Hello everyone, welcome back! My name is Elise Brooklyn and this is Scattering Flowers, a podcast where we scatter flowers of faith.
Today is Wednesday, August 21st and we will be reading Matthew 20, 1-16.
Follow along in your Bible if you have one.
Now let’s read Matthew 20, 1-16.
For the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace.
And to them he said, you go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.
So they went.
Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour he did the same.
And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing and he said to him, why do you stand here idle all day?
They said to him, because no one has hired us.
He said to them, you go into the vineyard too.
And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to the steward, call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last up to the first.
And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius.
Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius.
And on receiving it they grumbled at the house owner, saying, these last worked only in one hour and you have made them equal to us, have borne and burdened all the day in the scorching heat.
But he replied to one of them, friend, I am not going you no wrong.
Did you not agree with me for a denarius?
Take what belongs to you and go.
I choose to give to this last as I give to you.
I am not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me, or do you begrudge my generosity.
So the last will be first and the first last.
Last year, my brother and I went trick-or-treating in a different neighborhood with our friends.
It was a super busy neighborhood, so we were extra excited, because we knew we were going to score big.
We went to this one house, and this man was giving out pinches of candy.
When I went up to his table, I said trick-or-treat and thank you.
He gave me a full-sized Hershey bar.
Our friend that was with us just walked up and held open his bag and only got a mini full size.
My brother missed that whole house because he had gone ahead.
I was so excited, I showed him, and he said, not fair, which house?
We were too far for him to get one.
Once we got home, though, he realized he must have gotten a full size at another house, because at the bottom of his bag, he had a full-size Kit Kat.
Like in the reading of the Vineyard Workers, we sometimes worry about things being fair.
We think we earn and deserve things, and we get upset if we think it’s not fair.
This parable reminds us that God, too, offers forgiveness to all of us.
What if we would actually get what we deserved for sin?
Let’s pray.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, dear God, thank you for granting us mercy and forgiveness.
Thank you that life isn’t fair, and that means life for us.
Amen.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
Thank you so much for listening.
I’ll be back tomorrow, scattering more flowers.
See ya!