Category: transcendent

‘Homey Don’t Play That’

Gospel of Mathew (NRSV-CE)

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard.3 When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; 4 and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. 5 When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. 6 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?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ 8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ 9 When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. 10 Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. 11 And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12 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.’ 13 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? 14 Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” 

What I desire/value in this story – 

• The landowner (whom some considered to represent God) is not playing our striving games. He has no interest in rankings, measurements, comparisons or competitions. We often engage in this behavior because either we are narcissistic or self loathing. We either think we are better than everyone else or we think we are worse than everyone else. This underpins our need to be ranked higher to validate either our narcissism or invalidate our insecurities. Either way, we are measuring our self worth based on arbitrary and transitory criteria.
• When I re-read how he addresses those who feel that they have been wronged – ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 14 Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous? 
  • We have a tendency to want ‘fair’ except when that ‘fairness’ is applied in a way that may negatively impact me or when it would bring a ‘windfall’ to those who don’t deserve it. How often do we celebrate when others receive? Do we only celebrate when we have determined that they are worthy?
• This is all built out the paradigm of scarcity – which is an undertone in the five o’clock workers taking a disproportionate piece of the pie and now that piece is no longer available to me. I deserve a larger piece of the pie and they deserve a smaller piece of the pie. 
• We have been blessed with a planet that sustains life and our unique characteristics allow humans to physically and mentally control and utilize its resources. Therefore, we live in a world of enough. Ther landowner gives each worker a daily wage so that each can have one’s daily needs met. To reiterate this world that has enough for everyone if we, as the stewards of the world, distribute it a manner so that everyone has their daily needs met. 
  • This is essential to be able to participate in the kingdom of heaven.   

The kingdom of heaven – this is a phase used throughout Matthew’s gospel and has a basic two-fold meeting – (1) Matthew’s audience, as is He, is within orthodox Judaism where saying or writing ‘God’ is irreverent and to be avoided; therefore heaven is used in the place of ‘God’ and this can be read as the kingdom of God. This is an important distinction because Jesus (in Matthew’s gospel) was not speaking of some other place (heaven – a place that we may go to when we die); (2) rather He was speaking of now as the kingdom of heaven is near (Mt 3:2) and/or available now. The context is that disciples (believers) of Christ would act in a manner that is consistent with the landowner now not in the future or when we die.

• This is not a world of scarcity. We have the ability to distribute the collective resources in a manner where all our basic needs are meet. When we choose not to meet everyone’s basic needs, we choose to reimagine that the finite is all that exists. However, we can choose to reimagine that we are all part of the infinite. 
  • That which is essential to life aka ‘the kingdom of heaven’ is available and cannot be divided (you cannot divide the infinite). 
    • This includes love, peace, joy, friendship, kindness. These things cannot be divided –
      • it is nonsensical to state there is only so much peace so we can’t possible give peace to more than twenty five nations at a time or 
      • we cannot possible be kind to everyone because we will run out of kindness.