Matthew 18:15-20 and 20:1-16

Two or Three – It’s Not Fair

          Some visual images to carry in the back of our minds while we encounter this Sabbath’s scriptures:  A legal contract and some gentle rain falling on a field.

          When I read the words of Jesus “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them,” it generates thoughts of some of the best of times and the worst of times in my years as a pastor.  By that I mean that a small-group experience has been among the most discouraging of times for me, however there have also been occasions where I was moved by the power of the Lord’s presence in a small group.

          I remember some times in the summer when it seemed that everybody was gone and only a small group came to appreciate the Sabbath worship opportunity.  I guess that I identified with Elijah who in a time of despair whined to God that he was going to give up since he was the only one still serving God.  We have had “lone Sabbath-keepers” all over the U.S. from time to time.  These times have sometimes also been the most inspiring of times.

          Large gatherings can be an awesome happening where the Spirit of God moves among God’s people.  This happens at Conference where the word of God is shared through a gifted preacher; there are amazing choir anthems and/or small groups, quartets, trios, duets, solos, instrumentalists, organ and piano solos and/or duets.  A praise was shared last Sabbath at Shiloh:  “A lady heard some of our youth practicing singing at Conference for a program.  She asked who was that ‘professional group’ and was told that it was our youth group preparing for a program.  She asked how long they had been singing together and was told about twenty minutes.  She expressed her total admiration for hearing music in wonderful four-part harmony and told the person to congratulate them.”  God works in large groups as well as small groups.  “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”  We are witnesses whether in small or large groups.  We should never sell ourselves short.

          Our idea of fairness is drastically different from God’s.  And so we have this amazing parable of Jesus recorded in Matthew 20.  The from-the-first-hour workers get angry when the landowner hands out the pay.  They are paid the amount promised, but others – who didn’t start until an hour before quitting time – get the same pay.  The from-the-first-hour workers cry “Foul! It’s not fair!”  I believe that they assume that God is a contract God, who rewards according to one’s performance.  And we can see their point.  Suppose for example, that your boss pays you fifty dollars for working eight hours and then you find out that those who didn’t show up until an hour before quitting time also get fifty bucks.  Where is the fairness in that?

          Back in the fourth century, St. Augustine said that the from-the-first-hour workers missed the point.  The basis for the wage given was not their merit at all, but the divine promise.  God promised that everyone who responded to the invitation to work in the divine vineyard would be given the same wage.

          Of course, this story Jesus tells is not about how to run a business.  He is not urging employers to be reckless in the extravagance of their pay, regardless of performance.  But Jesus is saying that God is like that.  In the kingdom, God piles blessing upon blessing on the undeserving.  Note that when Peter asks about the wages for followers of Jesus, he is told it will be “a hundredfold, and … eternal life” (Mt 19:29).  In other words, everybody who labors in the kingdom will be lavished with the ‘daily wage’ of heaven: all the treasure of God!

          This is the very good news of the gospel of our salvation.  We are welcomed into God’s eternal realm – not on the basis of our deserving or our performance, which would never get us in – but on the grounds of the divine promise of grace to us.  Paul reminded the Ephesian Christians, “for by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8).

          But the gospel is not just for the beginning of the Christian life.  It is the basis for the whole of our lives in the kingdom.  Suddenly we see plainly the true poverty of the first-hour workers.  Everyone in the parable is tendered with the wealth of the kingdom.  God gives everyone a daily wage so extravagant that no one could ever spend it all.  A deluge of grace descends on all; torrents of joy and blessing fall everywhere.  And there these first-hour workers stand, drenched in God’s mercy clutching their little contracts, and whining that they deserve more rain. “Joy is like the Rain!” is a song that Yvonne has sung from time to time.

          Suddenly, this story of Jesus gets personal.  It is an interpretation of our lives.  Things might go fairly uneventfully for many years.  We have a reasonably happy childhood; we perhaps get married and have a pretty good family life.  In that context, we can handle setbacks that come along; a job layoff for a time; a period in which we cannot seem to communicate with our two teenage children, even a surgery or two.  These things can be stressful and challenging, but we figure that, all in all, God has given us a pretty good life.

          But what happens when we encounter times of real darkness?  What happens when that “question mark” in the x-rays becomes a tumor, and, no matter what the treatment, it is not getting any better?  Slowly we have to face the grim fact that a door is closing on this life.

          What happens when we pour ourselves into our child?  We try our level best to be a devoted parent, and spend hours perhaps reading to her, going to open house at school, taking her to Sabbath School and Sabbath Worship, dispensing our best advice.  But then she turns away from her upbringing, away from faith, and pursues a life that is less than whole.  Same questions for a male child!

          What happens when someone very dear to us dies, and suddenly our lives are shattered, torn in pieces?  We find ourselves bewildered and stunned that a loving God would allow that to happen to us – yes, to us!

          In so many ways, life can bring bitter pain, struggle, and disappointment, and we find ourselves crying out.  In fact – let us be honest – we find ourselves whining to God that we are being treated unfairly.

          Jesus’ story about the disappointed farm workers is about us.  We get so caught up in what we think that God owes us that we lose sight of God’s abundant grace.  We spend so much time looking at our pain that we fail to see the ultimate goodness of God’s kingdom.  God never promises an untroubled journey – only a safe arrival.  With wisdom far greater that ours, God may take us through difficult times; but through it all, God is faithful.  God continues to give us the greatest gift – God’s own presence in this time and in eternity.