Church Called Tov - Service and the Generous Farmer

Yes, Scott McConnell is going to preach for us today.

And as he comes up, he did ask me to read from Matthew chapter 20.

Matthew 20 · chapter mention

And I said yes, and then I realized it was verses 1 through 16.

So I'm going to read this story.

It is called The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard.

For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire

workers in his vineyard.

He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

About nine in the morning, he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing

nothing.

He told them, you also go and work in the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.

And so they went.

He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing.

About five in the afternoon, he went out and found still others standing around.

And he asked them, why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?

Because no one has hired us, they answered.

He said to them, you also go and work in my vineyard.

When evening came and the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, call the workers and

pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going to the first.

The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and received a denarius.

So when those who came who were hired first, they expected to receive more.

But each one of them also received a denarius.

When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.

These who were hired last worked only one hour, they said.

And you have made them equal to us, have borne the burden of the work in the heat of the

day.

But he answered one of them, am I not being unfair to you, friend?

Didn't you agree to work for a denarius?

Take your pay and go.

I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you.

Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money?

Or are you envious because I am generous?

So the last will be first and the first will be last.

Thank you very much, Alex.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Let me roll into the blinding light.

And get myself set up here.

I like that.

My name is Scott McConnell.

I have been coming here to the house for about two years.

Here in about a month.

A little bit about me.

I had a spinal cord injury about eight years ago.

So I tend to stay tilted back in my chair because that helps me with my blood pressure

so I don't pass out in front of you because that would be rather dramatic.

And I also take quite a few drinks of my water.

And staying warm is pretty tricky for me because my blood pressure stays low.

So I always stay very bundled up.

So this is me.

This morning I'm looking forward to sharing with you about that passage that Alex shared.

And we're in a series right now about a goodness culture.

How do we be a healthy church?

How do we be a church that promotes humility and goodness through what we do and keep from

falling into some of the traps that are easy to do in the church?

And this morning the emphasis is service.

That we are all called to serve and that those who have been serving the longest, who have

served the most, do not have a higher status than those who serve differently or those

who have been serving less time.

Now the passage that we shared I love and I want you to work with me some as we recreate

that in a creative way.

The story was about a farmer, a farmer who grew grapes.

There was work that needed done on his grape farm and instead of having a regular staff,

he went into town whenever he needed that work done and he hired folks at the market.

It was for a 12 hour day.

A day's work was worth about, we'll estimate $200.

About $16.67 for a 12 hour day per hour.

It was a fair wage, not especially a high wage, but not unfair either.

Now when he showed up there at 6 a.m. there was already a crew there.

This was a crew that showed up early and were proud to be there early and ready.

They had their work boots on, they already had their pruners sharpened for the day.

They were ready to go and work getting the grapes ready, preparing them, repairing the

trellises, doing all the work that needed done.

So they went and they started working and the farmer went back into town.

But the farmer did something strange.

He got more people to help.

It didn't seem to be because they weren't able to get the work done.

It seemed like this farmer wanted more people to come and participate in the work that he

was doing.

He didn't want anyone left out.

But imagine for a moment this 6 a.m. crew, when you've been working already, they've

already broken a sweat and the farmer's coming back with more workers.

Now if you've ever been at work and had someone show up late, it's annoying.

And if you're doing hard physical labor, it's even more annoying because you've already

broken a sweat, you've already gotten into a rhythm, and now there are more folks.

Now when the farmer went back into town, they probably didn't expect to see him a while,

but they saw him returning at noon.

There's no way.

There were more workers.

The work day was halfway over by now.

But as they went, as he came back, they saw that there were more workers.

The 6 a.m. crew was especially frustrated now.

They'd sweat through the morning and it was just starting to get hot.

They'd already finished their lunch, and now there were more workers coming in.

The farmer went back into town.

They may have thought, good riddance.

This guy just keeps showing up with more people.

It's frustrating.

He can go back to town.

They saw him coming back at 3 o'clock.

He had more workers with him.

He'd gone back to the market and found more people who hadn't been chosen for work.

Now I think there was a mix of folks in this crew.

How many people standing around in the market still thought they were going to be hired

for the day?

I don't think they were expecting to be hired.

And also I wonder if there were some people there that day that never intended to be hired

in the first place.

They could have gone home and they could have helped around the house.

They could have gone and helped a friend since they weren't hired for the day.

But they were still standing there.

And I think a few reasons for that could have been some of them may have been disabled.

They may have been passed over a couple times now.

Some of them might not have had the right gear.

And some of them were just there hanging out.

I would call this the flip-flop-and-croc crew.

They were not wearing work boots in the market at 3 in the afternoon.

Now in my house growing up, if you left the house in flip-flops, you were already in trouble.

Because if you stubbed your toe or you stepped on something, there wasn't going to be any

mercy.

You shouldn't have been wearing flip-flops.

So as they flopped along, the 6 a.m. crew looked up and thought, are you serious?

There's only three hours left in the workday.

They're going to be in our way.

They're literally tripping over themselves.

And yet they came.

And the farmer expected them to be integrated in and help.

5 o'clock.

There's one hour left in a 12-hour day.

Now I wondered to myself, why did these workers even go out with him anyways?

They weren't expecting to be hired at 5 o'clock.

I even think some of the crew might have been coming out at this point for the evening life

of the market.

They may have been wearing some cologne.

They may have had their new shoes on with no creases in them.

They did not show up to go work in the vineyard.

Now in my spec, I did some research and commentaries and things.

I didn't just, I try not to just make stuff up, Pastor Greg.

I try to have some context.

But I think it's reasonable to think that the reason that they kept going out is because

this farmer was a landowner and these people were at the status of laborers, even if they

weren't laboring that day, they were expected to go with the farmer and work.

It was an invitation, but at the same time it was an invitation that really shouldn't

be refused.

So after the flip-flop crew came the shoe crew who were walking like ducks to make sure

they didn't mess up their good shoes and were probably wearing nice clothes by now.

The 6 a.m. crew was not pleased.

Now it came time to be paid at 6 a.m.

Who do you think should be paid first?

The ones who hadn't seen their family all day, who'd been sweating, who were ready

to go home?

No.

The farmer specifically gave instructions for the people who were hired last to be paid

first.

Strange choice.

And so the 5 o'clock crew came up.

Now they had not agreed to any wage.

You have no negotiating power when you're hired with an hour left in the work day.

The only crew that had been promised a wage was the 6 a.m. crew.

Remember the $200.

Not especially generous, but fair for the work being done.

The 5 o'clock crew walked up and received a full day's wages.

$200.

They were running in their shoes not to crease them, back to the market with a full pocket

of cash.

Next came the 3 p.m. crew, flopping along in their flip flops.

Some of their flip flops had broken by now, so they were carrying them in their hands.

And they received $200, a full day's wage.

They went back to the market elated.

Now the 12 o'clock crew, even though they were a 12 o'clock crew, were starting to feel

entitled by now.

A six hour work day sounded pretty weak, until you just saw someone get paid for one hour

of work, $200.

Can't complain, right?

You can't argue.

So then the 9 a.m. crew, they'd been there most of the day.

They'd been there during the hot hours, same pay.

6 a.m. crew.

The first one went up, and you know they were looking in the line, waiting to see what would

happen.

It would be absurd for this farmer to reward the people who'd been out there the longest,

who showed up with their work boots and their pruners, just $200.

And that's what he did.

So now I want to read for you Matthew 20 verse 16, their words.

Matthew 20:16

These who were hired last worked only one hour, they said, and you have made them equal

to us, who have borne the burden of the work in the heat of the day.

You made them equal to us, who've done most of the work.

Now the farmer's response is a harsh one.

Didn't you agree to work for that wage?

Can't I do what I want with my money?

Is me being generous going to cause you to sin in your own heart?

And then Jesus said these words, the first shall be last, and the last shall be first.

It was a lesson for his disciples.

He wasn't telling this to a random crowd.

He was telling this to his disciples.

And we as a church, if we have accepted being part of this church in Christ, are his disciples.

His message is to us.

Now it's easy to judge the 6 a.m. crew, since many of us have heard the story before, we

knew how it ended, and our thoughts might be, they were wrong.

They should have been grateful.

They should have been happy for others, instead of grumbling toward them.

We've all been in a position where we were trying to elbow our way into a group, maybe

at work, maybe somewhere else, where we felt like we had to earn our way in.

Where we felt that because we came in after some others, we were expected to work a little

harder.

And yet I also find that sometimes I'm that person that expects other people to work their

way in.

I wouldn't say it that way, would I?

I wouldn't look at other people and say, I'm sorry, but I've been here longer.

I've worked harder.

What I do is more important.

But as I was reflecting, I thought of a story.

I started working at a community center in the inner city that was part of a Christian

ministry.

And part of the reason I was so excited to be a part of it was because of how close-knit

the staff were.

We all took less money than we probably could have made somewhere else.

We lived in the neighborhood.

Tashiana got to see people arrested out the front window.

My car was stolen out front.

These different things.

But those were like badges of honor.

That we were really doing it.

We were really in it.

Everybody did everything.

And that was one of my favorite parts was that when I showed up that day, I didn't

know if I'd be watching kids on a playground.

I didn't know if I'd be helping on load for a food pantry or going to pray with someone

who was sick.

Everybody helped with everything.

But the main reason, my main job was to work with kids.

And so I always made sure I had shoes on that I was ready to run in.

Ready to play soccer.

Ready to have fun.

They were usually grass stained.

They usually weren't the prettiest.

And a lot of times at the end of the day, I would be sweating from playing with the

kids.

From running around.

In the pick up line, there'd be drops of sweat falling on the sign out sheet for the

parents.

And again, even though it was maybe not the most professional look, I was proud of it.

Intermission.

Flash the lights please.

It's time for us to resume.

But as the ministry grew, as the budget increased, we started to hire new staff.

And these staff were not what I would call program staff.

They weren't there to work with the kids.

They weren't there to help with families in need.

Some of them were fundraisers.

Some of them had a human resources background.

Some of them were accountants.

They didn't go to our local church that we all went to.

They went to churches out in the suburbs.

Mecca churches.

They didn't drive the same cars that we did.

They drove a little bit nicer cars because they came from a business background.

They wore professional clothes.

There were no grass stains on their shoes.

They didn't go home sweating at night from running around with the kids.

And so I looked at them with resentment.

I looked at our organization with resentment.

I felt like we were selling out.

We were letting people in who looked a certain way.

And as the organization changed, they were part of the new, more professional look.

And I didn't feel like they'd really earned their way in.

They weren't usually asked to leave their offices to go and help unload a truck or some

of those things.

Now as you can probably imagine, and forgive me, this was over 10 years ago.

I was rather immature.

But my perspective was very flawed.

We couldn't continue to run the programs that we did without fundraising and grant

writing.

As our program grew, just asking local churches for donations wasn't going to fund what

we were trying to do.

Accountants were needed to balance a multimillion dollar budget.

Volunteers weren't able to manage that.

And human resources were required for us to have the hired help that we need and have

a safe workplace.

You see, I had fallen into the trap.

I had fallen into this 6 a.m. crew trap.

People that worked like me, people that worked harder than them, people that wore clothes

that showed that I was really in it, people who didn't know what it was like before they

came along.

And again, I think if we look closely, we might recognize that at times we fall into

that trap too.

We don't plan it that way.

We don't mean for it to be.

But even in ministry, even in church, even in Christian groups, it's possible to do.

Now, I want us to go back and look at that passage for a moment, the farmer.

The farmer's response to you, you have made them equal to me.

The farmer was a relentlessly generous farmer.

He continued to give and share his generosity even when it seemed not to make sense.

But it wasn't nonsensical.

It was because he wanted everyone possible to be a part of his work, everyone who would

heed the call, even those who had not been chosen first, even those who did not seem

qualified, even those who did not look like laborers usually did.

He continued to go back to the market and invite.

Now, I'd also like to point out that he approached them.

These workers weren't already waiting in the market area hoping somebody picked them at

three o'clock.

He went and found them.

Our father, the farmer, is relentless in finding people to join his work, even people who do

not appear qualified or maybe even seem overqualified to us for what they're seeking.

They may come in later, but the father still seeks them.

Now, I want you to imagine something for a moment.

What if the 6 a.m. crew was in the market the next day and they'd caught the vision

that productivity wasn't the most important thing to that farmer?

And what if they went back to the market with him to find more, to find more workers and

recruit them, sharing with them that they'd found the most generous farmer there was and

that he would include them in his work and that he would pay them more than fairly?

That would be a beautiful vision.

That would be capturing the vision of the farmer, what he wanted his farm to look like,

what he wanted his kingdom, his work to look like.

What if I had understood that vision when I was working at the community center?

What if instead of looking out my office window and seeing that their cars didn't look like

mine, I met them at their cars and greeted them and told them how excited I was that

they were going to be a part of the work that we were doing.

That rather than judging how long they'd been there or whether they were there to work

with the kids or not or if they were dressed better than I was, that God had a place for

them there.

Instead of being embarrassed of my own home, which of course no one was projecting on me,

I felt that myself, what if I'd been willing to invite them into my home and into my neighborhood

instead of not liking that they were different than I was and had different things?

That would have been a gospel perspective.

The Father wants to set us free from our pride.

The Father wants to set us free from our desire to have others earn their way to what we think

is fair.

The Father wants to give us through the Spirit the compassion that we need to share his work

with those around us.

Now, some of you are in the 6 a.m. crew.

Some of you have been here for a long time and I praise God for that.

We also want to remember that God is calling all workers and rewarding all equally.

I don't say that in judgment at all.

I've been welcomed.

Pastor Greg has given me the opportunity to share and two years is a pretty short time,

isn't it?

In the big scale of things, but it's a message that Jesus shares with his disciples.

So it's a message that we need to hear as well.

Now even the, I'm guessing the 9 o'clock crew, the 12 o'clock crew, the 3 o'clock

crew, all the group that they came in with is who they spent most of their time with.

Do you think the 3 o'clock crew ran up to someone on the 6 a.m. crew that was pouring

out sweat and introduced themselves?

Probably not.

And you think the 6 a.m. crew may have at times looked at folks on the 3 p.m. crew and

thought they're not ready yet.

They haven't quite earned their way in yet or the work that they're doing doesn't measure

up to the work that I've done.

We want to be careful and remember that we serve a relentlessly generous Father.

We continue to go to the market and invite others in and when we see folks coming in

the doors, we run out to their car and greet them with excitement.

Letting them know that not only are they welcome, welcome is on, all our welcome is on the sign

of just about every church you see, but that they're welcome into full membership as a

part of the body who receives the reward, the celebration of what God is doing in that

house and is given the reward of the Holy Spirit in full participation in that place,

whatever that means.

Amen.

Let us pray.

Father I thank you so much for your son who is so good at telling us stories that she'll

still change and shape our hearts.

Two thousand years later, I pray that you would forgive us.

When we like the 6 a.m. crew or whatever crew it might be, wherever it might be, look around

to those around us and feel that we've worked harder or we've earned our spot.

I pray that those God who feel like they're part of the five o'clock crew who are coming

in late or joining in with those who have been at it for a while, that you would help

them to see that they're every bit as welcome and every bit as a part of what you're doing

as those who came first, that you want to reward them as fully as all the others.

Help us to be faithful in the work that you've called us to do and help us to be relentlessly

generous as we do it.

In Jesus name I pray.

Amen.