Is life a comedy or a tragedy? Are we the hero or the victim? Or maybe the villain? Is the world descending into chaos and dystopia or are we on a path of ever-increasing prosperity and progress? The stories we tell orient us to our place in the world and our role in the story.
The Bible tells the story of a loving God and a messy people. There is a beginning and an end. Major themes of creation, redemption, and sanctification trace the arc of this grand narrative. And Jesus Christ is the center of it all – the great hero of the story who comes incognito to rescue and redeem his broken creation.
Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Invitation
Lord Jesus, you once came to humanity in a rustic barn and a messy manger. Do not be distant from the rough places of our lives. We often find ourselves far from you. In mercy, come near to us, our Lord, Emmanuel; for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Confession
Forgive my sins, O Lord – forgive me the sins of my present and the sins of my past, the sins of my soul and the sins of my body; the sins which I have done to please myself, and the sins which I have done to please others. Forgive me my wasted and idle sins, forgive me my serious and deliberate sins, forgive me those sins which I know and those sins which I know not, the sins which I have labored so to hide from others that I have hid them from my own memory. Forgive them, O Lord, forgive them all.
Word: Matthew 20:6-7
“And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’”
Meditation: A God who Spares us Our Shame by Pastor Nathan Schultz
I have been spared from joblessness many times in my life. No matter where I have moved or in what city I have found myself, I have experienced the kindness of a hiring manager. Employment was never lucrative, but I have always had enough. It might be about time I give thanks to a heavenly father for always having enough.
While I have not experienced being unemployed or underemployed in some extreme, I do know the anxiety that comes from a lack of work. I see it second hand in friends who have struggled with joblessness. Day by day, week by week, the hopelessness increases and the anxiety of mounting bills piles up.
The greatest hope for a friend who wants to provide for themselves is a job. And to get a job, you need someone to take a chance on you. A hiring manager who can overlook the holes in a resume or the lack of skills according to the job description.
The story Jesus tells describes a last ditch effort of these employees to make a living. They have stood outside the city gate in shame, waiting for someone to relieve them of the impending failure they might become if they return home empty handed.
At the eleventh hour, the last possible moment to pick up work for the day, an inquisitive manager goes to pick up workers, even if they would only serve him for an hour. No-one had hired them, and yet the master tells them to go into the fields. At this point, anything, even an hour of pay would be a relief for the workers.
There is something peculiar about a master who goes back and forth, from field to the city gate, hiring more employees. It seems he has a special heart for those who do not have work. It might be God would like to spare us from the shame we often suffer.
The manager had every reason to ask further questions of the workers standing around. “What’s wrong with you? Did you try hard enough? What skills do you have? What happened to you in your life, has no work come your way?”
None of those questions are uttered. We may think much the same of the workers we drive past outside Home Depot. But that is not what takes place in the story. Instead, the master has compassion and hires them.
I need a God who spared me from the shame heaped on me, and even the shame I bring on myself. Looking back on my employment history, I have been the object of much generosity and managers who have spared me much shame. I am thankful these small pictures of generosity point me to a bigger picture of a God who gives in our time of need.
Dear Father, thank you for the gift of meaningful work. Thank you also for compassionate and generous employers and leaders. Let us always remember your example in the way we treat others. Amen.
Benediction
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:7)