It’s Not Fair!
Lent 2 – Narrative Lectionary 1
March 1, 2015
Grace, Mankato, MN
Matthew 20.1-16
Many of you know that I am a second career (or mid-life crisis) pastor. I was previously in business world for 16 years prior to entering seminary. I first felt the call to ministry in 1984, but we were expecting our first daughter, Angela, then so the timing was not good. However, God doesn’t let go very easily and the call kept coming up. Finally, at Christmas of 1991in my annual letter to family and friends I asked for prayer as we discerned this momentous change in our lives. That January I received a call from one of my aunts. She did not receive a letter but had heard through other relatives about my prayer request. She said that if I decided to go to seminary she would contribute a generous sum each year for all four years. It was one of the most undeserved and over the top acts of grace I have ever experienced.
In this second week of Lent, we encounter another of Jesus’ challenging parables that stretch us. Last week, in the parable of the unforgiving servant, we heard about a God whose forgiveness helps us repair our own broken relationships. Today we read the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, or more appropriately titles, the overly generous landowner. Some of you may remember that we read this parable last summer when we delved into the fruit of the spirit, in this case, generosity. Though the parable reads that way, today I want to focus instead on the lavishness of God’s grace and mercy. I want us to go deeper into how this parable stretches our understanding of God’s kingdom now.
On one level, I think most of us are able to intellectually understand how God’s mercy and grace are for all people. After all, we want everyone to know God’s love for them and wish them to live a redeemed life. But on another level, there is something in us that grates late conversions. We think that we who have been so faithful to God for so long ought to receive some consideration, right? However, the scandal of the parable is not as much God’s lavish grace and mercy that God wishes to pour out on anyone and everyone. I think the scandal of the parable is how it reveals our own hard hearts.
In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus eats with prostitutes, tax collectors and sinners, much to the chagrin of the religious leaders of the day. So, a late worker is anyone we think might be unlovable by God or is beyond God’s power to reconcile to himself. It doesn’t take much imagination to think about who we think in our modern world might be excluded from that grace. This past week during our midweek Lent service, I portrayed Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who crucified Jesus. During the adult forum time afterward, the question came up if he (or Judas) was ever redeemed by God. Some traditions actually claim Pilate was a secret Christian and the Ethiopian church recognizes him as a saint. But, here’s my take: the Bible seems to say that nobody is ever beyond God’s love and I believe the parable says that God will keep coming into the marketplace inviting us into the vineyard until all of us join him in the kingdom.
There’s one more aspect of this parable we sometimes miss. There are some aspects of our lives that we think are beyond God’s grace and mercy, things we’ve done we are ashamed of or we wish we could do over. In our minds we may say that we know God has taken care of them, but in our hearts we aren’t sure. When I was a new manager trainee for Minnesota Fabrics I came close to being fired because of a poor performance review. I learned afterwards that my manager argued with our boss to keep me and give me another chance, one that I didn’t deserve. It was again one of the most gracious acts I have ever received, unmerited grace and mercy.
The parable pushes us to ask what roadblocks we erect to God’s grace, in our lives and in the lives of others. Regardless, please know that God will never, ever stop coming for you or for others, but he’d like you to come now so you can enjoy the life God has to offer. God will have his way with you, but it’s the way of love, and God will go as far as it takes, even to the cross. Amen.
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