Today’s gospel contains a parable and I will talk about it and other parables as well. Parables are great teaching devices. They give us valuable lessons….. lessons that stick with us because they are so easy to remember. Each parable is trying to tell us something about God.
For example, in Chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel we have the story of the young man who collected his inheritance, went to another country and wasted all of his money. When He came back home he saw his father standing at the gate waiting to forgive him. When he said, “Father, forgive me.” His father was quick to say, “You are forgiven.” The father in the story represents God. Just as the father was quick to forgive his child, so God is quick to forgive us when we repent.
The point of the story is not the conversion of the prodigal son. This parable, and every parable, tells us something about God and this story tells us that God is slow to anger and quick to forgive those who repent.
In that same chapter of Luke’s Gospel we have the story of the woman who lost a silver coin. She lights a lamp and searches the whole house until she finds it. Then she calls her friends and neighbors over to celebrate. The woman in this story represents God. Just as she is searching for the lost coin, so God is searching for the lost soul. Just as she celebrates when she finds the lost coin, so God is celebrating when one sinner decides to repent.
In today’s Gospel we have another parable, another story about God. The lesson in this parable is not about the workers in the vineyard. Jesus wants us to look closely at what the farmer did, not at what the workers did. The farmer was both fair and generous. He was fair in that he gave a full day’s wage to those who worked a full day. A full day’s wage for those who work a full day…..That sounds fair. He was generous in that he gave a full day’s wage to those who worked for only a portion of the day. Thus, he was very generous to those who worked for only a short time!
In much the same way, God is generous to those who come on board in the eleventh hour. When it comes to loving people, God is very generous. God always gives us a full day’s wage - which is another way of saying that God always gives us the fullness of salvation.
Our human way of reckoning leads us to think that God gives large amounts of grace to some people and small amounts of grace to others. But God does not work that way. God’s ways are not our ways. Grace is another word for God’s love and God’s love cannot be divided. God is always generous. God is always dishing out a full portion of grace to each person.
Now let’s move on from looking at parables to looking at real people in the Gospels. The Gospels tell us about several people who were generous as God is generous.
One day it was time for people to make their contributions to the temple treasury. After the rich made their contributions, a poor widow put in two copper coins. Then Jesus said: “Truly I tell you, the poor widow has put in more than all the others. They contributed out of their abundance, but she put in all that she had.” She was totally generous. She was a living example of what God is like.
Zacchaeus was another person who was generous, although he was not always that way. Zacchaeus was a tax collector, and everyone knew that he was a cheater. He was charging more than the government charged and putting the overcharge in his own pocket. After he met Jesus, his heart was changed. He became a very generous person. He gave half of his property to the poor. And he paid four times as much as he owed to everyone whom he had cheated.
The Gospels also tell the story of the person who was the most generous person in the history of the world: namely, Jesus of Nazareth. He was so generous that he gave his life rather than back down from preaching the truth.
The scribes and Pharisees wanted him to change his teaching. They wanted him to abandon his teaching that sinners and tax collectors are being saved. They wanted him to say that only the law abiding and faithful worshippers are being saved. But Jesus refused to turn away from the truth. He refused to back down. He kept saying what the prophet Isaiah had said six centuries before: “God is generous in forgiving. God loves both the righteous and the unrighteous.” Jesus was willing to sacrifice his life rather than change his message. He was totally and completely generous in giving his life so that we could be saved.
Now I would like to move to looking at some implications for us today. First and foremost, I think that we should thank God for being so generous to us. We should thank God for giving us a full day’s wages - the full gift of salvation - even if we have been sinful and have turned away from following the two great commandments: Love the Lord thy God and love thy neighbor.
Secondly, I think we should think about ways that we can be generous as part of our imitation of Christ. What are some things that we can hand on to others? John the Baptist said, “Whoever has two coats should give one to the person who has none.” Generosity also means sharing our most valuable commodity…and that is our time!
We can set aside time to stay in touch with those who most need our companionship. Visiting people in person and calling on the phone and creating texts messages all take time. Our time is a gift that we can give to others.
I will close with a quick summary. The parables reveal to us that God is generous. I believe that we should give thanks to God for being generous in forgiving our sins and in saving us. And I think that we should see that God is challenging us to be more generous in our daily lives.
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