Equal Ain’t Easy

Zephyr United Methodist Church

Early First United Methodist

August 28, 2005

Rev. Eddie Smart

Matthew 20:1-16

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ²After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. ³When he went out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; ⁴and he said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. ⁵When he went out again about noon and about three o'clock, he did the same. ⁶And about five o'clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, 'Why are you standing here idle all day?' ⁷They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard.' ⁸When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.' ⁹When those hired about five o'clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. ¹⁰Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. ¹¹And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, ¹²saying, 'These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' ¹³But he replied to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? ¹⁴Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. ¹⁵Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?' ¹⁶So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

     You’ve heard it many times. It happens often when we are standing in a long line. It may be at the bank or the fast food counter. One person turns to the other and says, “Well, you know what the Bible says, ‘The last shall be first.’” You get the idea that Jesus made that statement often in the gospels.

     During summer camp at Glen Lake, we eat three meals a day in the Dining Hall. The campers head for there as fast as they can. They begin a line that starts at the door, goes from one side of the building to the other and then across the parking lot. Three hundred campers lined up ready to eat. I first thought the race for the front of the line had to do with food. Actually they just want near the front so they can sit with as many friends as possible. The first campers can find tables with seven empty seats. The last campers find only one or two seats at each table.

     It is interesting watching them jockey for position. And then it happens! After the week is about half gone, the person letting the campers into the Dining Hall goes to the end of the line and begins with the last. That’s right. The last become first. Those at the end of the line get to go into the Dining Hall first.

     Imagine that! The ones who did not put out the effort to get there early got to go ahead of the eager beavers. Or to mix metaphors, the early bird did not get the worm. (By the way, you have heard it a million times, how the early bird gets the worm. But have you noticed how it is the early worm who gets eaten.)

     The landowner comes to you and offers you a good wage to pick cotton. You work in the hot sun all day long, dragging a heavy cotton sack behind you. You are stooped over. You hands are scratched up as you grab the sharp, stiff burs. Mud rolls down your face as the sweat and dirt mix.

     Just before sundown, you are joined by one who has spent the middle of the hot day sitting in the shade of a tree. The new cotton picker begins his work. Before he can even fill his bag once it is dark and everyone quits for the day.

     But what happens next is a real surprise. That lazy guy who didn’t even fill his bag, gets the wage you were expecting. You think to yourself, “That’s o. k. It means I will get that much more.” The landowner then comes to you and gives you exactly what was promised at the beginning of the day, no more, no less.

     You are outraged. This can’t be happening! You worked so hard you were nearly sweating blood, and the other guy was in the shade sleeping during the horrible heat. What is going on? Equal pay! It’s not fair!

     Jesus would be the first to admit that this parable is not about what is fair. The question is “Do we want what is fair, or do we want grace?” This parable by Jesus is radical thinking? The very idea of the same reward for the forever faithful and the late comer.

     The landowner says, “Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” Jesus is saying, “God is God, and God can do as God chooses.” “Grace is grace, and it is God’s choice to whom it is offered.” In this case equal ain’t easy. Oh! I guess it depends on your point of view–which one of the workers you are. For some equal IS easy.

     Remember Jonah. He refuses to go to Nineveh, gets on a boat going the opposite way, is thrown overboard for causing the storm, gets swallowed by that big fish, and finally decides to do what God commanded. The worthless, good for nothing Ninevites were saved from destruction by the preaching of Jonah. Did Jonah rejoice? No! He got mad. How dare God show mercy to these heathens! How dare God offer grace to these undeserving souls!

     That story is not so much different than this parable Jesus tells. The people responded to God’s messenger, Jonah, and God showed mercy. In the parable, all the laborers responded to the landowner. We talk about the differences between the laborers, but they all had one thing in common. When the landowner called, they responded to that call. It was their response that lead to the gracious action of the landowner.

     A few years ago a preacher preached on this parable. At the close of the service, a young woman came up to him and said, “Where do you get these stories?”

     “The stories?” he asked. “I guess I get them from my childhood.”

     “Oh,” she said. “Well, I really found the one today offensive.”

     “Offensive?”

     “Yes. It’s just not right to pay everyone the same wage, even when some have worked so much harder than the others. That’s unjust.”

     “Wait,” he said. “That’s not original with me. That’s Matthew. Do you know Matthew?”

     Blank look on her face.

     “The Bible?” He asked hopefully.

     “Oh, sure, the Bible,” she responded.

     “What is your religious background?” he asked, just praying she wouldn’t say “United Methodist.”

     “I really haven’t been to church much. My parents took us a couple of time when we were kids. That’s all,” she answered.

     “Well, you know, I almost envy you. I have heard this story so often it has begun to make perfectly good sense, has begun to sound reasonable. Here, fifteen hundred people have come out of this place telling me this was a nice sermon. You, on the other hand, have been offended. Outraged, even. In a sense, you were the only person who understood the parable.... Just for your information, the man who told this story originally – he was crucified for telling it.”    (Pulpit Resource, Vol. 24, No. 3, p50.)

     Because He died on that cross, you and I can have eternal life, not because we deserve it, but because he loved us that much. Remember the thief that died on that cross next to Jesus. He believed, and Jesus said, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”

     The studies show that on a good Sunday about 1/4 of the people in our town are in church. Our town is full of people whose priorities are anything but God. This parable assures us, it’s not too late until it’s too late. What are we going to do about it?

     God can use you and me like God used Jonah! How will we respond? God’s gracious offer of eternal life comes to you and me! How will we respond?