Patrick Comerford
Next Sunday, 20 September 2020, is the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XV).
The readings in the Revised Common Lectionary, as adapted for use in the Church of Ireland, are in two sets, the Continuous Readings and the Paired Readings:
The Continuous Readings: Exodus 16: 2-15; Psalm 105: 1-6, 37-45; Philippians 1: 21-30; Matthew 20: 1-16.
There is a link to the Continuous Readings HERE.
The Paired Readings: Jonah 3: 10 to 4: 11; Psalm 145: 1-8; Philippians 1: 21-30; Matthew 20: 1-16.
There is a link to the Paired Readings HERE.
Introducing the Readings:
In the first reading, the freed slaves mumble (Exodus 16: 2) against God in the wilderness, as they wish to return to the fleshpots of Egypt, in the same way as the workers who have been in the field all day murmur about those who have arrived late and been paid a full day’s wage (Matthew 20: 11).
The Greek verb γογγύζω (gongootzo) means to murmur, mutter, grumble, or to say anything against someone else in a low tone. It implies people are talking among themselves secretly as they complain and let one another know about their discontent.
In the wilderness, the people are murmuring against Moses and Aaron. But, in reality, they are mumbling and grumbling against God. And yet God answers them by showing God’s bounty and his generosity. In the vineyard, the labourers are mumbling and murmuring about their fellow workers. But, in resenting what others have, they are murmuring and grumbling not just about what they have been given, but against the one who has given to them, the one who has been generous in abundance to others.
We live in a society where begrudgery is part and parcel of what is culturally acceptable as attitude. It is acceptable – instead of giving thanks for what we have been given – to resent what others receive.
And yet, should we ever envy someone else’s blessings?
Should we ever mumble about the abundance others appear to have when we know not what problems they have to live with?
How easy is it to begrudge others what they have, rather than thanking God for the blessings we have been given?
Exodus 16: 2-15:
The people of Israel have travelled into the wilderness beyond the Nile delta. When they find they cannot drink the water, they complain to Moses. God has tested their faith: if they accept him by trusting that he will feed them and rule them, then he will protect them rather than judging and destroying them.
Now, however, the entire community complains or grumbles ‘against Moses and Aaron’ about their food, or lack of it. They would prefer to have died during the plagues in Egypt where they sat by the fleshpots and ate their fill of bread. Now, instead, they fear dying en masse of hunger.
God hears their cry, their complaining, and immediately responds to their needs, promising them ‘bread from heaven’ (later called ‘manna’). There shall be enough in the morning for each day, but a double portion to collect on the sixth day, so they can rest on the Sabbath.
However, Moses and Aaron warn the people that their problems are not with them but with God, who gives them their authority as leaders.
Moses, Aaron and the people then see God’s presence or the ‘glory of the Lord’ which appears ‘in the cloud.’
God then also gives them ‘quails’ to eat ‘in the evening.’
But are the people satisfied? In the reading next Sunday (Exodus 17: 1-7), they once again complain, this time that have not enough to drink, and once again say they might have been better off had they stayed in Egypt.
The manna in the wilderness is a honey-like excretion from particular insects that infest tamarisk trees in the area. When it drops from the leaves it becomes almost solid, but in the heat of the day it melts, so it must be collected in the morning. That sufficient was available to feed all is a sign of special intervention by God. The name manna comes from the Hebrew or Aramaic ‘What is it?’ (man hu). The people ask what do you call it?
In the ‘Bread of Life’ discourse in Saint John’s Gospel, the manna becomes a foretaste of the Eucharist (see John 6: 26-51):
‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves’ (verse 26). So they said to him … ‘Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat”.’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’ (verses 30-34).
Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty … I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh’ (verses 30-51).
Psalm 105: 1-6, 37-45:
As we have seen in past weeks (26 July, 9 and 30 August), this psalm gives thanks to God for his saving acts in history. It urges all to ‘give thanks to the Lord,’ to call on his name, to tell what he has done, to hold him in glory, to rejoice in him, and to continually seek him.
This Psalm calls on the ‘children of Jacob’ and descendants of Abraham (verse 6) – not just Joseph and his brothers, but all people in the community of faith – to give thanks to God, to call upon him, to sing to him, to recall his mighty works, to give him glory and to rejoice (verses 1-4).
We are to search for God with all our strength, and to recall his great deeds (verses 5-6).
This portion takes us from the departure from Egypt, laden with ‘silver and gold’ (verse 37), led through the wilderness by a cloud in the day and a pillar of fire at night (Verse 39), receiving manna and quail as ‘food from heaven’ (verse 40) and water from the rock (verse 41). All these were signs of God’s enduring faithfulness to the promises made to Abraham (verse 42).
But the people are reminded that the whole purpose of this dramatic liberation was so that people would be obedient to God and freely worship him in praise (verses 43-45).
Philippians 1: 21-30:
For much of this year, we have been reading from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans. Now, for the next four weeks, we are reading from his Letter to the Philippians.
Philippi was the first church Saint Paul established on continental Europe (see Acts 16: 9-40). This city, 150 km east of Thessaloniki in north-east Greece, was named after its founder, Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great. By Saint Paul’s time, it a prosperous Roman colony.
This letter is written by Saint Paul and Saint Timothy, ‘servants of Christ Jesus,’ from prison, perhaps in Ephesus or in Rome, perhaps under house arrest, although we are not told. It is possible that letter is made up of three letters. It contains many personal references, exhorts church members in Philippi to live the Christian life and to good ethical conduct, introduces Timothy and Epaphroditus as his representatives, and warns against legalists and libertines. Lastly, he thanks the members of the Church in Philippi for their material support.
Realising that he may be facing death, Saint Paul considers what this may mean.
For Saint Paul, Christ gives meaning to life and death: if he is to live, he is to continue to work for Christ; if he is to die, then he is to gain oneness with Christ. Which should he prefer?
Whether he should live or die, he urges the members of the church in Philippi as a community to live in a way that reflects their faith and the Gospel. They are to stand firm in the Spirit, side by side with one another, and not to be intimidated by their opponents who want to destroy them. Their suffering for Christ is a privilege, and they share this privilege with Paul in his present state in life.
Matthew 20: 1-16:
‘The last will be first, and the first will be last’ (Matthew 20: 16).
The Parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard, despite being well-known, is found only in Saint Matthew’s Gospel. As with every parable, it is worth looking at the principal characters in this passage:
1, The landowner: he is called the οἰκοδεσπότης (oikodespotés, the head of the household or the owner of the land, but in verse 8 is revealed to be not merely the owner of the vineyard, as the NRSVA translates it, but ὁ κύριος (ho kyrios), the Lord.
2, The labourers (εργάτες, ergates): they are called at five different times in the day: early in the morning, at nine o’clock, at noon, at three and at five.
3, The manager in verse 8: he is the ἐπίτροπος (epitropos) or steward, an administrator with authority. He calls the labourers in the field back together in one group at the end of the day, at the end of their time in the field.
The parable brings together town (ἀγορά, agora) and countryside, and there are many strange sequences and comparisons in this one parable.
It is strange that the landowner appears to miscalculate his need for help at least five times during the day: early in the morning, at 9 a.m., at 12 noon, at 3 p.m. and again at 5 p.m.
The landowner then appears to be unfair in the way he rewards those who work on his behalf. But did you notice how this passage begins ‘… the kingdom of heaven is like …’ and that the wages stand for God’s grace.
God chooses to give (verse 14) the same to all: the landowner pays ‘whatever is right’ (verse 4) – there is no social discrimination or class distinction in the Kingdom of Heaven.
God is generous to all who believe. To those who first heard this story, many of the workers in the vineyard would seem less deserving at first. Yet, those who are hired ‘about five o’clock’ or at the end of the day (verse 6), will be treated generously too. This is God’s free choice. All who are called by God are true disciples are equal in God’s eyes, however and whenever they come to answer that call. What matters are God’s call and our response.
There is an unexpected sequence in verse 16: those who were hired last are paid first (verse 8); those who have worked all day expect, but do not receive, a bonus. In Jesus’ day, opportunity and privilege were far from equal. Here he goes against contemporary thinking and action. We are all dependent on God’s mercy. A scholar has defined a parable as a metaphor or simile drawn from nature or common life, arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness, and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application to tease it into active thought.
A reflection on the readings:
Bread and wine provide perfect examples of that co-operation between God’s creative generosity and the rewards that come with human labour.
The seed is planted in the field. But without the sunshine and the rain from heaven it cannot become the wheat that God plans for it. Without the farmer’s labour in the field it cannot be harvested. And without the work of human hands, the grains of wheat cannot become flour and bread.
The vine is planted in the soil, but without the sunshine and the rain from heaven it cannot grow the grapes. Without the work of the labourers in the vineyard, those grapes cannot be harvested. And without the work of human hands – or feet, as the case may be – those grapes never reach their potential for producing wine.
Notice how many aspects are brought together in one: the Creator and the Creation; God and humanity; food and drink; agriculture and industry.
Food and drink – both are dependent on God’s gifts and on human labour. How appropriate it is then that they are the sacramental elements when we celebrate the Holy Communion, the Eucharist.
Throughout his earthly ministry, Christ interacts so often with people as they share these simple elements of bread and wine – meals with the disciples; meals with Zacchaeus the tax collector and Simon the Pharisee; meals with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus …
The work of the past sustains us in the food of the present and brings us the promise of the future. And so, the three Eucharistic prayers in the Book of Common Prayer, in their opening addresses to God as Father, first praise him and thank him for all his work in creation.
In some of the Eucharistic texts used in the Church of England and other traditions, there is an adaptation of the traditional Jewish table-blessings, drawn in turn from the Bible, that says at the Taking of the Bread and the Wine:
Priest: Blessed are you Lord, God of all creation:
through your goodness we have this bread to offer,
which earth has given and human hands have made (Ecclesiastes 3: 13-14).
It will become for us the bread of life (John 6: 35).
All: Blessed be God forever (Psalm 68: 36).
Priest: Blessed are you Lord, God of all creation:
through your goodness we have this wine to offer,
fruit of the vine and work of human hands.
It will become our spiritual drink (Luke 22: 17-18).
All: Blessed be God forever (Psalm 68: 36).
[See Common Worship (Church of England), p 291.]
God’s blessings are abundant. Even when we mumble and grumble, moan and groan, murmur and complain!
In the first reading, the freed slaves mumble (Exodus 16: 2) against God in the wilderness, as they wish to return to the fleshpots of Egypt, in the same way as the workers who have been in the field all day murmur about those who have arrived late and been paid a full day’s wage (Matthew 20: 11).
In his generosity, the owner of the field takes on those who are unemployable, those who are the long-term unemployed, or those who are unemployed because they are outside the normal social boundaries.
Why does the owner of the vineyard not take them on at the earlier stages of the day? Because they were not there? Because they were socially invisible? Because they were outsiders? Because they were old, disabled, or minding their children and unable to come to seek work?
We do not know. But they still had the same needs as everyone else who was working that day. They still had to pay the rent and put food on the table. And who knows what life was like for them when they went home and closed the front door?
Would it have been better that they were not recruited? That the harvest was left without being brought in?
And yet, even the murmurers and grumblers in the field hold on to their day’s pay. When the owner hears them murmuring, he corrects them, but he does not take away what he has already given them. Why, they might even have been brought back to work again the next day.
The murmurers in the wilderness still have their hunger met with the bread of heaven. And in such abundance, that on Friday they are given twice as much as they need so they can have a day of rest on the seventh day.
God’s generosity comes to us in abundance, and his response to our needs is so often one of unexpected bounty and generosity.
The Lord hears our complaints, whether they are justified or not, and the Lord hears the cry of the poor.
The response to God’s generosity, as the Psalm reminds us, must be to give thanks and to make known his holy name (Psalm 105: 1), to rejoice, and to delight in being in his presence (see verse 4).
The word Eucharist (εὐχαριστία, efcharistía) means ‘thanksgiving’ and as a verb, εὐχαριστῶ (efcharisto) means ‘to thank.’
And so when we come to the table at the Eucharist, to receive the Holy Communion, we gather to give thanks in God’s presence, to praise him for his holy name and thank him for his generosity and his marvellous works.
And appropriately we say thanks with bread and wine, fruit of the fields and work of human hands, the work of the Creator and the Created, the work of fields and factories. And there we find God’s presence among us.
And when hearts seek the Lord, and find that God responds, our response should not be one of begrudgery or murmuring, but one of rejoicing, one of praise, one of thanksgiving.
Matthew 20: 1-16 (NRSVA):
1 [Jesus said,] ‘For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the labourers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the market-place; 4 and he said to them, “You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.” So they went. 5 When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. 6 And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, “Why are you standing here idle all day?” 7 They said to him, “Because no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You also go into the vineyard.” 8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, “Call the labourers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.” 9 When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. 10 Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. 11 And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12 saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” 13 But he replied to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 14 Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” 16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last.’
Liturgical Resources:
Liturgical Colour: Green (Ordinary Time, Year A)
The Collect of the Day:
God,
who in generous mercy sent the Holy Spirit
upon your Church in the burning fire of your love:
Grant that your people may be fervent
in the fellowship of the gospel;
that, always abiding in you,
they may be found steadfast in faith and active in service;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Collect of the Word:
Loving and righteous God,
your boundless generosity exceeds all that we can desire or deserve,
and you give to the last worker
all you promised to the first:
liberate us from all jealousy and greed,
that we may b free to love and serve others,
and in your service may find our true reward;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
Eternal God,
we have received these tokens of your promise.
May we who have been nourished with holy things
live as faithful heirs of your promised kingdom.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Suggested Hymns:
Exodus 16: 2-15:
325, Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One is here
549, Dear Lord and Father of mankind
647, Guide me, O thou great Jehovah
425, Jesus, thou joy of loving hearts
588, Light of the minds that know him
431, Lord, enthroned in heavenly splendour
589, Lord, speak to me that I may speak
657, O God of Bethel, by whose hand
435, O God, unseen, yet ever near
445, Soul, array thyself with gladness
Psalm 105: 1-6, 37-45:
398, Alleluia! sing to Jesus
411, Draw near, and take the body of the Lord
647, Guide me, O thou great Jehovah
422, In the quiet consecration
588, Light of the minds that know him
708, O praise ye the Lord! Praise him in the height
365, Praise to the Lord, the almighty, the King of creation
368, Sing of the Lord’s goodness
624, Speak, Lord, in the stillness
Jonah 3: 10 to 4: 11:
No suggested hymns
Psalm 145: 1-8:
24, All creatures of our God and King
358, King of glory, King of peace
360, Let all the world in every corner sing
104, O for a thousand tongues to sing
368, Sing of the Lord’s goodness
374, When all thy mercies, O my God
Philippians 1: 21-30:
560, Alone with none but thee, my God
517, Brother, sister, let me serve you
566, Fight the good fight with all thy might
461, For all thy saints, O Lord
272, Jesus lives: thy terrors now
425, Jesus, thou joy of loving hearts
588, Light of the minds that know him
81, Lord, for the years your love has kept and guided
661, Through the night of doubt and sorrow
Matthew 20: 1-16:
645, Father, hear the prayer we offer
39, For the fruits of his creation
454, Forth in the peace of Christ we go
567, Forth in thy name, O Lord, I go
219, From heav’n you came, helpless babe
636, May the mind of Christ my Saviour
446, Strengthen for service, Lord, the hands
597, Take my life, and let it be
8, The Lord is King! Lift up your voice
372, Through all the changing scenes of life
450, Upon thy table, Lord, we place
145, You servants of the Lord
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
The hymns suggestions are provided in Sing to the Word (2000), edited by Bishop Edward Darling. The hymn numbers refer to the Church of Ireland’s Church Hymnal (5th edition, Oxford: OUP, 2000)
Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.
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