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The Promise is the
Same by Peter L. DeGroote |
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Notes for Bible Talk: August 31, 2005 Please read: Matthew 20: 1-14a |
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Bible Talk is an informal
discussion of biblical passages, ideas, and related material. The discussions are on Wednesday
evenings at 7:30 pm, following the Service of Word and Table. Occasionally,
they will not be held due to special events. These Notes are intended to
assist participants in thinking about the passages and some of their
implications prior to the gathering. Usually, the Notes are
prepared and the discussion is led by Rev. Peter L. DeGroote The sources for biblical quotations are
labeled as follows: NRSV: The New
Revised Standard Version, Copyright ©1989, The National Council of
Churches of Christ in the SV: The Scholar’s Version; i.e., The Five Gospels, The Search for the
Authentic Words of Jesus, Robert W. Funk and Roy W. Hoover, and The Jesus Seminar, Copyright © 1993 by Polebridge Press. TM: The
Message, The New Testament in Contemporary Language, Copyright ©
Eugene H. Peterson 1993. navpress,
M: My paraphrase. |
1. A
landowner went to a day-labor market to hire workers, a scene that has been
repeated in urban life from ancient times down to today. Agreeing to the
normal work hours, 7AM to 6PM, and to the standard daily wage of one silver
coin, he sent them to work in his vineyard.
At about 9 AM, the landowner saw others loitering in the marketplace and he
sent them to his vineyard, promising to pay "what was fair." They
would have to trust his word and sense of fairness. Peculiarly, he did the
same thing for another group of men at 3 PM and still another at 5 PM, an
hour before quitting time. 2. At
quitting time, the owner told his foreman to pay all of them, starting with
the last to arrive. Those who had worked for only an hour received a silver
coin, a whole day's wages. Then came those hired at 3PM and they received a
whole day's wages, as did those hired at 9AM. A. Seeing what the
others received, those who had worked a full day had great expectations that
were dashed when they too received one silver coin, what they had been
promised. They complained: “We have toiled for you all day through the hot
sun but you have made us equal to those who had worked only a part of the
day, equal even to those who had worked for only an hour.” The landowner
asked how he had wronged them. "Didn't I keep my promise?" He told
them to be on their way. B. The parable ends with the
landowner explaining that equal pay had been his intention from the
beginning. Then come the questions that mark the end
of any parable: Is there some law forbidding me to do with my money as I
please? Or is your eye filled with envy because I am generous?
Old timers in the Church will have to admit to a tendency to think that we
have some special standing with God that "newbies"
do not have. It's as if there is a long period of building up seniority. The
longer the seniority, the better is our standing with God. Not so says
Jesus. C. The parable is but one of
many illustrations of Jesus reminding us that God does not live by human
rules or ways. We might think of those in the day-labor market as people
waiting and searching for the means to live in harmony with God. Once we
begin to do so, we discover an equality of our relationships with God; there
are no favorites, no special cases. Likewise, we begin to discover equality
in the way we perceive and treat others. 3. Among
the other directions that this parable may take our thoughts, three are
summarized: A. When we believe we can
predict and calculate God's grace or activity we are on the wrong track. As
already said, God usually surprises us. Theologians often talk of this as the
Sovereignty of God or of God doing as God pleases. You will recall that when
Moses asked for God's name the answer was "I am," which can be translated
in a number of way, to include "I am who I am" and "I will be
who I will be." Those of us who want God to be with us in what we are
doing find it disconcerting that God claims absolute freedom, even from our
goals and objectives. Those who seek to be with God in whatever God is doing
begin to learn that God’s freedom rubs off. In that rubbing we find out who
we are and usually bear witness to the truth of the saying “God makes all
things new.” B. Jesus probably used the
parable to respond to the criticism that he befriended what the bible calls
"publicans and sinners." Unlike the religious leaders, he had not
given up on those who did not respond to God and he did not make them his
enemy. Instead, like the landowner who kept returning all day, constantly
looking for people who were not included, Jesus was always ready with his
Good News of how we can live in harmony with God and each other; i.e., living
a life as God intended, what some call living in the Kingdom of God. C. This parable is another
example of the theme of reversed expectations so characteristic of Jesus.
Another example that pops into mind from this context is the reversal of
common wisdom about the rich and poor; i.e., God's domain or kingdom belongs
to the poor and it will be harder for the rich to enter God's domain than it
is for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle." Another example
is Jesus' aphorism that Matthew added to the end of the parable: "The
last will be first and the first last." Note: All Quotes Scholar’s Version (SV) Peter L. DeGroote |
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