Daily Meditation for Wednesday June 25, 2014
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. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o'clock, he did the same. And 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?' They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard.' When 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.' When those hired about five o'clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, '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.' But he replied to one of them, '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 the last will be first, and the first will be last."
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One of the first times I heard this scripture preached the presider made the case for a libertarian approach to economics (he would not approve of mandatory minimum wage hikes) arguing that the reading was an injunction against government intervention in free markets and private corporate affairs. Clearly, he did not get the message of the text which has nothing to do with economics or private enterprise but is rather a metaphor for how God metes out grace to newcomers--with abundant generosity.
The point is that whether one has been a Christian for a lifetime or for mere minutes at the end of one's life, the extravagant love of God is not based on seniority, nor merit, but rather, on the free-will response to the call of God to a covenantal relationship with him. Some may say--along with the workers who came early--"That's not fair!" but when it comes to the unfathomable love of God it's never about "fairness" but rather about mercy and compassion.
That's instructive for us. When we treat others exclusively on their merits or contributions we become spiritual utilitarians; very much unlike God. It's not about what they can do-it's about what we can do for them. When we snub others for their lack of spiritual maturity we engage the sin of pride and eschew the virtue of humility. When we juxtapose ourselves against those who are new to the faith in a statutory or legal way, we impose our human limitations on God and limit God in our own estimation of his greatness.
If we re-read the text in this context, we will praise God for his "unfairness" and be thankful for his unlimited grace.
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