Homily – 9/24/17

Matthew 20

Four million dollars.  That is my number.  I have given this a great deal of thought and I think that is the right number.  You see, I am in my early fifties and hope to live for another 40 years.  Four million divided by 40 would give me an income of $100K a year, before Uncle Sam takes his portion.  I think that will do nicely.  My wife and I live a fairly simple life, but like everyone we have bills to pay.  Four million dollars would pay off our mortgage and leave more than enough for us to drive fancy new cars.

But I don’t want to give you the wrong impression.  It’s not only about us.  We would like to be able to give more money to the church and to other worthy causes.  We would like to take some mission trips to other parts of the world.  I wonder if Royal Caribbean cruises to such places?  OK, I guess I have to admit that it is mostly about us.  And, I suspect if you are honest, it is mostly about you too.  Who here has not had that fantasy of winning the lottery or hitting the big jackpot down on the strip?  We all want more than we have.  I think that is part of the human condition, to always want more.  At least when it comes to money.

Matthew’s Gospel today is a favorite of mine.  It is the type of story that can make you want to pull your hair out.  I have heard passionate debates among clergy and scholars railing against the sheer unfairness of the landowner in this story.  No matter the group, this story is certain to provoke heated conversation and often leads to a discussion of today’s political arena.  Now before you start squirming in your seats, I am not going to turn this sermon into a political discussion.  A wise priest once told me that sermons are far too important for that.

But I am going to see if we can make some sense of this story.  On its face it does appear to be unfair.  Why should those who work all day get the same as those who just showed up?  Shouldn’t some get more and others get less?

I think the problem we have with this story is that it is about money.  We take money far too personally.  It is fine to talk about God and faith and service, but when the conversation turns to money, it is as if we have crossed a line and are now in very personal territory.  So let’s turn the parable around a bit.  I think we can agree that the landowner in the story is God.  God goes to the marketplace, finds people, and puts them to work in his fields.  This happens again, and again and again throughout the day.  And when the work is done, all of the workers stand before God for their wages.  And God gives them their pay.  Eternal Life with Him in heaven.

This story is not about money at all.  It is not even about the work.  It is about God loving us so much that he will bring us home to be with him when our time on Earth is done.  It matters not whether we have worked our entire lives for him or if we were baptized on our death bed.  We all get the same reward.  He can’t give some more than others because this is one-size fits all gift.  There is no greater hope for us than to be with God for eternity and there is nothing we can do to earn it.  Jesus paid the entry fee for each and every one of us.

So why then should we labor in the fields for the Lord?  Why not just sit back and wait for the good things to come?  Because that is not what God wants us to do.  We are commanded to work for the Lord, not because it will earn our way into heaven, but because we know that our life is better by having God in it.  Walking with Jesus in our lives is a miraculous gift and we would be selfish if we did not share that with other people, so that they may have the same joy that we have.  Spreading the love of God does not dilute His love, for that is impossible.  So how can we not share this amazing love with others?

Did you wonder in this gospel story why some folks were ready to work at dawn while others trickled in over the course of the day?  Some were not ready to work because they were too caught up in their own lives.  Some were not ready because they were too busy complaining that they didn’t have everything they wanted, that they didn’t have their $4M.  Others were not ready to work because they didn’t know that they already had the skills to do the work.

Let’s work together to be satisfied with the blessings we have and discover ways to use the gifts we have been given to bring others to God.  That is our mission.  That is evangelism.  That is how we are the people of God.

But before we leave this story, there is another point that bears examination.  Looked at from the perspective we have just discussed, hopefully the story makes a bit more sense.  God is giving us the greatest of gifts; eternal life.  That makes the story sit better with us, as it removes the perceived unfairness from it.  But why does this make it easier?  Why are we more comfortable with people being given eternal life than we are with people being given money?

What is it about money that makes us take things so personally?  It is easy to rail at the apparent unfairness of the landowner when we think the story is about money.  But when we separate money from the story, we feel it is less unfair.  What is behind that?

I think it has to do with our relationship with money.  We look at money as something that we earn, something that gives us the things we need in life, but also as a way of keeping score.  Are you familiar with the phrase “whoever dies with the most toys wins?”  Our culture is obsessed with wealth and money and it pervades everything that we do.

Think about this; which is it easier to go a whole day without thinking about, God or money?  If you said God, you are a better person than I.  For we spend our lives thinking about money; how much we have, how much we spend, how we can get more, how I can get my $4 million dollars.  We do this so much that God can get crowded out of our thinking.  And then we run across a story like today’s gospel and God and Money come together and it rocks our world.

But what if we focused less on how money can be ours and more on how money can help us further God’s kingdom?  Funding the mission of the church, donating to the hurricane relief efforts or the earthquake victims in Mexico, helping our poorer brothers and sisters who are hungry or homeless.  These are ways the we can use money, rather than let money use us.

Looked at from this perspective, I guess I don’t really need $4 Million dollars.  For what I have is enough; enough for us and enough to share.  Enough to help build the kingdom and to love others as we are called to do.