Merry Christmas

With the approach of the Christmas Season, its time for my second annual Christmas post. Most readers would expect the Nativity story from Matthew, Mark or Luke, or the poetic opening of John's Gospel, but I'm a trend bucker. This time lets review my favorite Bible reading, Matthew, Chapter 20, verses 1 through 16. For me, this defines what it means to be a Christian.

1 "The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.
2 After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard.
3 Going out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
4 and he said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.'
5 So they went off. (And) he went out again around noon, and around three o'clock, and did likewise.
6 Going out about five o'clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?'
7 They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard.'
8 When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.'
9 When those who had started about five o'clock came, each received the usual daily wage.
10 So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage.
11 And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner,
12 saying, 'These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day's burden and the heat.'
13 He said to one of them in reply, 'My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
14 Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?
15 (Or) am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?'
16 Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last."

Its a very simple parable, a farmer goes into the market place to hire workers, and continues to do so throughout the day. At the end of the day, he pays everyone the same amount regardless of how long they worked that day. Naturally, the ones who put in more time expect to be paid more than those who worked only a couple of hours, but the farmer refuses saying it's his money, he can do what he wants with it, and he is only paying what the workers agreed to be paid, so stuff it.

For me the farmer symbolizes God, the workers are us hairless monkeys, the work is living a Christian life, and the payment is eternal salvation. All day long, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, God offers us an invitation to join his followers. The invitation is always there. As Christians we don't need to ask God to accept us, but rather we must accept God. The invitation is to all of us, no one is excluded.

If we chose to accept God's invitation, there is no free ride. Believe me, it is work living as a Christian. It's not always fun to attend Mass week after week. It's not easy to be forgiving, especially to your enemies. Yet we are called on to not only forgive them, but to love them. It takes years to study all the lessons the Bible has for us. And one must put expend great effort and time. We are expected to volunteer our time and our wealth to help others. And to do so with good cheer.

And why does the farmer agree to pay all workers the same regardless of the length of the work day? Because salvation is God's gift to us. We do not deserve it, no matter how hard or how long we work. It is not by the fruit of our labors that we earn salvation, not at all. Salvation is bestowed because God chooses to do so. And God gives it to whoever God chooses, whenever God chooses. Before God we are all equal. We are expected to live a worthy life of work and effort, but those of us who choose the accept God's invitation earlier in our lives should not expect to be above anyone else in salvation. We don't deserve it, it is a gift from God. All the good deeds we do are not vane attempts to add more pluses than minus' so when we stand before St. Peter at the Pearly Gates, we get our ticket stamped. No, that's completely backwards. Because we accept God' invitation, the outcome is that we do good work, not the other way around.

And lastly, the farmer admonishes the workers who demand more than they agreed to. Pure and simple libertarianism and property rights. God provides salvation at God's discretion, and no one can demand more. We've been invited, we've accepted, and we've complied with God as best we can. No one deserves salvation. A kindly old priest told us a story once during the homily years ago about St. Teresa of Avila, some times referred to as St. Teresa of the Roses. I'm sure most every one has seen an image of her at some point. A young nun in full habit, carrying a crucifix and a bouquet of roses. As the priest told it, she was laying on her deathbed, surrounded by her fellow nuns who were comforting her in her final moments. They told her not to worry, she'd lived a good and pious life, surely God would see she deserved heaven. St. Teresa replied she was a human and a sinner, and she deserved nothing from God. She didn't want what she deserved, she wanted mercy from God.

Merry Christmas!