Year A Proper 20 18 September 2011
Exodus 16: 2-15 Psalm 105: 1-6, 37-45 Philippians 1: 21-30 Matthew 20: 1-16
We are an upside down people. For a minute just imagine an “opposite day”. Kids know about opposite days and will tell you when you say “No” to them that it really means “Yes”! If everything was upside down we wouldn’t get a proper perspective on anything and things would be a little chaotic.... but here’s the thing... life is chaotic and we don’t have a proper perspective – we are an upside down people!
Shakespeare, in the words of Hamlet’s soliloquy, writes the thoughts that would be common to humans if we were clever enough to analyse and think it through. He writes the famous, “To be or not to be...” and he deliberates whether it is better to end his life or face the trials to come. In the end Hamlet decides that he doesn’t know what death entails and suspects that there may be more to it than a peaceful sleep. So fearing the “nightmares” that may await him after death he supposes that those trials of life may be the easier option.
Shakespeare obviously thought things through more than the average human being and articulated our inner fears and desires. The ancient Israelites, we read about this week were not so inclined to analyse and after being miraculously rescued by God grumbled that He had brought them out into the desert only to kill them by starvation. Not a very logical conclusion – but seemingly logical to an “upside down” people - and probably the one we’d all jump to in the same situation.
Are we more inclined to accept the wisdom and sovereignty of God when our life is in shambles and troubles surround us, or do we believe that God is punishing us and really dislikes us? The key to our being an upside down people or right way up depends on our perspective and unless we’ve been the “right way up”, we won’t realize that we are upside down.
Many of Jesus’ parables seemed to be “upside down” to the people – and they seems that way to us also. This week’s Gospel is no exception, and it tells of workers being paid the same amount even though some worked all day and some only worked for a short part of the day. This doesn’t seem fair to us and it didn’t seem fair to those listening to Jesus story either.
The Gospel is actually about us who work in God’s kingdom. Some have been working faithfully all their lives. Others have only just begun to be involved seemingly at the very end of their life. Is it fair that all be rewarded equally?
St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians 1: 27-30 “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.”
Is it fair that someone who worked as hard as St. Paul (persecuted and martyred) should share the same reward as the elderly lady who just started coming to church at the age of 80 and really didn’t do very much except pray and encourage those in her congregation? Whether it seems fair or not, Jesus proclaims that this is how the kingdom of God works. Certainly it is Good News for those like the elderly lady – and yet it is something that those like St. Paul will willingly suffer and struggle their whole lives for. St. Paul knew that his reward was the same as those for whom he was struggling and he willingly continued. His reward is the love of God, forgiveness of sins and eternal life.... to want for anything more is to not understand the gift.
St. Paul also writes some famous words that are similar and yet opposite to those of Hamlet – yet written many years before the time of Shakespeare:
Philippians 1:21-26 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.”
St. Paul was completely aware of the hardships of life. This is one who lived his life right on the edge of glory and suffered injustices and persecution for the faith he not only believed in, but knew beyond a shadow of a doubt was the truth.
Where Hamlet feared the punishment that awaited him due to his sins, St. Paul knew that Christ loved him and his sins were atoned for. St. Paul knew that to die meant to be with Christ and this was a good thing. But St. Paul knew that there was a reason and a purpose for his every day on earth and he lived that purpose without apology in the face of great affliction.
This week I taught a new song to one of my students, “clinging to a saving hand”. Because there were some old terms and words and this was a 10 year old student, I explained what the song was about and some of the terms, like, “sleep eternal”. The words of the song are: “Sing me a song of praise and glory. Help this wondering child to understand, that when I close my eyes in sleep eternal, I’ll be clinging to a saving hand”.
I explained that the saving hand was Jesus and that many people are scared of dying because they don’t know if Jesus will accept them. I explained that it is important to know Jesus now so that when we face death we can rest assured and know that Jesus will be there for us.
The Israelites that Moses led out of Egypt were the chosen people of God, but they didn’t KNOW him. They knew about Him and saw the amazing things that he did. More than this they were saved by Him from the land of slavery – and even, after them grumbling and complaining against God, they were miraculously given quails to eat and manna (bread). There was a difference between these people and St. Paul which caused them to interpret things differently. St. Paul was not an upside down person – he saw things as they really are.
We can be an upside down people if we don’t know Jesus. We can know about Jesus and still be “upside down”. We can experience Jesus and still be “upside down”. But to know Jesus and be the “right way up” is to be in a relationship with him. It means spending time with him.... learning about him... being led by his Holy Spirit and taught about him. It means making him the first propriety in our lives – because in the end our relationship with Him will one day be all that matters.
Spoken by Hamlet, Hamlet Act 3 Scene 1
To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, ’tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there’s the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover’d country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.–Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remember’d.
http://www.nosweatshakespeare.com/quotes/hamlet-to-be-or-not-to-be/
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