It's Not All About You (or Me)
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church
Matthew 20: 1-16, Rev. Marianne Niesen, September 21, 2008
Several years ago, the Sultan of Brunei, who at that time was allegedly the richest man in the world, attended a conference in Cyprus. After his five day stay in a hotel there, he was especially appreciative of the service he had received, and left a tip consisting of 1700-one hundred dollar bills. A total of $170,000! Faced with the challenge of distributing such a gift, the owner of the hotel decided to divide the tip equally among the hotel’s 320 employees. Everyone received a tip of $531.
You can imagine the comments by those who could claim to have served the Sultan: the porters who had carried his luggage, the maids who had cleaned his room, the waiters who had served him - not to mention the concierge or the house manager who had positions of authority over the others. Some employees had not laid eyes on the Sultan. Some had done nothing for him. Some were off sick or gone on vacation for those five days. But they all got $531 - most likely the biggest tip any had ever received or would ever receive again. For some, however, instead of celebrating their good fortune, they found reason to ‘grumble’ because someone who had worked less than they had received the same reward.
Imagine . . . working hard for 4 days to be sure the room was just right, the pillows plumped, the ice bucket full, the sheets clean - hard work, yes, but it was her job. Imagine, getting over $500 as a tip. That’s more than she had ever received before. She was ecstatic, overwhelmed, thrilled. Then, she told her friend about it - her friend who had been away on vacation. That’s when she found out her friend got the same thing. She didn’t even know the Sultan was in town. In fact, didn’t even know where Brunei was. She too was thrilled . . . and suddenly, the first person was no longer so happy! How could this be? She felt cheated. It wasn’t fair . . . it just wasn’t fair.
A man dies and goes to heaven. Of course, St. Peter meets him at the Pearly Gates. St. Peter says, "Here’s how it works. You need 100 points to make it into heaven. You tell me all the good things you’ve done, and I give you a certain number of points for each one, depending on how good it was. When you reach 100 points, you get in."
"Okay," the man says, and then he begins. "I was married to the same woman for 50 years and never cheated on her, even in my heart."
"That’s wonderful," says St. Peter, "that’s worth three points."
The man is amazed - "Three points? Only three?" He continues, more quickly now, "well, I attended church all my life and supported its ministry with my tithe and service." "Terrific!" exclaims St. Peter. "That’s certainly worth a point."
"O-o-one?" Now the man is starting to get worried, "Well, I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans."
"Fantastic, that’s good for two more points," St. Peter says.
"Two? Only two points?" The man is exasperated and overwhelmed and worried. He throws up his arms, "at this rate the only way I’ll get into heaven is by the grace of God!"
Now it’s St. Peter’s turn to throw up his arms. "That’s it! There’s your hundred points! Come on in and I’ll show you around."
Today’s scripture text is about grace. Grace is the word we use to describe the generosity of God, the love of God. Grace is about getting a break when we don’t deserve it. It is about forgiveness we didn’t earn. It is a great word - and much of the time we celebrate grace. Amazing grace. But there are moments - like the event described in today’s parable - when grace just doesn’t seem right. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me . . .and that other wretch over there. Grace is generosity (which we like) and on the other hand generosity to whomever and whenever God chooses (and, face it, we don’t always like God’s choices.) In other words, grace is usually pretty good news when it comes to me or to you but it is one of the hardest things to watch someone else receive - especially when we know just how undeserving they are! We rarely object to grace given to us - only at grace given to another. We behave a lot like the early laborers in the vineyard. We believe in equal pay for equal work. We believe in earning your keep and working hard for what you get. But . . . God’s ways are not our ways and God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. No matter how much we like to make God into our image, no matter how much we want to give God advice on how best to be God, it doesn’t work. We can’t. And grace is the sure evidence of that reality.
A wise mother of several children was once asked how she had raised them. "Do you love each one equally? Do you treat each one the same as all the others?"
"I loved all of them - loved them greatly," she said, "but I never wanted to love them equally. I loved the one that was down until he got up. I loved the one who was weak until she was strong. I loved the one that was hurt until he was healed. I loved the one who was lost until she was found."
That’s grace - radically unfair and generously extravagant . . . and puzzling! For, you see, in God’s economy, one plus one most always equals five - or six - or one and a half. And only God knows why. Amazing!
Christianity is all about grace - unfair though it is. So what’s a Bible-believin’ Christian to do with this good news/bad news thing called grace? Perhaps most importantly, we need to get better at receiving grace and responding with gratitude rather than trying to fit it into our economy, our determination of what is right and fair. This is hard to do. It is hard not to grumble about grace - consider those laborers in the vineyard or the workers at the hotel. Think of the history of Christianity and how often good church people have sat in judgment and have decided who was outside the reach of grace. We’ve burned them at the stake, kicked them off church boards and committees, made them unwelcome in the church. (Maybe you and I haven’t done that, but we cannot deny it’s been done.) The bottom line is that we can certainly make rules about who belongs - and how we want them to act - but we dare not presume we know the reach of the grace of God - or that God can be bound by our limits.
So the first thing we need to admit is that grace is God’s work, not ours. Without God’s grace, God’s love, God’s forgiveness - where would any of us be? We think we’ve worked hard in the vineyard, given our best - and perhaps we have - but , if the truth be told, even the best of us have given - oh, perhaps 10% of our money - a true tithe - and, perhaps, even 10% of our time. And , we’ve been loving and giving most of the time. Truth is, when we look at it, we know we could do better - but God loves us anyway and gives us room to grow and time to do it. That’s grace. It all starts there. The hymn we sang just a moment ago gets it right . . . Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved someone like me; I once was lost but now I’m found; was blind but now I see. Period. We always like to add - well, now I see better than you or why were you found first or . . .
A sparrow complained to Mother Nature, "you gave beautiful colors to the peacock and a lovely song to the nightingale, but I am plain and unnoticed. Why was I made to suffer?"
"You were not made to suffer," stated Mother Nature. "You suffer because you make the same foolish mistake as human beings. You compare yourself with others. Be yourself, for in that there is no comparison and no pain."
The first step in living with the grace of God is to receive it without comparison and give thanks. Which, by the way, is the best way to begin every prayer . . . giving thanks for something. The great medieval mystic, Meister Eckhart once said . . . If the only prayer you ever said was thanks, that would be enough! He understood grace. The first and best response to grace is gratitude.
The second response to grace is more challenging. It is to become a ‘grace bearer.’ Think for a moment about the parable. Why, at the height of harvest time, were there workers in the vineyard who weren’t needed? Why were there workers whose lives were completely at the mercy of forces beyond their control? Last year, our St. Paul’s lecturer, John Dominic Crossan suggested that a central question in this parable is a question of justice. But it is not justice for me - so evident in the indignant outrage we usually raise about this parable. It is about justice for all. In other words, what do we need to do to build a more just society so there is an equitable distribution of resources? That’s what biblical justice is all about. It’s not about punishment, it is about sharing. Jesus was both teaching about God’s inconvenient and extravagant grace and challenging his followers to do better: to be instruments of that grace, to work for a better world.
In the end, that is the question that should haunt us as we make decisions about leadership for our country - not, what’s in it for me but how will we get closer to a time when those waiting for work will find it, when those who need health care will get it, when education is accessible and children are cared for? We will differ greatly on the methods needed, but it seems to me we need to start asking the right questions. And the questions must have to do with life in our vineyard. There's a cartoon which ran in the newspaper that needs very little explanation. It shows a cleaning lady in a huge, posh, executive's office. The view outside the office window indicates that this office suite is at the top of a skyscraper in a large city. A distraught executive is seated behind a huge desk covered with folders and telephones. The woman, a vacuum cleaner at her side, a dusting wand in her hand, says to the man, "Believe me, sir, it's lonely at the bottom, too." We’re all in this together!
And grace will lead us home. That is our heritage. Those who have been members of St. Paul’s for 50 years or more, witness to that heritage. Grace is amazing and we have been blessed. And here’s the good news . . . whether we have been members for 50 years or are visiting for the first time or find ourselves somewhere in between, grace will lead us home. We’re surrounded by people who get breaks we don’t get or opportunities that pass us by. But you know what? Grace will lead us home! We struggle with getting a job we didn’t deserve or losing a job we loved. But, grace will lead us home! We face illness we didn’t expect or a cure we can’t believe. But, grace will lead us home! We see plans change or plans come together. But, grace will lead us home! We worship in a church that some of us have sweated in and others have sweated over and most just get to enjoy. But, grace will lead us all home! That doesn’t mean we just hang around and let God take care of everything. No, just a we are grace receivers, so are we grace bearers . . . and the best way to start is with an attitude of gratitude. Grace is how God loves us - thank God! And it is our incredibly precious privilege to be able to share that grace, to assure others of God’s love, to remind us all that, no matter what God is doing for someone else, no matter how unfair things seem, we all get more than we deserve. Grace will lead us all home.
May we have the courage and the vision to be instruments through whom the wonderful work of God is made available and accessible to all. That is truly what it means to have open heart, open minds and open doors. That is what it means to be ‘grounded in hospitality.’ It means we are grounded in gratitude and committed to share the good news of the amazing grace of God. How sweet that sound - indeed!
