"Gratitude and the Goodness of God"
"The workers who were hired about 5 in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius."
I was the story teller in VBS this year. Each day I told a parable and pointed the group toward a theme. The first day it was the story of the "Whiny Workers" and a lesson on gratitude. It was a good lesson for the children. I liked this curriculum. But I wondered if in fact gratitude was the point of this parable. After all, no one expresses thanks in the parable. Even the short-term workers do not say anything after receiving the full day's wage. But I feel that maybe this is a good way to read this story. I think the point does have to do with gratitude.
Jesus tells this parable just after he meets a rich young man, a man who is good in following the law and who wants to find eternal life. But this man is unwilling to give to the poor and follow Jesus, to join the disciples. So he walked away, sad. The disciples of Jesus were astonished and said, "We left everything to follow you."
So Jesus tells them a story about the Kingdom of Heaven, where values are different from those of the world. It is a story about a farmer who is generous and good and gives to the poor. This man owned a vineyard and it was time to harvest the grapes. He went to the labor market very early in the morning, well before 6 a.m., when the work of the day began. At the market he hired a group to harvest his grapes, agreeing to pay them the usual rate. So they go to the vineyard and they work until 6 p.m.; all day in the hot sun they pick clusters of grapes. Later he goes back to the market and hires another group. That could happen, as often day laborers would work just half a day, and receive half pay.
The life of a day laborer in those times was very difficult. The pay was one denarius a day for twelve hours of work. If you could make 200 denarii a year, you were right at the poverty line. But when you start counting Sabbath days and various holidays, and then the days you did not get chosen or when there was no work, it was not easy to make even 200 denarii a year. There were surely nights when your family went to bed hungry. The Old Testament says in several places that these laborers are to be paid each day at sunset, so they could survive.
The details of the parable fit the realities of life in that time that everyone knew. But a parable always has a few surprises in it, some aspects of the story that either cause people to laugh or to scratch their heads. This parable has two of those. First is a somewhat comical picture of this farmer running back and forth between vineyard and labor market five times during the day. That would never happen in real life. Farmers knew how much labor they needed for the day.
The other surprise is the fact that he pays everyone the same amount at the end of the day. That is the head scratcher. No one did that. It is these aspects of the story that reveal its meaning.
The farmer did not go back and forth from vineyard to labor market all day to meet his labor needs. He did it, says R.T. France, "to act with compassion and alleviate the hardship of the unemployed." The farmer is giving his possessions to the poor so that the village might be fed that night. He keeps checking the labor pool to see if anyone else is hiring, and when they are not, he steps in and cares for the community. He is not lavish in what he gives. This is not a story about abundant grace. His act does not mean people can retire. This is righteous charity given by a good and generous man. In the story the landowner reminds us of God. God is the one who cares for the poor and seeks the lost.
Then, if we look at the story from the workers' point of view, we see that in fact all the groups of laborers bore the heat of the day. Some bore it while harvesting grapes, and others while waiting in the heat, worrying about their children who may have nothing at the end of the day. Which is more difficult?
At the end of the day, as they lined up for their pay, the on- hour workers expected to be paid 1/12th of a denarius. That would not help them much. When they got a whole denarius, it was enough to meet their need. But the All-Day workers saw the One-Hour workers being paid a whole denarius, and so they began to dream of receiving 12 denarii for their work. Then they could get ahead a week or two. They were not thinking about the village being fed that night, but about their own future security. So, when they were paid just one denarius, they looked at the on- hour workers with envy.
Klyne Snodgrass summarizes the parable in this way. "The parable focuses on the goodness of the owner and the complaint, the envy, of those who thought they should get more for their work. The owner gives the same wage because without it those hired later would not have enough to live on. The human tendency is to compare ourselves with others. The complaint is entirely about comparison. "
So first of all, the parable is about the goodness of God and what it means to be godly. Godly living requires generosity. It does not require lavish giving, but it does require giving that accomplishes something for the poor. After the great destructive storm that hit Haiti, Covenant World Relief was immediately on site to help with water, medicine and temporary shelter. But as time has passed, the needs have become much more for better housing than a tent affords. But how can this be done without building an expensive house for every family in need? Covenant World Relief has partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build 450 shelters for $4,200 each. These homes of plywood walls and tin roofs can be finished later with concrete block. So a need is met, but more will need to be done later. This is wise and generous giving, so that a need is met for 450 families, and the givers are not overwhelmed with the cost of the need.
Love INC. sent out a list of furniture items that have been requested since January. Included are 227 kitchen chairs, 96 twin beds, 155 dressers, 99 lamps and 72 sofas. That is an overwhelming list, and one church cannot meet all those needs. But together with other churches, we can pray and consider what we do have that we could give away. Maybe you do have an extra chair or bed. It is godly living to give, to be generous like God.
The parable is also about disciples who can become envious of one another. The disciples of Jesus struggled with which one had the honored seat or would be remembered most in heaven. So today, we can fall into the temptation of comparing our lives with another person in the church. We may feel that compared to the person sitting on the other side of the church, we do not feel blessed or rewarded. We can also envy other churches. Many of the newer churches in our community are much larger than we are, or have much bigger outreach ministries. We may envy their success and ask "Why not us?"
I do not know the extent to which envy might be a problem for us. I do know that he answer to envy is gratitude. Through gratitude, expressing thanks, we recognize the generosity of God. Gratitude helps us to keep the focus on today. The village in the parable went to bed that night with no hungry children. They were not worried about the next night or next week. Their thanksgiving was for the provision of the day. Giving thanks helps us with our worry and anxiety.
I have noticed over the years that people who have been responsible and faithful in church for many years can begin to feel overlooked or taken for granted. They see the hard work they have done over the years and wonder if those newer to the church are more favored, more recognized or appreciated.
I believe gratitude is the answer when you begin to feel taken for granted or overlooked. It is not just gratitude for what God has done for you, your blessings; it is gratitude for the blessing of God in the lives of others. It is to be thankful for those who are new, those who are young, those who are leading us in new ways into a new day. It is gratitude for what God is doing in the world. I don't want to come to the end of my time and wonder why I did not get more. I want to come to the end giving thanks that by the grace of God, the village is fed.
Amen.