Grace and Peace to you from Jesus Christ, our Lord!

As we move fully into the Lenten season this month, I’ve found myself thinking often about one of Jesus’s more . . . frustrating . . . parables: the Parable of the Vineyard Workers from Matthew 20. 

As I’m sure you know, this parable sees the owner of the vineyard hiring day workers throughout the day—and almost into the evening—to work his property, promising to pay them what is right. Then, when it is time for them to receive their wages, he calls to them in backwards order, starting distribution with those who had worked the least amount of time. Then, to the astonishment of the workers who had worked all day, he gives them a full day’s worth of pay! They look ravenously upon the exchange, certain that this will mean they receive even more, but when their turn arrives, the owner pays them the same amount. 

As they fume over this perceived slight, he admonishes them, reminding them that “it’s my money, and I can do with it what I please.”

It is so easy for us to default into competition, rank, and entitlement. We look upon others and judge them, determining our place among them in the pecking order of life. This happens on college campuses, in offices, and even in grocery stores, doesn’t it? 

And sometimes, this is appropriate. We are called to be a people of justice, are we not? 

But when it comes to grace—especially the grace of God—may we always be a people who celebrate every instance of it in our world and in the lives of others. May we remember that there is no pecking order in the Kingdom of God, and that no one deserves or has earned more salvation than anyone else. 

This is my prayer for our students this Lenten season, and it is my prayer for you as well. May God bless you mightily as you prepare your hearts and your world to walk along the road that leads to Calvary and the empty tomb.