Good Morning Friends,
Today’s lectionary selection includes two parables that give us a little insight into the Kingdom of God compared to the kingdoms of people. I have added the first verse of Psalm 23 to complement the readings. We begin with one of the first parables in the Bible, the story of the trees. Now the setting is this: God had given Gideon a great victory with just 300 men, trumpets and torches and clay pitchers. You would think Israel would be so grateful and that they would never again turn against God. But it would not last. They wanted an earthly king and had no idea what they were asking. The parable of the trees is told in response as the nation was heading on a path of seeking the wrong leadership. And then in the book of Matthew, Jesus tells the parable of the laborers, and the setting is toward the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry in response to Peter’s question about the disciples’ lot given their early adoption of the Jesus way, and it too tests us as to whether we have an earthly or heavenly mindset. It is about what is leading our hearts. And so, the test is whether we will love our neighbors as ourselves. The test is whether we will answer the call of God with action and the heart of a Kingdom to come mindset. But until Jesus returns it does leave us with a question. So, Who Will Feed The Sheep And Will They Ever Be Satisfied?
Scripture: Then all the lords of Shechem and all Beth-millo came together, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar at Shechem. When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and cried aloud and said to them, “Listen to me, you lords of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. The trees once went out to anoint a king over themselves. So they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’ The olive tree answered them, ‘Shall I stop producing my rich oil by which gods and mortals are honored, and go to sway over the trees?’ Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’ But the fig tree answered them, ‘Shall I stop producing my sweetness and my delicious fruit, and go to sway over the trees?’ Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I stop producing my wine that cheers gods and mortals, and go to sway over the trees?’ So all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’ And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’
Judges 9:6-15 (NRSV)
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. 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?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ 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.’ When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 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.’ 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? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Matthew 20:1-16 (NRSV)
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
Psalm 23:1 (NRSV)
Message: The parable of the trees abridged version is this: Each of the trees said “No, I don’t want to lead, let someone else.” So, the people turned to the bramble bush for leadership and the bush agreed, and said, “You can rest under my shade.” The irony of the selection is that the bramble has no shade! So, when all the other trees forsook the call of duty, the people settled for what they got. The message here is that we can achieve a better outcome when we rise from our apathy. Friends, you have heard it said that all that is necessary for evil to win is for good people to do nothing and that is true. That is the message of the parable of the trees. But above that is the message of the Kingdom to come, for it is about God as much as our response to God. You see in the parable of the laborers it is about God seeking and calling us out as much is it is about our labor. It is about God providing for our daily needs and helping us to learn to think in a different way. It is about God’s intentions being in plain view and the dignity of work and God’s grace in providing it. It is about learning from our motivations and emotions in response to how this plays out in community. I hope you see that in the Kingdom of God the value has shifted to have a focus on people’s needs linked to God’s provision. Now what is both challenging and interesting in the story is that the last to work were paid first. Perhaps this was done as a test so that all would see that the focus is to be on the needs of people provided by God rather than what people accomplished out of their own efforts. For those living in the world this is a puzzling part of the parable for it inverts the way in which we live into something very different. But it creates a teaching moment. Perhaps we get a glimpse of the proper response when we realize that God loves us and we are moved to do something about it. What is right here is what is of God. It is about the vineyard but more importantly those who work in it discovering a satisfying relationship with God.
And So, we need leaders to help us stay determined to focus on God and His grace, rejoicing that He is generous, rejoicing that he is unlike any person we have ever known. We need leaders to help us focus on God’s character, exulting in His mercy and His goodness toward us, marveling that He included us in His mercy. As sheep we get to choose what we will eat. We can either be gracious and thankful for what God has given to us or we can gripe and complain and grumble that God has been gracious to others. Sometimes it is hard for us to rejoice about God’s goodness to someone else. It is difficult to be happy because God has been good to someone else. It is difficult when we work hard, and others receive the credit. It is sometimes hard for us to celebrate the goodness of God when His goodness is extended to someone else. But the thing is that God will eventually bring justice if justice is really needed. Friends, when it comes to God’s grace, there is not much we can complain about. Jesus tells Simon Peter to feed His sheep. We too are to be shepherds leading the sheep to green pastures whether we get paid or not.
Pray we follow the good shepherd who leads a faithful flock and gives us rest. Pray we are made strong. Pray we are fed spiritually. Pray we are not made weak in character by poor leaders. Pray we are not scattered in thought or focus. Pray God seeks us out when we stray. Pray we are delivered from evil. Pray we are healed. Pray we embrace a covenant of peace in a place of blessing. Pray we do not grumble about God’s generosity. Pray we do not make ourselves miserable. Pray we too learn to lead others to Jesus the Good Shepherd. Pray we take and eat of that which is Holy. Pray we learn to feed lost sheep. Pray day by day for daily bread. Pray we realize that the things of this world will never satisfy, but in fact tend to produce in us an insatiable desire for more. Pray we are willing to work for the Kingdom of God. Pray we are not jealous about how God distributes grace. Pray we realize that equality is a gift that should prompt us to love. Pray we realize the true leadership of Jesus is the only one that is worth following and when we do follow, we all receive the satisfaction of green pastures and still waters.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 