First, the story: Jesus told it like this. ‘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 market-place; 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.’
Some story. What does it mean? Thing about parables is they have more than one meaning. Given the unemployment situation, one can read all kinds of labor issues into this parable. Unfair labor practices lead to unionization of workers. Or is this landowner a socialist? Distributing wealth indiscriminately, and deincentivizing workers. If you can, hang around until 5:00 pm and you’ll still get paid the same as those guys who worked all day—pretty sweet deal if you’re on that end of the labor pay equation. Thing about parables is: They mean something different to different people, partly because of the characters with whom you may identify. Are you more like that landowner or more like that day laborer or more like a vineyard? I can take a stab at what it means, though. I hear something like this: Heaven is open. Anyone can get in. God invites us. Jews, gentiles, pagans, prosperous 21st century Americans. Heaven is not a reward for a life well-lived. It is not an inheritance for deserving heirs. It is not a final blessing for God’s holy people. It is not an incentive to inspire good behavior and healthy choices. Heaven is communion with God which can happen in a single moment or throughout a lifetime of faithful endurance. There are people who will never set foot in church, never recite a creed or pray the Lord’s prayer. They may not be baptized, communing, and contributing members. They may not have memorized a single bible verse. But if they have communed with God, the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. It’s not about what you do or how well or how often you do it. It’s not first about your response, your worship life, your prayer life, your devotion or even your heart. God is the agent of grace who welcomes, invites, calls, and comes to us. Thus, Christianity---if it is the way of Jesus—is not a religious system or a human institution. It is God’s initiative. We are recipients, God is the giver. You might ask, but how does one commune with God and not pray, worship, serve, etc…? That is a good question. And the answer may be: there is no way to commune with God and not worship, pray to, and become a servant to God. They are the natural, innate responses of creature to creator, of the rescued to their savior. Back to the parable:
The day laborers are day laborers. They are ordinary people waiting for a chance to work, in order to receive a living wage. The vineyard in which they work not only provides them monetary means, but also grapes and wine. Food and drink. They tend a garden that is already growing. Someone else planted it. They are invited to join in. So what is communion with God? Join in the work that has already begun—tend the garden that provides food and drink for life. What gives, serves, and preserves life and how can you contribute to that? How do you contribute to the ongoing vitality of creation? How do you embrace the wonder and the beauty and the power? How do you humbly receive what has been entrusted to you while you are here and give it back multiplied?
Craig Van Gelder, a professor of missiology—which is the study of Christian mission---says this: “The church has no mission. The mission of God has a church.” The mission of God, according to this parable seems to be to invite workers into the vineyard and to treat them all in a way that is both just and merciful. Merciful to those who expect so little, like the last, lost, and the least. And just to those who expect so much---basically everybody else. And although mercy seems more like a reward, it is no more than what justice requires. Get that? In the kingdom of heaven no one gets more than what is right, but no one gets less than what is right either. So how does the church participate with God, practicing this kind of economics? Maybe it looks like Peter’s Porch. Maybe it looks like Sunday morning worship. Maybe it looks like small groups of us listening to God’s word and seeking to live accordingly. Maybe it looks like planting a garden. Maybe it looks like a vineyard where there is enough work for everyone and enough pay, too. No matter how much or how little you’ve done, you're included. Amen.
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