Christian worship resources, prayer and Bible study
Ordinary 25 Year A
Introduction
The first thing to recognise about the reading from Matthew this week is that it is not fair. Jesus says that somebody who works all day, slogs and toils will be rewarded exactly the same as somebody who has only made a tiny amount of effort at the end of the day.
We are all geared up to believe that those who work hard should be rewarded, and those who make no contribution get meagre returns. We were all told that at Christmas presents would be brought to the good boys and girls, whilst the naughty ones would get a piece of coal from Santa. What is the point of seeking to live a good life only to find that somebody who has not made the effort receives the same recompense? Why bother to try and live good lives, avoid temptation if we are all going to be treated the same?
The Gospel of Jesus demands a completely different way of thinking. God does not operate on the human system of good deed and subsequent reward. God is dominated by the principle of love. If God gave us our just rewards then we would discover that we all fall far short. Each and everyone of us requires forgiveness, not rewards!
Opening Verses of Scripture Jonah 4:2
You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in
love, a God who relents from sending calamity.
Collect Prayer for the Day — Before we read we pray
God, who in generous mercy sent the Holy Spirit upon your Church in the burning fire of your love: grant that your people may be fervent in the fellowship of the gospel that, always abiding in you, they may be found steadfast in faith and active in service; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. CW
Lord God, defend your Church from all false teaching and give to your people knowledge of your truth, that we may enjoy eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. CW
First Bible Reading Exodus 16:2-15
The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, ‘If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’
Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.’ So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, ‘In the evening you shall know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your complaining against the LORD. For what are we, that you complain against us?’ And Moses said, ‘When the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the LORD has heard the complaining that you utter against him – what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the LORD.’
Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, “Draw near to the LORD, for he has heard your complaining.”’ And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked towards the wilderness, and the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. The LORD spoke to Moses and said, ‘I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, “At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.”’
In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, ‘What is it?’ For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.’ NRSV
Second Reading Philippians Chapter 1:21-30
For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.
Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God’s doing. For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well – since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. NRSV
Gospel Reading Matthew 20:1-6
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the labourers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the market-place; and he said to them, “You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.” So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o'clock, he did the same. And about five o'clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, “Why are you standing here idle all day?” They said to him, “Because no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You also go into the vineyard.” When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, “Call the labourers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.” When those hired about five o'clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” But he replied to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” So the last will be first, and the first will be last.’ NRSV
Post Communion Sentence
Keep, O Lord, your Church, with your perpetual mercy; and, because without you our human frailty cannot but fall, keep us ever by your help from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. CW
Commentary
Jesus had a way of communicating which gripped his hearers because he told them great stories which they could remember and think about. The message behind these stories were provocative and challenging, never simplistic and yet they could be understood. In this he was very different from many of the preachers of today. When we read this passage we would do well to remember the ordinary people who listened, probably in a relaxed and rather unsophisticated manner as they ate their sandwiches and cursed the flies. Yet the words of Jesus captivated his audience so that they remembered his teaching, it stuck in the mind.
1. The parable is about the Kingdom of Heaven
At the very beginning of the story Jesus says, 'the Kingdom of Heaven is
like........' So much teaching about this passage suggests that Jesus is
teaching about the idleness of the workforce, just conditions of work etc. I
really do not think that he is making a political point about labour
relations, the right to work, socialism or any of the other myriad of
political suggestions which people seem to imagine. The parable is about
God, we must not reduce Jesus teaching by using it to support our views on
socio-economic reform. Now let us be honest we all have a tendency to use
scripture to support what we want it to say. Scripture was used to give
justification for the slave trade and more recently also apartheid. In the
debate which raged in the Church of England (which many still fight)
concerning the ordination of women, there is an equal use of scripture to
support opposing arguments. The same is true for the debate over remarriage
of divorcees in church or acceptability of homosexuality. There is a message
of caution here for all of us - to treat scripture with respect is not to
weave into it all the interpretations which fit neatly with our views.
2. The teaching deliberately challenges our views of justice and fairness
If we had been the landowner we would have bargained with the ones who did
not work so long and offer to pay them less money. However all the labourers
are paid the same, irrespective of what they had done, and this seems to be
unfair to us. The workers who had worked the longest day said 'and you have
made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of
the day'.
Conclusion
When we put these two points together in a simple and
straightforward way we have the essence of what Jesus was teaching. God does
not have a system of justice which is anything like a human one. God does
not give to us according to what is fair or what we deserve. When we arrive
in the Kingdom of Heaven, God willing, humanly speaking there will be people
there who do not deserve it. In that respect God is totally unfair, God
gives in a way which defies business sense, it is irrational and it goes
against everything which we think of when we were calculating reward. God's
love and acceptance of us has nothing to do with fairness, it doesn't have
anything to do with what we deserve. That is the wonderful thing about this
parable, it runs a coach and horses through any notion that we can ever earn
or contribute towards God's favour. Not one single one of us deserves God's
love, if Heaven were about what we deserve, about what was fair, then it
would be empty. The beautiful reassurance of the Gospel is that God treats
us according to our needs and not what we deserve. We often hear people
demand human rights, and quite rightly the Gospel is often used to support
this. But - there is a sense in which this undersells the gospel. In Jesus
we learn that God is not working according to our rights. He simply loves us
and that love, - not our rights, is what is at the heart of God's being.
This parable like the parable of the prodigal son, and so many others, tells
us that God turns human values of fairness, of rights and wrongs upside
down. Yet we can trust God totally, knowing that we all will receive from
his goodness. It is interesting that the workers complain and moan, not
saying 'we want more money', but rather 'you have made them equal to us'.
The parable is concerned about the generosity of the landowner, not on the
hard work of the labourers. We like to think that we are really better than
others, they need forgiveness more than us.
There is a radical, uncontrollable nature about God's grace, by human
standards God's forgiveness has insanity written all over it. It is not
predictable, and might I carefully say, perhaps some of our theologies of
redemption 'who will and who not be saved' do not allow for this kind of a
God.
Just recently we have seen hurricanes at work. In a calm
sea we can set parameters for where the tide will send the sea. Walls can be
constructed which will encompass the ocean and set limits. However when
nature is uncontrollable and unpredictable like in a hurricane, these
boundaries are removed and the sea goes where we think it cannot go. We sing
'there's a wideness in God's mercy like the wideness of the sea' this
parable could have been written for that hymn.
This is not an isolated theme, it is in fact the essence of what Jesus came
to say and do. To preach the forgiveness of God which was not deserved by
human effort, to hold out his arms wide to encompass an ungrateful race,
whose only response to God's goodness is to spend time trying to decide who
else should not receive it. In this we are envious and greedy just like
those workers who wanted it for themselves but denied it to the others who
were less deserving.
We have images of the Kingdom of God as a happy time with the faithful few
enjoying the benefits of the well deserved feast. The stories Jesus told
about the Kingdom were very full of conflict and challenge. Perhaps we need
to be reminded, like those workers, that we may be disappointed too. We may
find that there are 'latecomers' those who we resent and think don't deserve
it. Perhaps we just need to be grateful that for ourselves we can trust in
God to keep his promise. Charles Royden
Meditation
In the story from the book of Jonah today, Jonah is in a massive sulk! Everything is bad, and awful and he is angry enough to die! When God tries to reason with him, comparing Jonah’s suffering to the much worse suffering of thousands, Jonah simply does not want to understand. He is locked into the prison of his own misery and self-pity. The story makes a timeless point: that we all tend to see the world from our own selfish perspective. We can feel sorrow over the fate of starving millions, but if we stand up and stub our toe, their sufferings are instantly eclipsed and forgotten beside our own! That temporary self- absorption can grow into a lifelong problem. Our faith commands us to try and love others as deeply as we love ourselves, to feel their pain as acutely as we feel our own. It can be done. The only truly happy people I have ever met are those who can escape from the tyranny of their own problems and feelings and empathise with the feelings of others. Joan Crossley
Hymns
- Glorious things of thee are spoken (Austria)
- Come let us with our Lord Arise (Sussex Carol)
- In Christ there is no east or west
- Alleluia sing to Jesus (Tune Hyfrydol)
Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead
Prayer is a plant, the seed of which is sown in the heart of every Christian, if it is well cultivated and nourished it will produce fruit, but if it is neglected, it will wither and die.
Give to us, Lord, the peace of those who have learnt to serve you, the joy of those who are glad to obey you and the delight of those who rejoice in your praise; through Christ our Lord. Amen. Aidan of Lindisfarne (d. 651)
God of miracles and of mercy, all creation sings your praise. Like the vineyard owner, your grace is extravagant and unexpected. Lead us to repentance and the acceptance of your grace, that we may witness to your love, which embraces both those we call friend and those we call stranger. Amen.
Lord God, friend of those in need,
your Son Jesus has untied our burdens
and healed our spirits.
We lift up the prayers of our hearts for those still burdened,
those seeking healing,
those in need within the church and the world.
Holy One,
hear our prayers and make us faithful stewards
of the fragile bounty of this earth
so that we may be entrusted with the riches of heaven. Amen.
O God,
from your providing hand even the dissatisfied and grumbling
receive what they need for their lives.
Teach us your ways of justice
and lead us to practice your generosity,
so that we may live a life worthy of the gospel
make known through your Son Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.
God our Redeemer, who called your church to witness that you were in Christ reconciling the world to yourself: help us so to proclaim the goodness of your love, that all who hear it may be reconciled to you. Amen
We hold up our smallness to your greatness, our fear to your love, our tiny act
of giving to your generosity, ourselves to you. Amen. (Monica Furlong)
Jesus, who was lost and found in the garden, never to be lost again. Stand by us
in the darkness of our crucifixions, as the women stood by you. Die and rise
with us in the suffering of the world, be reborn with us, as love and hope and
faith and endurance outlast cruelty and death. Amen (Monica Furlong)
Additional Material
Commentary
God asked Jonah to be a prophet to the great city of Nineveh. Nineveh became the capital city of Assyria in the reign of Sennacherib, 704–681. In the mind of the author of the Book of Jonah it stood for all the wickedness which had been endemic in the Assyrian empire. Jonah is told to preach against it, because it is a wicked place and it is important to remember that God sees and knows wickedness and does not like it! Instead Jonah went to Joppa, jumped on a boat and headed off across the Mediterranean bound perhaps for Spain. (Tarshish may have been Tartessus in Spain, in the far west.)
Now you might think that God would be annoyed, well so did the sailors on the boat when a great storm blew up and they found out that Jonah had been messing God about. Albeit reluctantly, they threw Jonah overboard as a sacrifice to placate the wrath of God. Fortunately for Jonah, God did not give up on him. Even when all hope seemed lost God saved Jonah and provided a huge fish. Although the fish ate him up Jonah was able to live inside the whale, just like Pinnochio, for three days and nights. After this time the fish was violently sick and vomited Jonah up safely onto dry land.
Jonah now agreed to go to Nineveh, and he preached a hard message of destruction telling them exactly what was going to happen to them. The people of Nineveh repented, resulting in the forgiveness of God.
Jonah should be pleased but he was not.
Jonah became angry, went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. A vine grew over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was happy. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. When the sun rose, there was a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint and wanted to die. God pointed out to Jonah the contrast that he was concerned about a mere plant which sprang up overnight and died, how much more should God be concerned about Nineveh which had more than a hundred and twenty thousand people and many animals as well.
Jonah should have been pleased that his preaching had caused the repentance of the people, instead he was miserable.
Why was Jonah angry at God? He was angry because he felt that God was making a fool of himself and by implication Jonah as well. He was told to preach to the people of Nineveh and tell them that they were going to get their just deserts, but instead of destruction and doom, God went and forgave them all. Jonah knew that he had relied on God’s forgiveness to get him out of the belly of the whale, but he was angry that God was so loving with everybody else as well. In the mind of Jonah God should punish the wickedness in Nineveh, not forgive it, God was exposing himself and his prophets to the charge of being a soft touch.
This was exactly the same problem in the story from Matthew. The landowner was thought to be giving too much away to people who did not deserve it. The people who came at the end of the day were getting too much unearned benefit.
We might share Jonah’s concern that God makes forgiveness too easy. We make people earn their forgiveness when they offend us. If they want us to forgive they had better do more than say sorry, they had better put in a full day’s work!
God seems to allow for the fact that the people of Nineveh didn’t know how bad their behaviour was. Their sin is born of ignorance (‘who do not know their right hand from their left’, v. 11), and their repentance was welcome to a merciful God. This is a concept found in the New Testament, we can think of the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy Chapter 1:13 ‘I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief’.’
Jesus is the most prolific forgiver and shows his attitude in his words from the cross when he even forgives people who fail to say sorry, ‘Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.’
The compassion of God plays havoc with our understanding of justice.
Charles Royden
Commentary
This parable doesn’t appear in either of the other two Synoptic Gospels, (Mark and Luke) so must have come from the missing “Q” source. It has such a complex and difficult meaning that we must imagine that Matthew’s hearers must have found it as disconcerting as we do. Jesus often used parables based on the farming practises of his time. This one is definitely not meant to be taken as advice on how to achieve good industrial relations with your agricultural workers.
Many casual labourers lived a desperately hand-to-mouth existence. Whether they were able to get a day’s work, and thus a day’s pay, was the difference between starvation and food for the family. We must imagine these workers as a ragged and exhausted bunch, hanging about, hoping to catch the eye of the foreman. We must imagine their frustration and disappointment when they were the ones ignored and passed over. We can feel the relief of the men who were pulled out of the crowd and given work! With these powerful feelings in our minds we can turn back to the story. Jesus was using the tale as a metaphor about salvation. He was returning to a theme he addressed a number of times in his ministry – the belief that some Christians held, that they had earned God’s love and salvation, that they had put in the time and the effort and were entitled to their spiritual reward. In the parable the length of service in the vineyard stands for the length of time that Christians have believed in and served the Lord. The long-serving Christians were expecting brownie points and bigger rewards for having done more for longer. Jesus blew away this kind of spiritual book keeping. This parable is similar in spirit to the complaints of the hard working brother who looked after the farm while his prodigal brother went off partying. It echoes of the disbelief of those who heard Jesus promise paradise to the thief who hung next to him on the Cross. God’s forgiveness is shown to be spontaneous and unbelievably generous. Jesus shows that once a person has chosen to love the Lord, all barriers are down. The new convert is as deeply loved and highly valued as a long serving believer. This seems unfair until we remember two things: firstly that God’s love for us is perfect and not partial, and cannot be graded nor meted out in grudging pieces; secondly that we are all unworthy of that love and receive it as a gift, not as a right. Joan Crossley
Hymns
- Come down O love divine (Down Ampney)
- Colours of Day
- Jesus’ love is very wonderful
- Now thank we all our God (Nun Danket)
- In Christ there is no east or west
- Glorious things of thee are spoken
- Alleluia sing to Jesus (Tune Hyfrydol)
- Father hear the prayer we offer
- Come let us with our Lord Arise (Sussex Carol)
- Stand up and bless the lord