Sermon 24th September 'In cant get no satisfaction' the labourers in the vineyard and the people of God in the wilderness

 

A Sermon for 24^th September Pentecost 17 The labourers in the vineyard

 

Readings: Exodus 16.2-15, Psalm 105, Phil 1:21-30, Matthew 20:1-16

 

‘I can’t get no satisfaction…. and I try, and I try, and I try and I try….’

This quotation is, of course from song written in 1965 by Jagger and Richards and performed by the Rolling Stones. With its iconic guitar riff and subversive and suggestive lyrics its reckoned to be one of the best rock songs of its era.

Question: Do you have memories of when you first heard this song?

In our Gospel reading the workers who had sweated all day in a snake filled stony and sunny vineyard receive the same pay packet as those hired at the end of the day. The Israelites fresh from a rest in palm springs Elim complain to their tour guide Moses, ‘You can’t get a decent quail on manna toast breakfast in a Godforsaken place like this’ They insist, ‘take us back to Norwood-on-Nile’. Even Paul banged up in gaol is caught on his own existential grand junction road. ‘I long to be with Christ yet I long to hang out with you in Phillipi’

‘I can’t get no satisfaction…. and I try, and I try, and I try and I try….’

Question:  Are the workers being unreasonable. Should Moses have packed a picnic?

I notice my own lack of satisfaction with the whingeing workers, angst filled Paul and the hungry pilgrims in a barren land. I can’t get no satisfaction.

Some suggestions to reflect on and discuss with a friend.

·        Taking our own lack of satisfaction or uncertainty to our prayer.  Kneeling in worship alone or with others. Making our complaint a lament, confessing our own disappointment with ourselves and with others. Complaining well can move us to a more truthful and insightful place.

·        Complaining well in our society where so many complain can be a work of grace. Can we in a prayerful Gospel way alone and with others speak truth to power to use that Quaker phrase? Can you offer constructive feedback to the preacher, to the church, to your local council and other elected members.

·        Does Scripture challenge you. Perhaps Jesus also had to wait to be hired in his working life and had to go hungry or not bring anything home to his mother and family. What kind of society do we live in that has casualised its labour, developed a gig economy and forced many young people into debt and uncertainty about the future. What kind of society fails people experiencing vulnerability or financial stress?

·        All is wonder all is grace. In our readings the people receive from unmerited generosity and goodness. Those hired late receive enough for themselves and their families, the cash goes around to support all. The people in the wilderness do not get a crust, they receive what they need in the here and now. In the Eucharist we are fed and nurtured for the journey receiving just what we need to respond to the God who meets us in the here and now

 

The past is past, the future does not exists, Christ meets us in the here and in the now. In the here and now which will arrive if we ask we will receive what we need to get by.

Question: All of us have the tendency to live in the past but usually memories can be distorted. We plan but often life turns our differently. What supports you to live and focus on the flow of moments.

Question:  The Israelites and the workers in the vineyard had no satisfaction because they were looking for the wrong answer to the right question. What about you.

To the complaint ‘I can’t get no satisfaction…. and I try, and I try, and I try and I try….’ Christ the Word responds; ‘Seek first the Kingdom and what you truly need will be yours’

P