfalls and sees the beautiful creation God himself has created?

If we can see how much we have been blessed – how many of our faults have been passed over – how can we fail to keep that blessing to ourselves? In recognizing our weakness and God’s strength we are challenged to go out and find more workers for the field! In the recognition of God’s abundance, we need not fear that we will be forgotten. There is plenty for all with more to spare!

So you see, this is not the way most want God to bless America. But this is the way Jesus would have God bless America! The harvest is great but the workers are few! The pay is wonderful and the hours are easy! And on top of it all, the more the merrier! And you know, the first may be last and the last may be first, but because of Christ, we are all going to get to the same place!