and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day’s burden and the heat.
But they are equal to us, they are not just made thus arbitrarily. The criminal crucified with Christ hears Jesus say, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." He works for even less than an hour. Yet he is given the same reward as the greatest Saints and martyrs.
The workers complain that their hard work is not being rewarded. But they are called to realize "it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast" (cf. Eph. 2:8-9. It seems like it ought to be a result of hard work though, right? I mean, here we have a vineyard, an owner, a wage, and workers. If the owner needs us what right does he have to treat those who work more the same as those who work less? Doesn't he owe more to hard workers? But what if the owner doesn't owe us anything? What if he is being merciful when he sees us standing idle? Couldn't it be that he is allowing us to work in his vineyard because it is better for us rather than because he needs us? The wages too, are what the landowner wants to give us more so than what we earn. Those who choose to rely on the mercy of the landowner for work can trust in him to provide for their needs.
Let us take shelter in the shadow of the LORD. There are plenty of leaders on earth that are willing to reward our need to work hard. There is plenty of buckthorn willing to offer us shadow. But these leaders are usually more interested in themselves than us. They reward us not according to what we truly need but according to what we do for them. If they are interested enough in us to give up their own sweetness and good fruit or rich oil whereby men and gods are honored it is usually because there is something they want from us. Let us work for the landowner who doesn't need our help. His vineyard is where we belong. In the labor of this vineyard we find fulfillment and purpose. When we trust him he pays us a wage that is sufficient to all of our needs even we haven't worked enough to deserve it.
For you welcomed him with goodly blessings,
you placed on his head a crown of pure gold.
He asked life of you: you gave him
length of days forever and ever.
It doesn't seem fair, perhaps. But one thing we should never ask God is to give us what we deserve. Instead, let us rely on his mercy and not our worth. Rather than our own efforts, let us trust in him.
Lord, in your strength the king is glad.
No comments:
Post a Comment