The Generous Landowner

In the story of the generous land owner Jesus indicates that the reward at the end of the day's labour that is shared out is distributed equally - everyone gets exactly the same regardless of the time spent working.

This is one of the parables that really upsets the apple cart.  It grates against the sentiment Jesus expresses that we should store up for ourselves treasures in heaven.  It grates against our notion of a fair days work for a fair days pay.

For many who listen to this story the question of injustice is raised.  Is it fair that those who work the longest are not rewarded for their extra labour?  Our gut response is no!

Yet, if we think about the process in the story with the landowner returning throughout the day to the marketplace where the labourers waited maybe our sense of justice might shift.

If we consider the first trip to the marketplace there can be little doubt the the landowner would be pick the strongest workers, the fastest, the fittest, possible the most enthusiastic.  They would be the workers that he knew would work hard all day and give the best results.

When the landowner returns for his next trip to choose extra workers once again he would choose the best of those who were left waiting to join his other workers.

And so on through the day until he comes for the final time.

Imagine who might be left at this point: maybe the elderly, the infirm, the inexperienced, those who have an injury or disability.  People who would possibly not have survived the whole day in the field in any case but people who still have the same needs, desires and aspirations of those chosen at the first part of the day: to provide for their family, to have a sense of worth, to build some financial security.

Yet, the randomness of life denies them the opportunity to work the full day to be as successful. For many the burdens they already carry are work in themselves.

The generosity of the landowner in this case shifts our thinking away from what a person can achieve or offer to the way in which a person and their very life is valued by the landowner.

The landowner wants to give value and opportunity for life to even the weakest within the community of workers!

Just as in Jesus day the workers who came first grumbled and no doubt many of Jesus listeners wondered at how unfair the parable seemed so too in our context it is a difficult story.

Living in a free market economy ruled by supply and demand and where people are paid for their supposed skill set the parable rubs against the grain; it feels unjust.

Most workers are generally paid by the hour and often proportionally to the demand on their skills within the community.  Overtime and time and a half are expectations for extra effort. I heard today that the average CEO in Australia earns over $4 million dollars per year, about 64 times than the average worker!

Jesus parable calls into question the way our world operates and how it devalues people and, let's be honest, exploits many who work long hours in appalling conditions so those in wealthier countries can have cheap products.

Whilst it might feel unfair for those who already have access to wealth and opportunity because of their skills, that is to say those like the labourers who are chosen first, the reality is that life itself has been unjust in different ways to those who are chosen last.

Maybe, this is what Jesus is trying to help us realise: that good news is not just for the privileged few but for all.  And that as many times as it takes God will return seeking us out to join in the labour.

The kingdom of heaven is like this, God seeks us all out and all are rewarded, all are given the dignity of work, all are rewarded with life and hope; rewarded with a future; rewarded for a great effort or a little labour at the 11th hour.  Who are we to be envious?

Each week we pray “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”.

Heaven, God’s rule, is a rule that promises generosity in life that for us living in a market driven world which is almost unfathomable – yet this is the kingdom we pray for.  Good news for all!

The kingdom of God

Did you hear again the good news as Jesus’ parable reminded us of the generous graciousness of God’s kingdom?


Like seeds scattered in a field that mysteriously spring forth into new life and grow as a crop, so God’s kingdom grows. In spite of the farmer and so despite our efforts – the reign and rule of God increases.

Like a tiny hidden mustard seed in ground the kingdom will spring forth and grow strong like the mustard bush and so offer in its branches the shade and protection needed by the birds.

According to Jesus this is what the kingdom of God is like.

But what did it mean for the disciples as they heard Jesus words?

We need to jump in our time machine and be transported back into the first century so as to get a better understanding of what Jesus was on about.

Back in Jesus time there were huge limitations of what was available for people. Back then you couldn’t pop into Toowong or Indooroopilly or wherever else you shop and get all you need and more. It was a harsher world with a far more limited supply of things and a much different understanding of the world.

In a world of limited goods the idea that dropping a seemingly dead seed in the ground there was the possibility that God would create new life and abundance was a mystery. Travelling back into that time we hear that the farmer after sowing the seed would sleep and rise day and night – which was Jesus’ way of saying the farmer did nothing to contribute to the growth of the crop.

Yet despite the inactivity of the farmer the seeds sprout and grow and only when the crop needs harvesting is the farmer called upon to work – to bring the crop in.

What lessons about God’s kingdom are there for us as a congregation here?

It would be easy to discount the supposed mystery of the growth of seeds because of our scientific view of the world, to suffer the delusion that we are somehow far more in control.

But we need to step outside the limitations that we might be tempted to place on the parable and listen to its considering the grace and the mystery inherent in the kingdom of God.

The way the seeds of the kingdom grow cannot be attributed to anything but a generous God giving freely to bring the presence of that kingdom into our lives from something that was thought to be dead, just as the seeds were considered dead by the ancient people.

The kingdom of God which grows in our midst is not a place but is the very reign and rule of God – a rule based in justice and peace and in mercy.

As a congregation to understand this means to step beyond the idea that growing the kingdom has anything to do with the success or otherwise of our little congregation.

Whilst our little corner here may seem to be important to us and I believe is a place in which God’s reign is being witnessed to, “on earth as it is in heaven”, ultimately we are not here to build this congregation for its own ends – rather in and through us God’s kingdom is mysteriously present and growing all around us. We do not control it but as workers we are invited to share in the labour of the harvest – living kingdom lives now.

This mystery and hiddenness of the kingdom of God is further toyed with by Jesus as he presents to us the image of the tine mustard seed which sprouts in a great bush, offering protection and shade for the birds.

From a hidden and secret place buried in the earth new life springs forth which ultimately offers the birds, dare I say the nations of the earth, a place of security and mercy and peace!

This is the good news. Around us, in us, and even through us the reign and rule of God are becoming our reality because God is generously offering us this gift not simply for ourselves but for the whole world for whom Christ died.

As a congregation this is what witness to, this our call, God’s good news is that even when we cannot see it hidden deep in the earth the kingdom is sprouting forth with new life, just as Jesus sprang forth in new life from the tomb. This is not our doing, nor is it for our just deserts; it is a sign of God’s grace, of God’s loving steadfast nature and of the promise that in the fullness of God’s reign of justice and mercy, when the branches are strong, all peoples will find safety and security in the presence of that kingdom.

For us who have been given a glimpse of this vision and foretaste of the kingdom of God which has come near to us we are called to remember that the good news is to be good news for all the world. The end goal is not to keep our little congregation going but to celebrate, and to freely and generously share our experience of the goodness of that kingdom which grows in our midst and to the furtherest ends of the earth.

Grateful for Work & Reward

Peter Lockhart

(The following sermon is designed to be interactive with members of the congregation participating in a reenactment of Jesus.)

Each week as a congregation we prayer in the words of the Lord’s Prayer, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”.

I often wonder what it is we are praying for when we pray these words and whether or not we can actually say them with the sincerity with which we ought.

I imagine you have idyllic images of what heaven is floating around in your head – what image comes as strongest to you.

Angels with harps on fluffy clouds. Re-union with loved ones who have gone before. A place where there is no suffering or sickness.

Jesus tells many stories about what the kingdom of heaven is like and I want to retell one today with your help.

Jesus says the kingdom of heaven “is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the labourers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard.”

This is one of those situations where a little congregation involvement might help us understand.

If we could have a group of prospective workers to come and wait here – image you are waiting in the village square for a day’s work.

And here now comes a landowner, a vine grower, looking for workers.

Now if you were the vine grower selecting workers at the break of day who are you going to choose?

Discuss

They agree to the pay for the day’s work.

I wonder how those who are left over feel. What do you think happens if these people don’t get work?

A few hours later the landowner returns, it’s about 9 in the morning now. He chooses yet more workers to go and labour in the field.

Who will you choose this time? Why?

How do those who are left feel now?

Hours pass again and at midday the landowner returns.

Again more are chosen.

Then once more at three o’clock the landowner comes.

I wonder how it would feel it face the prospect of a day without any income, a day without money for the household.

How do you who are left feel?

Then just before the end of the day the landowner returns one more time.

It is 5 o’clock with barely any hours left to work.

What sort of people do you think might have been left over? Who would it be that were refused work by the local landholders? What type of people might be left?

Yet the landowner makes a decision to give them work too.

Now before I push on into the story how are we feeling about this landowner at the moment.

Let’s ask those who have been given work.

Discuss

The thing that strikes me is that even at the end of the day the landowner is willing to take workers on, workers whom when ask tell the landowner no one else had given them work.

There is a generosity and persistence in the landowner who comes again and again to seek workers.

So what is the kingdom of heaven like?

It is a place in which God persists in generosity seeking people to be included and to get involved in the work of the kingdom.

So far, so good?

But now it is time to line up and receive your pay for the day’s work.

Can we have you in order from those who began last to those who started early in the morning.

Now the agreed days wage was this amount. (money?)

How do those who have worked just a little while feel about this?

What might those who have worked longer expect?

So let’s pay everybody else.

Now how do those feel who have worked the whole day and been given the same.

(Upset, as if they have been done an injustice.)

Jesus tells us that the landowner said

‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 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?’

So we pray for the coming of the kingdom of heaven a place where all share in the generosity of God regardless of the effort they have put in.

Whilst we might sit fairly comfortably with the idea that the kingdom of heaven is like the landowner who keep returning to seek workers and give them a go, I suspect most of us would struggle with the idea of the equality of reward at the end.

How many of us consider those words “Well done good and faithful servant.” As an indicator of long service and commitment to God – this is service which deserves recognition.

But the parable tells us it is not about how much we have done but about God’s choosing.

How many of us think that “A fair days work for a fair days pay is how the world should be.” But do we really live that. Consider for a moment where so much of what we buy in Australia comes from. Consider who makes and how poorly they are paid. We all know about the issues of child labour, even slavery, in some industries. We know about how much of our manufacturing industry has been taken offshore.

The kingdom of heaven is like this – all are rewarded, given the dignity of work, rewarded with life and hope, rewarded with a future, rewarded for a great effort or a little labour at the 11th hour. Who are we to be envious?

We pray “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. Heaven, God’s rule, is a rule that promises generosity in life that for us living in a market driven world is almost unfathomable – yet this is the kingdom we pray for. A kingdom in which the priority is provision for the lives of all people with no distinction as to how much we think people have offered.

Do you understand?

“Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

We live in an era where the number of voices that want to claim authority of our lives is as staggering as the media through which they use to speak to us.

Voices heard and seen

Broadcasting on Radio & Television
Blogging, Facebooking, Tweeting
Podcasting
Paperbacks, hardbacks, newspapers, Magazines
eBooks, eZines, chat groups
and the list goes on

To locate and listen to Jesus voices in this cacophony can be a difficult task and one that takes commitment and discernment.

Whose voices shall we listen to as Christians? The vitriolic atheists, the passive progressive, the fervent fundamentalist, the mediating moderate, the sceptic, the scientist?

The diversity and complexity that surrounds us can be daunting and confusing and we can be left pining for a simple faith, a faith built on an encounter with God that we have had in our own lives.

Yet naivety in our approach to faith and reading of scriptures or listening to the voices around us can lead us on pathways away from the God that we have encountered in the coming of Jesus into our lives.

Yes experiences of faith are moments of revelation given to us by God and they are given that we might know and therefore seek the kingdom of heaven.

Now what this kingdom of heaven actually is may seem a little obscure as Jesus speaks in parables – mustard seeds, yeast, fields, pearls and nets.

Yet at the end of listening to Jesus telling these stories the disciples collectively respond to Jesus question “Have you understood all of this?” with a resounding “Yes”.

I have to say given the following stories of Jesus and the disciples and their behaviour in Matthew’s gospel I am not entirely convinced that the disciples “Yes” is as convincing as it sounds.

Jesus goes on from the disciples’ response to get them to consider their roles as scribes.

Now a scribe was a leader and teacher within the Jewish community. In the book of Sirach, which is one of the apocryphal writings, not found in the protestant Bible, a scribe is described in this way, “He memorizes the sayings of famous men and is a skilled interpreter of parables. He studies the hidden meaning of proverbs and is able to discuss the obscure points of parables.”

The memorizing and understanding of scribes involved an engagement with history, with what had gone before and how things had been explained.

Jesus as a teacher and in acting as a scribe himself points that a scribe of the kingdom of heaven “like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

So this takes me back to where I started about how we might discern amidst the complexity of voices around us whose voice to listen to.

Ultimately, I believe that the voice we are to listen to is Jesus voice, but which voice of Jesus and how do we listen to it and who is this Jesus anyway.

For me listening to Jesus voice involves a life or prayer and reading the scriptures but also a commitment to listening to those scholars who are able to clearly and rationally articulate what was new about Jesus and how it related to the old. It is also about listening to scholars new and old.

In the Uniting Church in Australia, The Basis of Union points us to scholarly interpreters in every age yet also grounds these scholars in a particular tradition. A tradition of understanding elucidated at the time of the reformation and preserved in the creeds of the ancient church.

What was new about Jesus is found in the tradition which has been handed on to us – the understanding that Jesus was unique in his relationship with God and was God. This unique revelation of God found in the person and work of Jesus, often referred to as the incarnation, is the point in history in and through which reconciles humanity and all things to himself.

The Basis of Union of the Uniting Church in Australia which describes the essence of the Christian faith captures these thoughts about Jesus when it quotes scripture and says, In Jesus Christ "God was reconciling the world to himself" (2 Corinthians 5:19 RSV). In love for the world, God gave the Son to take away the world's sin.”

So the kingdom of heaven is fundamentally about the reconciling work of God that occurs in and through Jesus. He is the mustard seed from which the tree of our faith grows, he is yeast that makes the dough of our lives rise, he is treasure in the field and the pearl to be sought for when we encounter Jesus we encounter the kingdom of heaven.

One of the issues the church and each us face in this complex and diverse world in which we live is whether we believe this message of hope and good news and how we respond to it.

As I personally sift through the options that are being touted I continually return to those scholars of excellence who are able to read the tradition in which we stand, that is to say the old, taking into account contemporary scholarship, that is to say the new.

For me these are the scribes of the kingdom of heaven of our day and whilst I believe none see entirely clearly they offer a witness to Jesus Christ as the one in and through whom we are reconciled with God.

The Basis of Union whilst a product of the mid to late 20th century I believe continues to express for us a way in which to understand and respond to the good news of Jesus Christ as the church.

This is what it says about who we are together as the church:

The Church as the fellowship of the Holy Spirit confesses Jesus as Lord over its own life; it also confesses that Jesus is Head over all things, the beginning of a new creation, of a new humanity. God in Christ has given to all people in the Church the Holy Spirit as a pledge and foretaste of that coming reconciliation and renewal which is the end in view for the whole creation. The Church's call is to serve that end: to be a fellowship of reconciliation, a body within which the diverse gifts of its members are used for the building up of the whole, an instrument through which Christ may work and bear witness to himself. The Church lives between the time of Christ's death and resurrection and the final consummation of all things which Christ will bring; the Church is a pilgrim people, always on the way towards a promised goal; here the Church does not have a continuing city but seeks one to come. On the way Christ feeds the Church with Word and Sacraments, and it has the gift of the Spirit in order that it may not lose the way.

If you and I are seeking the kingdom of heaven and so seeking Jesus and are living as the church then the question for all of us is are we being a fellowship of reconciliation and are we using our gifts for the building up of the whole – is Christ bearing witness through us.

This is not just about what we do for ourselves as a community but how we too live as yeast and seed in the world around us because Christ is witnessing through us, through our very lives.

Jesus finished his parables by asking the disciples “Do you understand all this?” Maybe they did, maybe the problem was not their understanding but their commitment to what it meant for them in how they were to live.

Maybe this is an issue for us as well.

Yet maybe there is in the confusing generation in which we live an issue of understanding, an issue of accepting and following and believing.

Yet the good news is that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ and the kingdom of heaven like the mustard seed or yeast will grow and you and I who encounter it will seek it for in seeking it we will live as witnesses to kingdom of heaven which has come near.

"One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish!"

The diversity of the fish in our oceans is as astounding as the diversity of humanity. It is truly wondrous to go to an aquarium and sit and watch the multitude of vibrant colours and shapes and sizes of the fish as the glide by the glass.

Of course what might not be immediately apparent to the undiscerning eye is that some of the fish are poisonous, even deadly for human beings.


Jesus once told a parable describing the kingdom of heaven as being like a fisherman who cast a net into the sea and pulled up a variety of fish. With his expert eye the fisherman was able to sort the good catch from the rubbish fish that had to be cast aside.

It is a parable of a promised future in which only the good things of this creation will find a future, those things and people whom God chooses.


Could it be that Jesus describes the kingdom of heaven like this because as the catch it is beyond us to satisfactorily work out who is in the basket and who, if any, are left to rot?


If this is the case then maybe we, who will be God’s catch, rather than worry about including or excluding others, should simply swim the oceans of life midst the colourful diversity of humanity.


And as we do so, to do so thankful for the life that we have and grateful that we do not have to be the ones to makes such momentous decisions as who is on and who is out.

(Photo from Creative Commons)

Casting off the smelly fish

Is there any good news in the idea that God is going to get rid of the bad fish?

Christians are often judged for being judgmental.

Is there any wonder that this is the case given passages like the Parable of the Net (Matt 13:47-51) which appears to indicate an end time when God will cast off those smelly fish that really only deserve dumping.

I suspect that Christian or not most people do recognize that there is a problem of evil in the world. This evil can be found within the whole spectrum of people: those of great faith right through to those of none.

For this reason the idea that the evil in this world might be cast aside at some point by God should carry some weight for most.

I suspect the problem for Christianity is when some Christians begin to take the place of the one who casts the net in the story. That is to say, they see themselves in the place of God and so assume the ability to work out which of the fish we are sharing the sea with the fisherman is going to discard.

Is it possible that when Jesus told this parable not only was he putting a hope before us, a time when the evil will be dealt with, but also reminding us that it is not our business to make decisions of how that catch should be sorted?

Peter Lockhart