Philippians 1.21-30; Matthew 20.1-16

How often have you heard a child protest “it’s not fair – she’s got more than me!”  Perhaps you recall times when you said it as a child and perhaps even more recently. After all there can surely be nothing wrong in wanting justice. Isn’t that what we should be looking for in this world where we see so much injustice. We read about it every day in our papers and see it on our screens. Who wouldn’t want to see an end to all of that injustice.

Our gospel reading this morning delves into the question of justice from an employment perspective.

The abuse of workers is nothing new. Real power was and always is in the hands of those who own the land. And although they need labourers, and labourers need work, the workers are the weaker when it comes to bargaining the terms on which they will give their labour. Throughout civilised history there has been an ongoing struggle between the two sides. In more recent times it has produced trade unions as the latest manifestation of workers combining together to protect their interests, advance their causes, and obtain the justice they deserve. And in recent times we have seen the push back against that with such things as union busting and zero hours contracts.

This morning’s parable pulls back the curtain on the way our world works as much as it did for those listening to Jesus.

Jesus is talking about the kingdom of heaven, and he gives us this parable which we know as ‘the labourers in the vineyard’. The previous chapter ended with the account of the rich young man who went away when Jesus told him to sell what he had and give to the poor, which proved too much for him. And that chapter ends with Jesus telling them that many who are first will be last and the last will be first. And then he immediately launches into this parable about his upside-down kingdom where literally the last to be employed are paid first and the first are paid last.

But before we get to the end of the day and the settling of accounts, let’s begin with the hiring of that last group. It was late in the day, and they were still hanging about in the marketplace. It reminds me very much of trips to France and seeing the people who were hanging about in the village square – sitting at their tables drinking pernod and playing cards. Many of them were past normal working age.  In our parable the landowner sees people like this and asks them why they are hanging around and not working, to which their answer was “No one has hired us – no one wants us – we are not the sort of people who get offered work”. I guess they would have been the ones who were always the last to be picked at school when teams were being chosen. And it is people like that that this landowner is more than happy to include in his workforce.

After the rich young man had gone on his way, Jesus spoke about how hard it is for those who have the stuff of this world to enter his kingdom. At which Peter asked “well what about us? We have left everything to follow you; what will we get?” To which Jesus tells them that that is not the right question. And he goes on to say that many who are first will be last and the last will be first.

Underlying that is the principle that God is not in the business of making contracts and giving rewards.

What Tom Wright says about this is that God makes covenants not contracts. He promises us everything and in return asks us for everything. But God keeping his promises is not a reward for our effort, it is simply God being God, and doing what is natural to a God who has an overflowingly generous nature.

It is about grace, about gift, and about relationships. God doesn’t have inner circles, or specially favoured ones. God is constantly out there in the marketplace looking for those everyone else ignores or overlooks, welcoming them into the kingdom on the same terms as everyone else, and surprising them and indeed surprising everyone else with his extraordinarily generous grace.

So, back to where we started with the child’s “It’s not fair!”. As we grow up as children, we develop an increasing sense of what we are entitled to. And in this cathedral, many of us have that in spades. I accept that not all who are here this morning will have this, but many of us do, and I speak very much to myself in this respect. It began with a secure upbringing. It was helped by a good education, followed by hard work and entry into a trade or profession, where again we made progress and achieved positions of seniority, with people looking up to us.

And all of this has been the fulfilment of what we were told from our earliest days – “work hard and you will have your reward”.

But that is the thinking of the kingdom of this world. And why shouldn’t it be? We feel that like those who were employed early in the morning, we know what it is to have born the burden of the day and the scorching heat, and so we feel entitled to a proper reward, and naturally that will be greater than any reward for those who have done less.

Thus, the American theologian and priest Barbara Brown Taylor in her sermon on this passage asks, “When we read this parable, why do we tend so immediately to identify with the folks hired at the crack of dawn?”

The subversive and easily overlooked purpose of this parable is to make us realize how deep is our sense of entitlement. And we can also have that sense for others close to us as well. A few verses after today’s gospel finished, we read how the mother of the brothers James and John approached Jesus and asked that when Jesus came into his kingdom her sons would sit either side of Him in his glory.

It is natural for us to feel for ourselves and for those close to us that we deserve certain things – both in the world outside but also in the church. After all that we have put in we can surely expect to get our reward. Is that wrong? Jesus says “yes, it is – my kingdom is an upside down one”. One that is so often counter-intuitive, because it is relational not transactional.

It is about the God who comes looking for us in the marketplace and inviting us in – whether into the workforce, the banquet, or the wedding feast – we are invited in. And as we come in and begin to realise how it works, we will be filled with thanksgiving. We will want to say “thank you” for all that we have been given.

And we will find that the question we will be asking ourselves each day is not “what am I going to get as a reward for what I have done today?”, but “what have I received as a gift today that I can say ‘thank you’ for”.

And that will bring about a transformation in our lives. And not only in our lives, but in the communities to which we belong. For those of us who are regulars here, in our Minster community, and if you are visiting us today then in the church community you belong to at home. Because when we are full of thankfulness it changes our attitude towards each other, as we no longer think of others in comparison to ourselves and what I am entitled to, but as fellow and equal recipients of the same love and mercy given to all of us by God.

And it will then affect our wider society as we will begin to see the issues of injustice around us as just that – injustice done to others – which we will want to put right. How much our world needs that message today – that injustice is not about me, but about others.

That is the nature of this upside-down kingdom that Jesus was bringing into being. A kingdom where people receive and experience his overwhelming and everlasting love and so begin to reflect that by demonstrating what a loving community can be like and who in turn look out and speak up and act on behalf of others who are suffering injustice.

It is a kingdom where many who put themselves first will be last and those who are last will be first.

Amen