Look With The Eyes of Faith

Exodus 16:2-15     Matthew 20: 1-16

The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 

The Children of Israel have participated in an amazing exodus by which God took them away from the slave society of Egypt; and despite all odds, they have escaped from the control of Pharaoh.

The breathtaking experience at the Red Sea is still fresh in their minds - how, with the Egyptian chariots in hot pursuit, they saw the waters part to give them dry passage to the other side. Imagine taking that first step onto the suddenly dry land where there had been deep water only moments before. That man or woman or child had to have been a person of great faith. Once the band of escaping slaves made it to the other side, then the waters of the sea came crashing back down, not to drown them, but to wash away the Egyptian army. We’ve all enjoyed watching this portrayed in modern day movies – and there have been a number of them, though my generation probably best remembers the one starring Charlton Heston as Moses.

That experience, that crossing, must have inspired terror and awe in each and every individual who made it, but only a month or so later, comes the episode reported in today’s Exodus reading. What have the people done? Thanks to the rumbling in their bellies, they have forgotten. And so - they complain. They cast accusations. Hear these Israelites again: “If only we had died in the slave economy, where there was no freedom but plenty of food! But you, Moses and Aaron, you have brought us out to the middle of nowhere so that we will starve to death.”

Can you believe that? One minute they are rejoicing because they have been able to escape Egypt, and the next, they are full of accusations. Though we accept that they may have all been slaves, historically, it is likely many of them weren’t in truly dire straits in Egypt. They do remember much better times. Nonetheless, they had all eagerly accepted Moses call to leave Egypt, to follow him to a new homeland, a land flowing with milk and honey – only a month or so later to begin complaining bitterly when hunger and thirst became an issue for them

When you think about it, we understand them, we can see they have a point.  Who would want to trade a life where there is food and drink and relative security, to go wandering in the desert on a promise that does not seem to be being fulfilled?  The food and drink, readily available in Egypt, are only memories, and instead, the people are thirsty, starving, and exhausted. Things have not turned out, not yet anyway, as they expected, and so, they turn to Moses and Aaron and blame them for their predicament.

Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 

In today’s Gospel we hear the, to us, familiar parable of the laborers in the vineyard.

We’ve all heard this parable many times, and of course we’re struck by the obvious.  The way the landowner reckons up the days wages at the end of the day just isn’t right.  In our society we have laws that would prevent such an injustice.  The workers who had labored the longest and the hardest would be first in line and would get paid far more than the come-lately workers.  But that isn’t how the parable turns out. 

As is always the case with His parables, Jesus has chosen an image that will leap out at His listeners and slap us awake.  We are meant to think about the circumstances.  Why are the first workers so angry?  Why do they think they are not being treated fairly?  They agreed to a certain wage, and they have received it.  Then we realize, their outrage only erupts when they discover that the other workers, who haven’t spent the whole day, as they have, toiling in the hot sun in the vineyard, are getting the same pay.

What is going on in both of these readings?  To be fair and honest, both groups, the Israelites and the labourers, have a case. The Israelites are lost in the desert and have no reason to expect that food and water will magically appear to save them. They anticipated a life of freedom and happiness. Why on earth has Moses lead them out there to die? In Matthew’s parable, it really doesn’t seem fair that nobody is rewarded according to how much they worked. The workers who came early anticipated getting far better pay than those who showed up later in the day. What sort of business logic can justify equal pay for unequal hours?

What is happening with both these groups, what makes their stories resonate with our lives today, is their perfectly reasonable human expectations, expectations we would certainly have had, had we been in their shoes or sandals. The images, though ancient, strike familiar chords in each of us, because like the Israelites and the workers in the vineyard, we live by common sense, every day, accepted rules and traditions. We have normal human expectations. We like to depend on what we see, what we know, what is familiar, and by what we have been taught and have come to believe is fair.

This is why in each case we can side with the disappointed, angry men and women who had anticipated one thing, only to discover that what they expected and what they have received are two different things entirely. And this is so often how it is with the call and will of God in our lives. We joyfully go forward in faith expecting one thing, only to be caught totally off guard by what God gives us.

And that is who the people in our readings today truly are – people who began their journey or the day’s work in good faith, only to feel disappointed and betrayed.

How do we fit into these stories? We come to church because we have faith, faith in an all loving, forgiving God, faith in a God of goodness and light – and God is all this and more. But then, when things in our lives do not go as we had hoped, when we face worldly trials, we may turn to God and ask, “Why”, as if God has forsaken us and no longer cares for us. Worse, we may, as did the Israelites, forget about God entirely, become angry and accusatory, and blame others for our troubles. Or we become like the labourers, who are satisfied until they think someone has made out better than they have. It becomes all about us – and our faith does not sustain us, because we have fallen back into worldly thinking,

Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, ‘Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’” And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 

We are never forsaken – and though we may not always have as clear and startling a sign from God as did the Israelites, ours may be more subtle, but the signs are there. God is always there. It is our mindset, our selfishness, that blinds us to His Presence. And we often suffer from this blindness not just during life crises, but in our everyday lives. Like the slaves and the labourers, it is our mindset that can cause us to become so angry and accusatory.

Let us think about Jesus’ parable in different terms, not a vineyard, but a congregation. In church we welcome new members, new believers, and we hope they will join us in what we do on Sundays and in being living examples of our faith when they are out in the world.  Many of us have been churchgoers all our lives.  Would we be angry if those who came late to the faith did not receive the same “wage” we hope to receive, if they were not allowed the same entrance into heaven?

The basic lesson in both our readings today is that we have a choice, every day, every moment. Are we going to see things from a worldly perspective, I am hungry, I am thirsty, that isn’t fair – or are we going to strive to see things as Jesus calls us to do, with compassion for others and with acceptance and surrender to God’s will. God is with us, even if we must suffer a bit, God will provide, even when it is not exactly in the way we expected, and God rewards in the same way and amount all those who believe in Him.

Let us pray:

Lord God, help us to see the world around us with eyes of faith and hearts filled with love and compassion. Help us to daily grow closer to You, that in simplicity and selflessness we may love our neighbors as ourselves. All this we ask in Jesus Name. Amen.