By The Rev. Craig A. Phillips, Ph.D.
In the 20th Chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells a parable about the reign of God. He says, “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.” The landowner offers to pay a decent wage to those who begin work at the beginning of the day, the middle of the day, and the end of the day.
When, at the end of the workday, the workers received their wages, “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.’
Contrast this with the account of the ancient Israelites in the 16th chapter of the book of Exodus:
The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger” (Exodus 16: 2-3).
What is the similarity between the two stories? It lies in the fact that the people grumble and complain, even when they are blessed — even when they have been given more then they perhaps deserve. In Exodus 16 the people complain that they have no food. So, God gave them Manna. Manna is a Hebrew word that is a phrase. Manna literally means, “what is it?” In Exodus 16:37 we read: “The house of Israel called it manna; it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. They did not know what to call it, so that asked, ‘what is it’?”
In the next chapter of Exodus, the people complain that they have no water to drink:
The people quarreled with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?” (Ex. 17:2).
So, God through Moses gave them water. In Exodus 16 they complain about the lack of food and in chapter 17 about the lack of water.
If you look closely at this story, you will notice that the people in the Exodus story are unable to appreciate God’s generosity. Instead, we read of the quarreling, grumbling, and murmuring of God’s ungrateful people. This inability of the people of God to appreciate, or even to notice, God’s many blessings becomes an important theme in the Old Testament.
Psalm 106:24-25 recounts this party of the story from the book of Exodus:
Then they despised the pleasant land,
having no faith in his promise.
They grumbled in their tents,
and did not obey the voice of the LORD.
In the wilderness, the people of Israel murmured and complained. It seems from the story of the Exodus that is the natural proclivity of the people of God to complain and murmur.
The word “murmur” is a case of onomatopoeia—words that imitate natural sounds. When people grumble and complain it sounds like this: “mur-mur-mur-mur.”
The people of God tend to complain even when things are good. They seem to have a need to complain. And when they do, they are not able to appreciate what they already have. They are unable to see the blessings God already has poured out on them.
In the parable Jesus tells in Matthew 20, the workers are unable to see the blessing they have received. It may not seem fair but each worker no matter how long they worked received the same decent wage. When we hear this story, we tend to focus on the perceived unfairness of the wages for those who worked all day and not on the generosity of the landowner. Listen to what the landowner says:
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?
This is a parable about the Kingdom of Heaven — the Kingdom of God. It is a story about God’s generosity to everyone. Whether other people deserve it or not, God pours out God’s love for them just as God pours out God’s love on you.
Why is it that we have such a difficult time seeing God’s generosity to us? Our two stories this morning tell of people who in the face of God’s generosity can only see scarcity. They can only see what they don’t have. They are not thankful for what they already have. Perhaps that is the way of our sinful, often self-centered human nature. At times we only see the donut hole and not the donut.
Our lives are full of choices, choices that ultimately are about our own stewardship of the life that God has given us. The money, talents, and abilities you have been given are not given to you for your sole use and possession, but rather you are called by God to share your treasures within the community of the church so that all God’s people will flourish together.
I hope that you will reflect on the many gifts that God has given you and learn to be truly thankful. And truly grateful. And that you will respond to God in thanksgiving for God’s many, many blessings.
The Rev. Craig A. Phillips, Ph.D. is a retired Episcopal priest and Professor of Religion. He currently teaches as an adjunct Lecturer at St. Anselm College in Manchester, NH. His blog may be found at https://craigphillips.co.