A sermon
preached at Kowloon Union Church on Sunday 24 September 2017, by the Rev. Dr. Judy Chan. The scripture readings that day
were Exodus 16:2-15,
Matthew 20:1-16, Philippians 1:21-30.
Today’s
reading from the Gospel of Matthew goes by many names. It’s usually called the
Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard. But one preacher prefers to call it
the Parable of Equal Wages for Unequal Work. That gets to the heart of the
matter, doesn’t it? Other preachers say no, the parable is really about God,
not us. So, let’s call it the Parable of the Compassionate Employer. Or more
precisely: the Parable of the Generous but Eccentric Employer.
So, what
should we focus on this morning? The workers who get hired or the employer who
hires them? The laborers who worked one hour or those that worked the whole
day? The fact that the boss seems to pay some workers too much or that he paid
some workers too little? Actually, I think we could discuss all these as long
as we understand that the point of the parable is to teach us about the kingdom
of heaven. And I don’t mean just a kingdom in heaven after we die, I mean the
reign of God on earth as it is in heaven. Parables have been described as
earthly stories with a heavenly meaning. So, let’s see what this earthly story
is about and what divine message it conveys.
We have a
landowner who has a vineyard. He grows grapes. To find workers, he goes out
early in the morning. 6 a.m. was the beginning of the working day. The workers
are day laborers without a steady job. They wait at a certain place every
morning hoping to get hired. The landowner comes by, picks some of them, and
offers the usual wage, one denarius. That could take care of a family for a
day. So off the chosen workers go to his vineyard.
But then,
something odd happens. The landowner goes back several more times to get more
workers – at 9 a.m., 12 noon, and 3 p.m. He makes no promise how much he’ll pay
them. He only says it will be fair. So off they go too. Then, believe it or
not, he goes back at 5 p.m., one hour before quitting time. He sees some men
still standing there. “Why are you still here doing nothing?” he asks. To which
they reply, “Because no one has hired us.” OK, says the landowner, go the
vineyard and get to work.
One hour
later, the working day is over. It’s time to get paid. The owner calls out his
manager. Give each worker his pay. Except he tells the manager to pay them in
reverse order of the time they came to work, meaning the one-hour guys get paid
first. This was certainly unusual. In any case, those who had worked only one
hour received the full day’s wage. Wow, what a surprise!
Then we get
to the ones who worked the whole day. They were the first to be hired, and the
last to be paid. But surely they were thinking what any of us would have been
thinking. If the boss is that generous to those who came at 5 p.m., what’s he
going to do for us who started at 6 am? Imagine their disappointment when all
they get is one denarius, the same as everyone else. “That’s not fair!” they
say.
So they go
right up the landowner to protest. Hey, we slaved all day in the scorching
heat, but you treat us no differently than those who came strolling in when
everything was almost finished. How dare you pay them so much! How dare you pay
us so little!
How did the
boss respond? “Friend,” he says. “What wrong have I done to you? Did you not
agree to work for one denarius? Take your pay and go. It’s my money and I can
do with it whatever I wish.”
There’s no
account of how those workers responded. But you have to wonder how this
landowner got himself in such a bad labor situation. If he had wanted to be
generous to the latecomers out of pity, why didn’t he just pay the 12-hour
workers first? That way, they’d be happy and out of the way by the time the
one-hour workers got their wages. All this trouble could have been avoided. But
no, it seems the landowner purposely arranged it to provoke those who had
worked the longest and hardest. That he intentionally set things up so those
workers would get the message loud and clear. And what was the message?
That God’s
ways are not our ways, and thank God for that!
Because if
we were paid according to our performance in the kingdom of heaven, none of us
would measure up. If we were rewarded according to merit, none of us would get
a full day’s wage. And the landowner, or God in this story, knows that.
But still
God invites us into his vineyard, not out his
need, but ours. The truth of the
matter is, we’re all dependent on God’s grace for our very survival every
single day. The food on the table, the roof over our head, the clothes on our
back. Where do they come from? They’re all gifts from a loving and generous
Creator, so the only right response for all of us is gratitude. That’s what the
one-hour workers understood, and they were grateful. Grateful that God came
looking for them when all hope was gone, grateful that they could make some
small contribution to the vineyard, grateful for the provision of daily bread
today.
And the
12-hour workers? Well, they might have felt more grateful if those one-hour
lazy bums had got only one hour of pay. Then they could piously say, “There,
but for the grace of God, go I,” meaning, of course, “Poor things. That could
have been me, if God hadn’t smiled on me today.”
Do you see
the irony here? We are more than willing to feel sorry for someone who’s down
and out as long as it doesn’t affect us. And we’re more than willing to be
thankful for God’s grace as long as some of it comes our way too. But it seems
we’re not so grateful when God smiles on someone else, especially if we think
it comes at our expense. This parable, however, teaches us that God’s grace
actually doesn’t cost you or me anything. That’s why it’s called grace – it’s
free, generous, unexpected and undeserved. And we receive it simply because a
loving God wishes to bless, not just us, but other people as well. And again,
the only right response is gratitude.
Why is that
such a hard lesson for us to learn? Well, maybe we’d feel better if we remember
that Jesus told this parable to his twelve disciples, not a big crowd of
people. Those twelve disciples had given up everything to follow him and labor
in God’s vineyard. They were the original investors in this Christian start-up.
You could forgive them for thinking they should get the biggest payback. But
Jesus warns them this may not be the case. In fact, in the kingdom of heaven,
many who are last shall be first, and the first shall be last – based on the
contents of one’s heart.
For you
see, the best workers in the God’s vineyard are not necessarily those who
worked the longest and hardest. No, Jesus says, the best workers in the kingdom
of heaven are those who work for God’s glory, not their own. In the parable,
what were those early birds working for? That denarius they’d been promised.
And the latecomers? Well, they hadn’t been promised anything. They were simply
working for God, and in the end, both groups got what they were working for.
The last shall be first and the first shall be last, based on the contents of
one’s heart.
Charles Spurgeon, the great 19th century British preacher, told
a good story that illustrates this very point. So let me share it with you.
Once upon a time there was a gardener who grew an enormous carrot. So he
took it to his queen and said, "Your majesty, this is the greatest carrot
I've ever grown or ever will grow. Therefore I want to present it to you as a
token of my love and respect." The queen was touched and discerned the
man's heart, so as he turned to go, the queen said, "Wait! You are clearly
a good steward of the earth. I own a plot of land right next to yours. I want
to give it to you freely as a gift so you can garden it all." The gardener
was amazed and delighted and went home rejoicing.
But there was a nobleman at the queen's court who overheard all this. And
he said, "My! If that is what you get for a carrot—what if you
gave the queen something better?" So the next day the nobleman came before
the queen and he was leading a handsome black stallion. He bowed low and said,
"Your majesty, I breed horses and this is the greatest horse I have ever
bred or ever will. Therefore, I want to present it to you as a token of my love
and respect." But the queen discerned his heart and said thank you, and
took the horse and merely dismissed him. The nobleman was perplexed. So the
queen said, "Let me explain. That gardener was giving me the
carrot, but you were giving yourself the horse."
In other
words, the gardener gave his best, not expecting anything back. But the
nobleman gave his best, absolutely expecting something back. Otherwise, what’s
the point, right?
We may
chuckle at the story, but I was surprised to learn that this mindset of “giving
to get something back” was actually standard practice in ancient Roman religion
in Jesus’ time. You were striking a bargain with the gods; you gave a sacrifice
so that a divine favor might be given in return. There was a phrase in Roman
worship that sums it up perfectly – “I give that you might give”. And if you
think about it, that’s how some people still view religion, even Christianity.
That whatever I give to the church or do for God should yield some reward or
benefit for me, if not on earth, at
least in heaven. Otherwise, what’s the point, right?
But, if we
look at the life of Jesus, we see what workers in God’s vineyard can expect.
For who worked harder for the kingdom than Jesus in his earthly ministry? Think
of all the sick people he healed, the demons he cast out, the multitudes he
fed, the sermons he preached, the disciples he taught, the outcasts he
welcomed.
And what
did Jesus receive for that very full day’s work? One minister described it, Rejection, humiliation, abandonment. A death sentence,
cruel death on a cross, hung out to die. What kind of reward was that for the
best church worker that ever was?
What kind
of reward, indeed! But remember, Jesus labored in the vineyard not for his own
glory but for God’s glory. He never counted the cost, because all was given out
of love and obedience to His Heavenly Father. He never thought of his reward,
because serving the kingdom of heaven was the greatest privilege of all.
I wonder
what the church would be like, what our church would be like, if we all had
that same mindset. I’m afraid I can’t lift myself up as an example, because
I’ve seen others who embody that spirit of gratitude and joy in Christian
service far better than I. And I’m not thinking so much of ministers or
missionaries, but instead ordinary laypeople. As we joke, “Ministers get paid
to be good, but you have to be good for nothing!”
An ordinary
layperson that came to my mind this morning is someone from another church here
in Hong Kong. His name is Ken. He is a journalist who worked in China and Hong
Kong for the newspapers. Ken loves to sing, especially Christian music. So, he
was always a part of the choir or worship team of every church he belonged to.
But later in life he developed health problems. He couldn’t stand for long
periods, and sometimes just getting out of the house was a challenge. So
finally, Ken had to give up singing in the choir and worship team, and it broke
his heart. Music was his life.
Then the
opportunity came for someone to do radio talks on our Christian programs on
RTHK. There’s a morning program called Minutes that Matter which includes an
inspirational talk and sacred music. And you don’t just prepare one, you have
to prepare a set of 4 or 5 programs to be aired over one month. Ken’s pastors
were really busy, so no one wanted to take up Minutes that Matter for their church.
It’s a lot of work, to be sure, and I only take it up when I can’t find anyone
else.
Well, the
pastors of his church were looking for someone else to do Minutes that Matter.
And they said, “Hey, what about Ken?” And sure enough, when they asked him, he
said “Yes” right away.
Ken had an
appointment to come to our studio to record. It was near the time when I got a
phone call from him. He said, “Judy, don’t panic. I’ve had a little accident
this morning and I’m at the doctor’s, but I’m coming! I’ll just be a bit late.”
He showed up half an hour later, limping as he came off the lift. I was
alarmed. What happened? He said he had stumbled getting off the minibus and
hurt his foot. The injury was serious enough to send him to a clinic for
medical treatment. I said, “Oh, Ken, you should have told me. I would have said
go home and rest.” He looked at me, and said, “No, I couldn’t do that. I was
coming to do the radio. This is for God!”
This is for God.
I thank God
for devoted workers in the vineyard like Ken. Whenever a speaker was needed for
Minutes that Matter, he was the first to volunteer, even if he had to use his
annual leave to fit the schedule. Ken told his pastors that doing the radio
ministry had saved his life spiritually, and he was so grateful that God gave
him this precious opportunity to serve. Ken retired and left Hong Kong a couple
of years ago, but I am sure he is making a difference wherever he is. For
whether he’s called up at 6 a.m. or 5 p.m., whether he gets 12 hours or one
hour to serve, he will be there, giving glory to God. May we all be so willing
and eager to take up the work that God offers us in the kingdom of heaven.
In closing,
I’d like to share something written by an Anglican priest, the Rev. Doug
Constable. He said he wasn’t a trained musician or poet, but he enjoyed
composing hymns. One year he challenged himself to write a new hymn for every
Sunday of the church year based on the readings from the lectionary. So let me
read you his hymn entitled “I Took the Work You Offered”. It’s based on the
Gospel reading for today on the 16th Sunday after Pentecost.
I took the work you offered, I did
the job you set, I thought you’d pay me something, I never dreamed I’d get: the
highest love that’s given, a full and rich reward, a taste today of heaven, the
saving power of God.
But then I felt offended and hurt,
misunderstood: the last you make my equal, and pay them all as good. The
highest love that’s given, a full and rich reward, a taste today of heaven, the
saving power of God.
Though shame would overwhelm me, and
all the world condemn, you disagree and tell me, you’ll always pay your friend.
The highest love that’s given, a full and rich reward, a taste today of heaven,
the saving power of God.
No less I now will offer, I will no
more despise; with all my fellow workers, I’ll share what grace supplies: the
highest love that’s given, a full and rich reward, a taste today of heaven, the
saving power of God.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, September 24, 2017
