There is a whole lot of righteous anger going on in our Bible readings today. Did you notice? Jonah is angry…angry enough to die, he says… because God forgives the people of Ninevah. Admittedly, the people of Ninevah have been horrifically evil…Along the lines of what happened to the Jews in Nazi Germany…or what we did here to the Native Americans and African Slaves. Tales of the Ninevite army’s activities included chariots dragging babies by ropes through the street and rampant rape and murder and desecration. It’s not surprising that Jonah believes they deserve to burn…that they NEED to burn. And so, when they repent, when they actually acknowledge the awful things that have been done by them and in their name…and then God forgives them and spares them…being merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and all that…. Jonah is ticked. Righteously angry. And he’d rather die than watch the kind of horrific injustice these people have inflicted go unpunished. And I get that….I think a lot of people do.
And then in our gospel…we have the righteous anger of those who have worked all day in the hot sun…and then have to stand by and watch as those who have worked only an hour or two get the very same wages as they do. If that doesn’t make you bristle…if that doesn’t get your righteous indignation going…nothing will. It is distinctly unfair.
These stories do not introduce us to something new or unfamiliar. I think most human beings recognize themselves in Jonah and in the ones who have worked all day in the heat…we all have experienced that righteous anger. That resentment. That bitterness. Whether we resent people who get benefits that they don’t seem to deserve. Or whether we see people who have done great evil…and seemingly get away with it. We’re right there, fuming at the unfairness of it all. It seems, as humans, we have an innate sense of “fairness”. We aren’t very old before we start to care deeply whether we get our fair share of the dessert. Or whether everybody is doing their fair share of the chores. Or whether our younger siblings are getting away with behavior mom and dad would never let us get away with.
So here’s the problem. Just as surely as that sense of fairness and justice are wired into us…so is our propensity to sin….our greediness that wants the biggest piece of that pie for ourselves, and our natural inclination to see just how much or how little we can get away with. We are hardwired, it seems…both for justice…AND for sin. And we live right there…right in the midst of that tension.
So here’s my question — when you hear these stories…how many of you assume you are Jonah, who watches others get second chances they don’t deserve? And how many of you assume you were the one who, of course, showed up for work at 6am, and worked your butt off to earn your daily wage…to get what you deserve? I admit, I usually assume that’s me.
But I think the truth about these stories…is that we might think we are Jonah…but really, we are the Ninevites. And we pat ourselves on the back and assume we are the workers who have been at it since 6am…but the truth is, we actually are the ones who got picked up at the last hour. We have a tendency at times to think that we are the ones who deserve God’s grace, God’s love, God’s mercy….while others do not. But then, we see the truth about ourselves exposed, laid bare before us in Jonah and those all day workers. I turns out that it is our very resentment, our bitterness, that poisons us …making us unable to receive with gladness the wondrous gifts of God if they are for others as well.
I heard someone say once that heaven is for everyone….but to some, it will feel like hell because they will be so angry about all the people they have to share it with who don’t deserve to be there. We are tempted to think we can decide the limits of God’s love and mercy or determine the makeup of God’s family. But the truth is, the whole earth is God’s and the fullness thereof…including the Ninevites.
And the truth is that all of us..Jonah and the Ninevites, the workers who show up at all hours of the day…all of us… are desperately in need of God’s grace. Just when we think we have it all together…or should have it all together… our hardwiring betrays us…that hardwiring for sin. And each of us knows the darkness in our own hearts that creeps up on us….our pettiness. Our resentments. Our laziness. Our anger. Our greed. Our self-absorption. Our lusts. Our addictions. Our tempers. Our cruel words. Our callous indifference. Our jealousies. Our despair. We all get this life thing wrong…over and over again.
But then, here’s the good news. God shows up where we are…merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and all that…to claim us over and over and over again. As we are. Yes.. this is the good news…God shows up…and gives us all the forgiveness and hope and promise and love that God has….whatever the time of day or circumstances of our life. God finds us in the Marketplace. God shows up in Ninevah. And God is generous. When we deserve it and when we don’t. You know, those 6 am workers may have been bitter…but just think of the shock of the last hour workers…their disbelief and surprise as they were given undeserved kindness. They had money to bring home…to buy food for their families. I imagine it took their breath away.
Jesus tells us this parable to remind us that God isn’t like us. And our sense of justice and fairness is not at all how God sees things. The truth is, our sense of justice and fairness is pretty much as petty as a toddler’s….we’re all about what we deserve and what we earn…and who gets the biggest piece of pie. But God is not interested in what you or anyone else deserves or earns. God is just interested in giving YOU…in giving us all… the generous grace that you need for the day. God just wants to wrap you in God’s arms and enfold you with mercy and kindness…and invite you to live ..truly live. To live a life shared with the one who made you…who adores you…and who knows that you are more than what the world thinks you are worth. You are more than the hours on your timesheet. You are more than the grades on your report card. You are more than your resume and you are more than your tally sheet of good deeds. You are a beautiful and holy child of God. And God loves you…as you are.
I only hope that the ludicrously unjust generosity of God’s love for you might shock you and take your breath away at that moment you need it most and deserve it least. May you know the grace of God for you…whatever the time of day, or the sin you have to confess. May you know the good news…you are enough. Amen.
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