A Thought For The Week Of September 25, 2017

"‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’" (Matthew 21:12) If the purpose of a parable is to shock the hearer or reader in order to get a reaction from them, then the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) is probably even more effective today than it was when Jesus first told it. The truth is that in so many ways this parable jars 21st century ears; it just doesn't work today - and that probably gets our attention and gets us thinking. Most of we justice-oriented Christians should be outraged at this image. If we saw this happening today there would be demands that the workers should form a union because we'd probably agree that those who were hired first and worked longer should be paid more. That only seems fair. It's justice! And this idea of the landowner who should be able to do whatever he wants to do with his money? Nonsense. That's capitalism gone mad! He's exploiting some workers and not properly compensating others for their labour! Justice for the workers! Especially for those who worked longer or had more seniority. This parable - using economics and labour as its basis - is just so totally foreign to 21st century ears in the Western world. But the more we think about it, perhaps the more powerful it gets - from a spiritual perspective anyway. God's grace cannot be parcelled out among God's people as if it's a part of some cosmic collective bargaining agreement. God's grace is, in fact, offered equally to everyone. There's no reward for coming to faith sooner or for possessing faith longer. With the way this parable truly grates on the ears of modern, liberal and progressive Christians, maybe it is in fact more powerful to 21st century ears than it was in Jesus' day. Maybe this parable is a stark reminder to us about the very nature of God. Maybe - just maybe - God isn't really fair. Maybe - just maybe - God is actually love instead! Maybe.