Radical Generosity
Posted on Aug 10, 2014 by David Whetter
Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, who abides in which of us. Amen
So, be honest, how many of you like the concept of equality that Jesus taught in this Gospel story today? How many of you think it was fair for the landowner to give a full days wage to those who worked for only an hour and then when those that worked, literally, all day came, he did not give them any more, but the same amount as those that were there for only an hour? Most of us find this to be a very uncomfortable passage because we know if this happened to us, we wouldn’t like it either.
As I prepared for today, I have decided that the theme of the week will be “Life isn’t fair!” In both our texts, we hear about how unfair God’s ways are, don’t we? In the Jonah story, Jonah just wants to die because God has shown mercy to the people of Nineveh. Personally, I think Jonah was being a little over dramatic, but he makes his point, doesn’t he? You see, the people of Nineveh had been evil and God was about to wipe them out, but he sent Jonah, against Jonah’s will, to preach to them and warn them. Jonah did not want to warn them because he felt they needed to be punished, and he knew God was a “nice guy,” so when he finally warned them and they changed, Jonah told God that he would prefer to die. The fact is we don’t like it when God loves our enemies, because we just don’t think it’s fair.
Then in our Gospel text, Jesus shares the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. How unfair is this story. There is no way he could tell that story today and have people think he was serious. We live in a society that is proud of the fact that everyone can earn their way and we do not tolerate people getting things they have not earn. Some of you are old enough to remember “Reaganomics,” well had Jesus had the press around like we do today, I think this story would not have been named “The parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard,” no, it would have been called “Christonomics.” And upon hearing this story, there would have been an outcry of unfairness like we have never heard. There is no way that a laborer that only works one hour should get paid the same amount as the laborer that worked all day. And, to be honest, I don’t think that the complaint is wrong. It isn’t fair, but that is exactly the point God made to Jonah and that Jesus shares in his parable. God is not a God of fairness; God is a God of justice. God, is a God of generous and endless mercy. God desires that everyone be saved and that everyone comes to know him and love him, and he will do whatever it takes to make that happen. In fact, God was willing to die for his creation, which he did in his Son, Jesus, the Christ. What was fair about that?
We Christians are quick to proclaim Christ as our Messiah. We are quick to use God’s word to condemn others for their actions or life-styles, but most of us find it very difficult to proclaim this notion of “unfairness” that Jesus teaches in this parable that only Matthew writes about. If we are honest, we really do not like the idea that God loves everyone and treats all of us the same. Now you might be thinking no, I think this is great. I understand what Jesus is saying. But the fact is, it is counter-cultural, and no matter how much we agree with it in theory, the reality is we are not that generous, but God is.
If you take time to really read scripture closely, you quickly discover that at its core, this is a story of a God who loves his people so much that God would do anything for that his creation, even die for it. But, as you read this story even closer, you discover that this is also a story of a God that has chosen some people for special work. In both the Old Testament and the New Testament we discover that, yes, God has chosen certain people to be a “light” to other nations, but those people have not been chosen to receive special benefits, no, they are to do the things they have been called to do so that other nations might come to know God, too. But, as we go along we discover that God not only loves those who follow in his ways, but God also loves those that do not follow in his ways and he loves those that have turned from his ways. And if we are honest with ourselves, most of us do not like this last part.
Last week, most of us really liked the part of the story that emphasized that the forgiveness God offers us is unconditional and unceasing, but when we hear that God’s mercy is even for our enemies, well, that goes too far. Just ask Jonah. He wanted to die because God showed mercy to his enemies. It wasn’t fair!
In one bible study I lead a few years ago in which we discussed God’s unconditional forgiveness, a person said, Pastor, do you mean to tell me that if Hitler had confessed his sin and repented for his evil ways that God would forgive him, too? As I listened to that question, I knew that this person, and the rest of the group, was not going to like the answer, because the answer was yes, God would even forgive someone like Hitler, providing Hitler was truly repentant and only God would know that. I don’t know about you, but that even disturbs me.
This notion of radical generosity that Jesus speaks of in this story and that Jonah despised is one of those characteristics of God’s that many of us are uncomfortable with. God’s radical generosity seems so unfair. Why should someone who has not worked as we have, or why should someone has rejected God’s ways receive any of God’s mercy? We have worked hard to follow God’s teachings” and, yet, it seems like it does not matter because in the end, God treats us all the same? Is that what bothers us? God’s radical generosity is just fair and we like everything to be fair.
As we read these two stories, we come to see that God doesn’t measure divine grace as a reward for goodness, though. Divine grace is an act of unconditional love. We also hear in these stories that we humans often think we have somehow been good enough to earn that grace and, we resent and object to God’s love and generosity when we see others whom we think have not “earned” it receive his radical generosity.
Life is not fair, but thank goodness it isn’t. If God’s grace and mercy were about fairness and our ability to earn God’s grace, if we were honest with ourselves, then we would all be in trouble. God’s grace does not come to us because we deserve it; it comes to us because we need it. God’s grace is not doled out in a fair manner. God’s love for us is not handed out to us in small portions according to our good deeds and faithful actions. No, God is radically generous with his grace, and he lavishly and lovingly pours it upon us because we all so desperately need it. Thanks be to God! Amen.