Rev. Susan Maginn
Labor Day
August 31, 2008
Wy'east UU Congregation
Portland, OR

Laborers in the vineyard, Matthew 20:1-15

For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers 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 marketplace; 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 fo the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last nd then going to the first.' When those hired about tfive 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."

I have been wondering lately about what the 'Kingdom of God' meant to the biblical writers and what does it mean to me.

Jesus and his followers in that time often defiantly used phrases that were strikingly similar to those used by the Roman Empire. So the term 'Kingdom of God' was probably strategically in contrast to the "Kingdom of Rome."

And yet I know when I was a girl, I didn't think of 'Kingdom of God' as some clever anti-authoritarian phrase. No way. I thought of the 'Kingdom of God' as being an exact geographical location, thank you very much. Admittedly tough to travel to, not easily found on google maps, but a place none the less. What I knew is that the 'Kingdom of God' was in the sky, that was out of our reach and only those who died, and only those who died good, could really even see up close.

But this is not really how the Kingdom of God is talked about in the Bible. It is almost always talked about as something magical, a realm that defies common sense, a realm of surprise, where there is laughter, silliness and even absurdity.

I have long since stopped believing in a place up in the sky where all holiness resides. But recently I am starting to realize that the Kingdom of God is simply a state of mind, a way of seeing and perceiving the world, a way of unfolding enough to let life live through you.

This story - the Laborers in the Vineyard - is meant to teach us about the Kingdom of God. In this story we hear about workers who are all given a fair day's pay, even though some worked a full day while others worker just a few hours.

What this story says to me is that sometimes the spirit comes and fills our life with grace and abundance because we work hard and sometimes the spirit comes and fills our life with grace and abundance and we don't know why. And sometimes we work hard and nothing happens - at least not the results that we are expecting. When it comes to the spirit, it is not always so easy to know what we deserve and what we earn. Sometimes we have more happiness than we imagined possible and sometimes we wait and hope and still we are hurting. It is hard to know why.

We assume that all is right with the world when our personal expectations are fulfilled, when everything goes according to plan. Sometimes we are confused by our good fortune and sometimes we are confused by the good fortune of others. "Why did they get so much goodness when I worked harder?" Perhaps the better question is: why is my heart so hardened as to not be happy for another person? In the end, what will that really win? If we play this game of competition, we will only win a bitter and ungenerous heart. We all live with ungenerous hearts sometimes. Perhaps, in such moments, we are looking for happiness in the things we don't have, instead of looking for happiness right here - within the depth of our own being and in the eyes of those near and dear to us.

Let us pray...

O Holy One, in whom we live and love.

We come together today in the coming coolness of late summer.

We pray to enjoy times of rest in these days. School is coming. For some this is a time of great anticipation and for others it is a time of total dread. We pray for all of those parents, children and teachers who go to school with anxiety and also pray for those who go with excitement and confidence.

We pray for all workers today, especially those who are underpaid or working without healthcare. We pray for grace and justice in the workplace.

We pray for all in the gulf coast, that they may stand strong even as the winds blow.

Let us be surprised and amazed by the ordinary beauty that surrounds us this day.

Let us lift up this prayer from all that we are to all that is and say...

Amen.