The Village Shepherd

Contents
"Redefining Fair" by Peter Andrew Smith
"How Great Thou Art!" by John Fitzgerald

Redefining Fair
by Peter Andrew Smith
Matthew 20:1-16

“Are you boys finished with your chores yet?” Linda called out from the kitchen.

Paul put two full bags of plastic containers next to the garage door. “I finished everything and Joey is almost done.”

In this week’s lectionary gospel passage, Jesus tells a parable that at first glance seems antithetical to modern sensibilities. A vineyard owner is hiring day laborers to work in his fields, and early in the day he hires several workers at the usual going daily rate. Later in the day, the owner sees additional workers still standing at their gathering place, hoping for even a small job, and he tells them to go to the vineyard as well. Yet at the end of the day, the workers who labored for only a few hours receive a full day’s earnings.

...I chose to give to this last the same as I give to you...so the last will be first and the first will be last. (v. 14b, 16)

Good morning boys and girls,

It's so fun to see you here at church and especially to see you come up and sit and visit with me. Thanks for listening. How are you? You look wonderful and happy.

Exodus 16:2-15
“God will provide.” We’ve all heard that expression. Probably we’ve said it a few times too. Those are the easy parts, hearing it and saying it. Trusting that he will can be a different matter. I read the following story in a missionary magazine, and thought it would be a great way to illustrate this passage.

I heard a story once of a custodian who worked at a certain university. Among his responsibilities, he emptied the wastebaskets in the administration building where the president of the university had his office. The school underwent a change in presidents during this custodian’s time there, and he found that his experience of his job changed. “I didn’t mind emptying Dr. Wilson’s garbage,” he remarked, referring to the former president.

Recently I noticed in the media that the government are planning to give each teenager in England a gift of up to 10,000 pounds on reaching the age of eighteen. My first reaction was one of horror, imagining what most teenagers of my acquaintance would do with that kind of money!

So this fellow up in Sonoma County, not far from wine-growing Napa County, anxiously watched the weather forecast. Heavy rains of November were on the way across the Pacific. The grapes were mature and ready for harvest. Having no regular work crew, he went in to the union hall to get day laborers to do the picking. They agreed to work for ten dollars per hour. But the work didn't go fast enough and the sky was darkening with black clouds. Several times during the day he added more and more workers until the harvest was safely in the winery's barn.