It Not a Competition

Today's parable of the workers in the vineyard has much to teach us and the first thing that I want to offer is that God’s grace is not a business. It’s not transactional. I’m terribly sorry to say that God does not have an EFTPOS machine, nor does he take MasterCard, Visa or Amex. He doesn’t even take cheques. Nor does he have shares in the stock exchange or bonds and life annuities. You cannot collect loyalty points or a free cuppa after coming to church 10 times in a row. All God wants is … You

For, God’s currency, God’s economy is in a different dimension. It is a way of living. In God’s economy, there is only giving and accepting. No strings, no contracts, not even a barter system.

It is a living, breathing, working, loving relationship where we are invited to work in the vineyard but never forced, coerced, bullied or harangued.

The Master invites us because He wants us there and we are completely free to say ‘Yes please’ or ‘No Thank you’. Sometimes folk will say ‘I’d like to think about it’. Sometimes they might come and work for a little while then disappear. Some will fall in love with the workers and the Master and some will leave disgruntled because they don’t like the way the business operates or the other workers look different, or speak different or … as in the parable of the vineyard, the boss is far too generous with those who come and work alongside us.

God is equally generous to all who sign on and it’s not a competition.

And this theme of ‘it’s not a competition’ is something clergy need to be reminded of. ‘My parish has more people, more dollars, more sparkle, more tech stuff, than Rev X down the road. Or within a parish system, Centre Y has more people worshipping than Centre Z. Every soul, no matter where they turn up, is of infinite value and they are incalculably precious in the eyes of the Master. For whatever it’s worth, some of my own most profound experiences of the nearness of God have happened when there were very, very few people with me. Perhaps that might also be true for you.

The sin of presumptuousness is always very close and a very easy trap to fall into. It sneaks up on you and before you know it you’re the one who is absolutely sure about who should get what reward and why. Instead, we should simply roll up our sleeves, get out our secateurs and get on with it…

What else is in this parable?

Notice the astonishment of the workers who clocked on at 9:00 a.m. Sometimes I suspect because of the familiarity of the liturgy, or because we are busy or for a multiplicity of other reasons, we do not allow ourselves the space and energy to be astonished by God’s action and generosity. I think about a little child as they grow up and the sense of awe and wonder of this marvellous island planet in its rich diversity of life in so many forms. The privilege, responsibility and thrill of human relationships

Where and when did we lose that sense of wonder and awesomeness? Did familiarity wear away the gloss? Perhaps.  Maybe we just did not give ourselves the physical, psychological and emotional space and tools to capture what we so desperately need to sustain and feed us. So I would encourage you to simply allow yourself to be astonished. Or at the very least allow the space, time and the opportunity to be astonished and fascinated on a regular and frequent basis.

There does come a time when the day's work finishes at the vineyard. You would be acutely aware that our time is limited on this side of the grave. We should take advantage of time to produce lashings of luscious grapes. We are to use our time wisely, efficiently, appropriately and faithfully. Our time is not our own no matter how alluring the sentiment is because our time and our energy and our gifts really belong to Him, who gave them to us in the first place.

The parable also has something to say to our society. You see, a denarius was the minimum daily wage that a worker in Jesus’ day needed to survive. So in the story, the employer simply couldn’t bear the idea of paying his workers less than a living wage.

Consider that for a moment…. What would it be like if every workplace not only valued diligent work but also cared about how every family was living?…

Finally, in the parable, there are three groups of people. There are those who work for a long time, those who work for a short time and the Master winemaker himself. Aspire not just to be a labourer, but also to be the winemaker. Seeing how generous God is with us requires that we too be generous with others. Be the winemaker who is not in competition with anyone.

The one who is always gracious, always generous, always inviting others. Ask the Lord of the harvest that you may have a heart like his; one that anticipates with hope the coming of others into the vineyard and rejoices in the wonderful benefits that the Lord desires to pour out on every, single, solitary soul.

We might be sorely tempted to compare ourselves with others but the very good news brothers and sisters is simply this.