[__01__] We read
this Sunday about the parable of the workers in the vineyard.
In
this parable, the workers receive equality.
Equality
is a value that we observe – civilly – in our country, equality for workers,
equality before the law.
But,
in the equality of reward to all the workers seems to present great difficulty.
After
all, if everyone at school were to take the same test and everyone were to
receive the same grade, this would seem to present a problem.
Or,
if all the workers were to receive the same paycheck – regardless of the number
of hours worked, regardless of experience, yet all were to receive the same
compensation, paycheck.
What
would the School Principal, or College President or Provost or Boss...or the
U.S. Department of Labor say?
Surely,
there are going to be lawsuits.
But,
the end result in this parable is that everyone receives the same grade, the
same paycheck.
[__02__] Our
Savior uses this parable - and other parables - to help us identify our
attitudes towards …. WORK, SACRIFICE,
REWARD, PRIZES, COMPETITIVE RANKING.
Our Savior
Lord has cautioned us and his disciples about the true value of ELITE ACCESS,
of competitive advantages, in the Kingdom of God.
For
example --
(1)
James and John, the two ambitious brothers, the two ambitious disciples vying
for places at the table are asked if they are willing to sacrifice.
"Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am
baptized?" (Mark 10:38)
(2)
to Nicodemus, the learned, educated, advanced Pharisee. Jesus tells Nicodemus
about being "born again" and to
be
born again is an experience of being a child, a child of God, even an
experience of humility rather than material reward or honor. (cf. John 3:1-16)
(3) and,
of his own mission, Jesus says ...
“the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.” (Matthew 20:28)
There
may be extra hours in all of the above without additional reward.
[__03__] In God's
kingdom, those who work harder may receive the same reward as those working shorter
hours or with less effort.
Isn't
this also the reality and within our own homes and families?
That
we work without counting
the
cost (Isaiah 55:1), that we are alll expected to contribute something, to
contribute what we can, but even if we are at fault, or lacking motivation, we
still receive the same reward love of our family.
Thus,
the equality keeps us honest, the equality
keeps us together.
If we
were try this strategy at Seton Hall Prep or Harvard University, this equality
would cause division and a huge decrease in motivation. But, here the equality
keeps us together.
This
invites to accept sacrifices willingly..to expect that there will be
difficulties ..
and hurdles to overcome...and to try and work
through them without bitterness or a stopwatch or clock or a timesheet.
That
is, in the Kingdom of Heaven / Kingdom of God, don't we wish to avoid - or rise
above -- methods such as annual bonuses, class rank, report cards, for
motivation.
In
this we take our light from under
the
bushel basket or burying our talent in the ground.
[__04__] Even on
Commencement Day, are not the honors students and/or the valedictorians called
to give thanks for more than just their accolades or their competitive advantages?
For
in such a situation - even if we have
worked harder, attained more - we might give
thanks not only for the material reward but for the profit of the
sacrifice itself, for what we have learned, for the knowledge gained by the
effort.
A
similar message is given to us about how we might regard either the difficulities
of the past.
St.
Paul writes to the Philippians this reminder that we would do...
"Do all things without
grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of
God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among
whom you shine as lights in the world,"
(Philippians
2:14-15)
As we
read also in Proverbs -- "In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to
poverty."
(Proverbs 14:23)
And,
we might say that some of the workers in the parable are mere talkers...
Whereas
we know the real work is achieved by God's inspiration... as Paul
writes... "I can do all things through
him who
strengthens me."
(Philippians 4:13)
In
other words, aren't we called to reinvest the profits of the lessons we have
learned, what we have learned from our
work...even to reinvest our monetary savings for compound interest.
We
are also called to reinvest the profits of all of our hurts and difficulties.
That is, to avoid the attitude of the workers
who
started earlier, the envious or jealous workers.
We
give thanks that there is a reward to be shared, a reward of God's mercy.
There
will be inequalities to solve in our journey. But the reward to be shared, the
equality of the reward, keeps us together and is Good News.
No comments:
Post a Comment