A Lunkhead Like Me

11.25.14

Matthew 20.15-16 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.” – Jesus, recounting the Parable of the Laborers (ESV)

Sometimes, the Bible is a book of riddles to me. This morning was such a time as I read the parable of the laborers. It says the Kingdom of Heaven is like… it resembles in some manner a man who went out every morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. So, Jesus was saying: So, when you think about God’s Kingdom think about it like this…

The difficulty for me, a modern reader, is the lack of context for such a story. It may have been fitting for first century Palestine, but I have a bit of a problem putting the story into my everyday life. It's harder for me to say that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner that goes out every day to hire workers to work his fields - who does that?

So, I read this and I think: what is this all about – and why does it matter? Well it matters because regardless of then or now, I need to have some understanding of what the Kingdom of Heaven is all about and how it affects me. I may not understand a third-world agricultural setting but I do understand my need for knowing what the Kingdom of Heaven is all about.

The Kingdom of Heaven in one sense is no different than everyday life. With all of its majesty and mystery, the Kingdom of Heaven is as ordinary as getting up and going to work every day – it’s accessible. So, to avoid the paralysis of analysis, I quit trying to understand what the hidden meaning might be of a man and his vineyard and his workers, and accept that this is the metaphor that Jesus chose to describe (along with other such stories) what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. It isn’t in a place far, far away; it’s like: going to work at the grocery store, or selling insurance, or changing tires, or herding cattle.

Now, the invitation is for everyone to partake in the Kingdom. Not everyone wants to. And the rules are the same for everybody all the time – when you’re in, you’re in – there’s no seniority. And one cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven and begin to dictate how it operates. But one can participate freely and expect to be treated fairly as a result. No favoritism there.

So, Jesus used simple analogies for lunkheads like me so I can understand that the Kingdom of Heaven is not of my own making, but of His; and it isn’t all that hard to understand. So everyone who comes into the Kingdom whether then, now, or later, is in, and is welcome.

Father, Sometimes, I just have to think about what I do understand and see, and leave what I don’t alone. Your Kingdom – as vast and intricate as it may be, is a safe and welcome place for someone like me who may have a hard time relating to ancient landowners and their workers. Help me not to read the parables and develop complicated theologies over them, but to simply take them as they are: simple stories about everyday life that I can mold and shape to my life in this day and age. So simple even a lunkhead like me can find some understanding and truth – amen.