It's not fair, but you decide why

Yesterday was Rally Day at Bethlehem, meaning that it was a busy day with LOTS of (almost too much) stuff before, during, and after worship.  But it was a festive day which always makes worship wonderful. 


At the beginning of worship, I pointed out two note cards stuff into each bulletin.  I asked people to write on one something they hold a grudge against or are envious of.  On the other I asked them to write a blessing they have received.  We then used these note cards during the sermon which was based on the gospel Matthew 20:1-16.


Enjoy the sermon!

Can you blame the first for being upset?  If any of us were in the same situation wouldn’t we each be upset that we did not get more?  We worked a full day, 12 hours under the hot sun.  Meanwhile those others just worked an hour and yet they got the same pay as us.  So what if we agreed to the pay that we received before we ever started the job?  So what if what we were given is enough for us to support our families by putting food on the table and a roof over our heads?  What we care about is that it is not fair!  It is not fair that we worked 12 times the amount as the last hired and yet we got the same pay.  It is not fair that the landowner decided to be generous and let all the people under his care to be give enough to survive.  It is not fair!

It is not fair that some of us are struggling to pay our bills while others get multi-million dollar bonuses each year.  It is not fair that some people have been unemployed or underemployed for years and yet others easily jump from one job to another.  It is not fair that some people have to study hard and still only get B’s and others never open a book and so how manage to get an A on the exam.  It is not fair that life seems to constantly dump the worse onto some people in the form of illness, deaths, financial and relationship problems and others never have problems and breeze through life.

Life is not fair!  It is not fair that some people who are good Christians there entire life, always trying to do what is right, and others who come to believe in Christ on the last day, will both receive the same reward of heaven.  Heaven is not fair!

The early laborers were upset that they did not receive more for their work.  They did not think about how depressing it could have been to be waiting for work all day and have perspective employer after perspective employer choose someone else over you.  They did not think about those hired last who spent all day calculating how they will be able to stretch what little they have to feed their families for one more day without an income.  They did not think about how those hired last did not give up hope for finally being able to find work.  Instead as the last hired were receiving their pay, the first were seeing dollar signs in their eyes.  They were already thinking about all the ways they would spend their extra money.  So when they did not receive what they expected, and instead just received what they had agreed upon, they resented those who were hired last.  How dare they get an equal reward for unequal work? 

But if you are able to step out of this parable and look at it from a different point of view, you can see that the first laborers can either hold on to the things that they resent about the last receiving equal pay, or they can rejoice with the last and count their blessings and be grateful that their fellow workers, their neighbors and friends, are also taken care of.  Because the last were paid for a full days work, the first will not have to take of their food in order to help feed their neighbors, those who were only paid for part of the day.  Because the last were paid for a full days work, the first will not have to open their homes in order to allow their relatives, the last to get hired, to have a place to rest their heads at night.  Because the last were paid for a full days work, the entire community is fed, the entire community is cared for, the entire community is blessed.  But the first must choose, they must choose to either hold on to the things that they resent or they must choose to focuses on and lift up their blessings, they can’t do both.

And the same is true for us.  We cannot hold on to both things we resent and to our blessings.  When we hold on to resentment and grudges that we have against others, family members, friends, community members, neighbors, even people who live on the other side of the planet our hearts and minds start to focus only on those negatives and as a results we are not able to celebrate and rejoice in the many blessings and abundances that we are giving.  When we focus on the resentment and grudges we see the world as unfair and we are the ones who are getting the short end of the deal and so we hoard onto what we do have and become inward and me focused.

But when we focus on the blessings and abundances that both ourselves and others have been given, well then we see that the world is unfair, but we are not the ones getting the short end of the deal.  And instead we work to make sure that our abundance, our blessings are given to those who are given less.  Through focusing on the blessings and abundances of this world, we are not only much happier but we also end up with a life-giving sense of justice. 

So you should each have with you two pieces of paper.  I asked you earlier to write one a resentment or grudge that you hold, or something you are envious of.  And on the other I asked you to write something you are grateful for or a blessing you have received.  Now flip them over.  Physically they look much the same on this side. Yet one of these cards is weighing you down spiritually.  One of these cards is like chains wrapped around your heart, keeping you from loving you neighbor and in some cases keeping you from loving God.  And the other card is light, it is something that you want to tell others about, something that you want to share.  Now you have a choice, I’m going to pass a basket around and I’m going to ask you to keep one of those cards and give away the other – I’ll burn them after worship.  The card that you keep, I hope that you hold on to.  I hope you use it as a reminder that you can focus on either the negative or the positive but not both. 

Unfortunately choosing to count blessings instead of holding grudges is not as easy in real life, but remember those who were holding a grudge, the first laborers who were hired, received the landowners grace and generosity.  And even if we end up holding grudges instead of counting our blessings, God still gives us grace and gives it to us generously and with abundance. God is fair because God is just!  God is generous!  God is abundant and God is loving.