Timeless God

I had never really thought about what it might be like to be a casual worker until I lived in America. Driving around Tysons corner (off the main road) one day we saw lots of men gathered around the corners. They were sullen, sitting in huddles not saying much or scuffing the ground. As we watched a pick-up truck came and some of them got on, their expressions changed, they looked relieved, some even smiled - they had got the chance of work.

But it also struck me just how dangerous and precarious that was. A stranger would pick you up and you would trust that he had the work which he said he did, that he or she would take you there and bring you back and, most importantly, pay you something like a fair wage for your labour.

I cannot imagine it was very much different in Jesus day with the crowds of men gathering around the well in the early morning when it was still cool, hoping that they would get some work, get paid and get to eat today. We can imagine their relief when they are taken to a vineyard and begin a full day's work. But there is more good news for other workers - the landlord not only employs the men there at daybreak but continues to employ men all day until just an hour before the sun setting signals the and of the work day.

Imagine those workers, hot and tired, those who have been working since the early hours as they watch the late comers getting a whole says wages - imagine their excitement as they ponder just what they might be getting from this generous master, and then imagine their faces falling as the master goes down the line simply giving the same to each - a days wages. Suddenly, what had seemed at daybreak to be such a good thing, enough money to feed themselves and their families, now seems small and meagre.

"But you got what you came for, I paid you as agreed," says the master. But still the workers are angry and feel hard-done by.

The power of human greed and human imagination of justice are powerful in this story. It is a warning not to spend our time looking over our shoulders and comparing ourselves to others - God has in store what god has in store for each of us, and for each of us that is more than we could ever want or deserve - to compare ourselves to other people is not only a waste of time but it will take the shine off everything that God has done for us - God's Grace has nothing to do with fairness - and thank goodness for that!