Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity 20 09 26
OLD TESTAMENT READING: Exodus 16.2-15
NEW TESTAMENT READING: Philippians 1.21-end
GOSPEL Matthew 20.1-16
The Old Testament reading and the Gospel draw our attention to what most people tend to do, Complain. There are people who complain always. It will be one thing or the other. There are people when they feel they are derived or disadvantaged they complain. While we know complaining is very important to draw attention to some issues that affect people, habitually complaining about something or the other, complaining about one and all may need to be dealt carefully.
For the Hebrew people who were being led through the wilderness by God, suddenly turn against their leader Moses and also Aaron. They were once living a miserable lives as slaves in Egypt without any right or a voice. They were crushed by Pharoah the king of Egypt. They could not do anything about their situation than merely grieve, lament, suffer and cry out to God. God had compassion on their situation and after a long struggle under the leadership of Moses, finally they left the land of slavery and marched towards the land God had promised, a land flowing with milk and honey.
The promise of settling in a land flowing with milk and honey was not imminent. The Hebrew people kept walking for days and weeks and months, there was a point where they had run out of food as they journeyed in the wilderness. God has done great things in their lives, coming out of Egypt itself was possible only by the mighty hand of God. People forget all that God has done in their lives and began to complain against Moses. One thing they could have done about their situation is pray to God about their needs but rather they turn against Moses. Telling Moses that he is not a good leader, they might as well have stayed in the land of slavery. Moses not able to bear the bear the moaning and grumbling of the people, turns to God. God tells Moses that people have not complained about Moses but they have complained about God. God provided them food from heaven and they were fed with the heavenly manna.
In the Gospel reading, Jesus tells about workers in a vineyard. The owner of the vineyard goes out early morning to find workers to work in his vineyard and appoints them, he goes out again at 9 am and gets people to work, then at 3 pm he finds some people to work and then at 5 pm he finds people who were standing idle, he invites them to work in the vineyard. In the evening when they all need to be paid, the owner gives them all the same wage. The people who were working from the morning get upset that the ones who worked joined late are getting the same wage as them and started grumbling.
The owner then reasons out with the complaining people, they have received what the owner agreed to pay. The complaining started because they see the people who joined late were also given the same wage. The owner asks the people have I deprived you. I have been generous to people who worked fewer hours but that should not have made you unhappy.
Jesus tells this parable to explain the nature of the Kingdom of God. It is God’s gracious will to invite people to serve him continuously. Some people serve for longer time and some people lesser time. In God’s kingdom everyone receives the same reward.