Matthew 20.1-16(1)

GOD'S GENEROSITY

(PARABLE OF THE LABOURERS)

(Matthew 20.1-16)

"It's not fair".

That is what I said to myself when I received a farewell gift from the Committee of Management when I left the Flying Angel Club, Fremantle in 1991.'

"It's not fair".

...o0o...

I knew from the records that my predecessor had received a gift of $A4000 when he was obliged to leave - shall we say - 'under a cloud’, after only three and a half years of service. The equivalent of six months’ salary.

During that time, he had run the club into the ground. In fact, it had made a consistent operating loss and there was only $A12,000 left in the bank.

The number of seafarers, using the international seafarers centre had slowly declined and he was about to sell the Chaplain’s house to make ends meet.

In fact, my brief from the London headquarters of the Missions to Seamen was to close the existing centre, and operate from a more modest location.

After six months careful research and consultation, I encouraged the Committee of Management to do exactly the opposite!!

We upgraded the facilities, rationalised the staffing, and eventually built an additional accommodation wing equivalent to at least a three star hotel standard.

As a result, the number of seafarers and shipping companies using the club increased dramatically, as did also the number of voluntary workers which exceeded one hundred. In a very short time, it became the second busiest seafarers centre in the world.

Needless to say, the financial situation also began to improve. Every year we made an operating surplus. By the time I chose to leave, 11½ years later, it had assets worth almost $A2 million and reserves of almost $A400,000.

Needless to say, I naturally expected these changed circumstances to be reflected in the farewell gift I was given.

You can therefore imagine my disappointment when I received only $A3,000, less than my predecessor, the equivalent of only one seventh of my salary.

"It's not fair" I said to myself as I drove away from the club for the last time, and reflected upon all the sustained hard work I had put into the project at considerable personal and family sacrifice.

"It's not fair".

...o0o...

"It's not fair", was probably your first reaction to the parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard, which is in Matthew 20.1-16.

“It's not fair" that those labourers who had started work first thing in the morning, and had borne the burden and heat of the midday sun, should have been paid the same as those who had started work much later. It was certainly "not fair” that they should have received the same as those who started just before knocking off time.

But when they protested, the owner of the vineyard said, "Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Are you envious because I am generous?"

To which you and I would reply, "Generosity has nothing to do with it. It is simply a matter of justice".

And it was simply a matter of justice that caused the Pharisees, to whom this parable was originally directed, to complain about Jesus.

The Pharisees were deeply religious people, who dedicated their lives to scrupulously obeying every religious law, in order to please God.

Needless to say, they became very jealous and angry when they saw Jesus also spending time with tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners, whom they considered could not have cared less about pleasing God.

In short, it did not appear “fair".

...oo0oo...

"Are you envious because I am generous?" asked Jesus.

And if I am honest, I have to say "I am".

I am, because like the Pharisees, I still find it hard to accept the fact that I cannot earn favours from God.

Underneath my pious exterior, I still want to believe in a God who will recognise my good deeds and reward me accordingly, as I expected a Committee of Management to do.

But that is not the way God works. His love is free and undeserved.

He rewards us, not according to our merits but according to our needs.

And if I am really honest with myself, I am glad this is so. You see there is also a dark side to my personality, which is known only to God and myself. A side which I prefer to keep hidden. And I know, if I am really honest, I do not deserve God's love.

So, how can I really be "envious because (he is) generous”.

...o0o...

I am therefore grateful that God's love for me is not dependent upon my love for him.

This is indeed good news, as I continue my earthly pilgrimage, knowing that I am loved by a generous God, far beyond that which I deserve.