September 18, 2020

Dear Road Church Friends,

As Sunday approaches I want to give you a preview what you can expect to hear at our morning service. The lesson is taken from Matthew 20:1-16,—The Parable of the Day Laborers. If you like puzzles you may enjoy the challenge this parable poses. It’s similar to the letters that people send to an advise columnist about a difficult family situation. Sometimes it’s hard to decide who is right and who is wrong.

The opening line sets up the problem, “the kingdom of heaven is like this, a landowner went out early in the morning to hire laborers...” The challenge is to determine what this “labor relations” story is meant to teach us about the kingdom of heaven. What does it say about justice, fairness, and grace? Who is in the right, the landowner or the workers, or is there blame on both sides? What are the takeaways? How do they apply to our lives and the church? On Sunday I will share some of my conclusions. I would enjoy hearing your thoughts by phone or email. To start you thinking about these things I will tell the story in my own words.

A wealthy landowner goes into town to recruit laborers to work in his vineyard. Every few hours he returns to town to hire more men. He arrives with the last group an hour before quitting time. At the end of the day all the workers gather around to get paid. Half of them have worked a full day and have agreed to the usual daily wage. The rest have worked part of a day, including some who only worked during the final hour. All the partial day laborers have been promised to be paid “whatever is right.”

The owner had all the men line up according to the number of hours worked. Those who worked only one hour were at the front of the line and those who worked all day were in the back. It was usually the other way around. Then he went down the line and paid each one. The first man worked one hour but was paid a full day’s wage. This was ten times more than he expected to receive. The second in line received the same amount. Those in the back began to believe that they too might be rewarded above their usual pay. But their hopes were dashed when they received the usual daily wage they had agreed to that morning. They felt short changed, and complained. “It’s not fair that you paid those who worked one hour in the cool of the evening the same as we who worked the whole day in the blazing sun.” The owner was adamant. “You have nothing to complain about,” he replied. “I have given you exactly what you agreed to this morning. Take your pay and go.” It’s my right to give these others whatever I choose.” End of story. Now, find it in your own Bible and read it for yourself. Best wishes figuring it out.

Blessings to you all,

Pastor Norm

Pastor Norm’s sermon on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-ep4Fh3dXy0