.jpg)
Some of us who are a bit older might remember an American pseudo-holiday known as "Sadie Hawkins' Day." It actually originated from a comic strip called "Lil' Abner" and the main feature was a reversal of the norms. Women, on this particular day, were supposed to ask the men out on a date. And sometimes there was a dance to accompany the day, where women took the initiative, the usual male role.
I also remember as a child having various "opposite days" as part of school spirit week, in which students would dress like teachers, or vice versa. And one day where everyone was supposed to wear their clothes backwards. I remember wondering how my friend Bill got his cowboy boots on backwards.
Today we have the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard. And in it, Jesus shows some of the backward-ness of the Kingdom of God. It's at the heart of what God's grace is all about – flying in the face of our worldly, human expectations, thanks be to God!
At the end of the previous chapter, Jesus gives us an aphorism, a little principle, that describes an important aspect of the Kingdom of God. And he repeats that same phrase at the end of this parable.
He says, "many who are first will be last, and the last first."
This parable springboards from and fleshes out this principle. It is also as Isaiah says, God's thoughts are not your thoughts. His ways are not your ways. The way of the world is that the first come first and the last come last. The way of the world is that things are supposed to be "fair", whatever that means. The way of the world is you get what you deserve. You reap what you sow. Garbage in, garbage out, but hard work is rewarded. This world is transactional and merit-oriented. And that's not all bad, either.
But when it comes to the kingdom of God, things are different.
And so we see it here, too. The parable tells of workers who are hired at various hours of the day. And at the end of the day, when the wages are distributed, the ones hired latest are paid a full day's worth. But the ones hired first, who worked the longest, still only receive a day's wage. This leads to them grumbling against the master. It's not fair! We worked longer than they did. We should get more than they do!
The Master's thoughts are not their thoughts. His ways are not their ways. They would have paid each one in proportion to his work – the ones who worked longer and harder should get more! And the johnny-come-latelys should get less. That's the way it works in the world. That's only fair. But that's not the way in the kingdom. And that's not the way of the king.
This master is generous with the latecomers. And he shames the early workers for begrudging his generosity.
So what do we make of this?
For one thing, Jesus is shaming the pharisees for grumbling that he would forgive even prostitutes and tax collectors. These latest converts had lived a life of corruption and wickedness, and only just now come to the party of salvation. Why should Jesus regard them, when these religious leaders have served God their whole lives? It's a similar idea to the parable of the prodigal son, where the older brother begrudged the Father's receiving back the younger brother. Why throw him a party? He doesn't deserve it. But I have been working for you all these years...
And that leads to another thought, the false conceptions of what we deserve. The very wrong-headed idea that I, even I, deserve anything but temporal and eternal punishment. That my labors, my works, my goodness or merit is even a thing. Scripture is quite clear on this point: Your best good works are as filthy rags in God's sight. No one is righteous, no, not one. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And the wages of sin is death. The soul that sins shall perish.
So the wage you should, by rights, be expecting at the end of the day is death itself, and even eternal death. It's what you've earned. It's what your sins deserve.
But the master is generous. In the parable, he hires all these slackers in the first place. They were all standing around unemployed. But without looking at resumes or conducting interviews, he simply hires them. This is a picture of God's grace. To even be on the payroll is a blessing. To be called to faith by the Spirit through the word, to be baptized and adopted into the kingdom.
And then also, at the end of the day, things are all backwards. At the end of the day, the wages we receive are not based on our work. They are given to us not as a wage, but more as a gift, a blessing. They are what Christ has earned by his perfect, complete, flawless labor. They are what he has paid in his holy, precious blood, with his innocent suffering and death. Christ takes your wage of death, and he gives you the wage of God's grace. He gives it freely, with no respect to what you have or haven't done. That's grace. That's the mystery of the kingdom.
The generosity of the master still scandalizes many. But the problem is never the master's generosity. It's always in the attitude of the all-day laborer. In fact, to identify with the grumbling workers in this parable, you don't need to have worked all day. You don't need to be one who was born and raised in the faith, who's been a Lutheran all your life. These are the people who, in pride and self-righteousness, think they deserve God's blessings. Save us from this kind of heart, O, Lord!
But rather, may we all see ourselves in those 11th hour workers. May we ever be amazed and astounded when he places that denarius in our hand. Let our hearts be surprised and thankful at his grace in Jesus Christ, for we didn't bear the heat of God's wrath and the burden of sin – Christ did it for us. And he continues to distribute those blessings to his people freely.
You laborers in the vineyard will line up here, soon, to receive the blessed sacrament of his body and blood. And here, the last will be first. No, it doesn't matter what order you come forward, we're all "last". And one by one, he places in our hand, in our mouth, that blessed forgiveness – take and eat, take and drink. Wages you haven't earned, but Christ did for you. Generosity from the master, who loves to love and forgive his people.
And at the end of the day, that is, at the end of this world, when Christ comes again in glory, the dead will be raised, the books will be opened, the sheep and goats are separated. And we will again be surprised when he commends our good works, calls us blessed, and welcomes us to the final reward in the mansions of heaven.
So, until then, do your fruitful labor. Let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ. Like Paul, whether we live or die, so be it. To live is Christ, and to die is gain. Either way, the reward of grace is ours.
