A Sermon for
24th 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