Embracing the Last and the Least

Introduction

For years, I had always envisioned this story as though workers kept arriving throughout the day for one reason or another. And that at 5pm when it was just about quitting time, this group of workers had only just shown up at the temp agency.

Now, in my mind, I always gave them the benefit of the doubt that perhaps they had something else going on. Maybe a child was sick and daycare needed to be figured out. Perhaps they had a death in the family and were mourning in the morning but still needed to work what they could in the afternoon.

But the question from the landowner is NOT, “Why did you just now arrive here to work today?”

The question that the landowner ACTUALLY asks in Jesus’ story is this: “Why are you standing here idle ALL day?

The Question of Idleness

If we take the words literally here, the landowner believes that this group of people had been waiting there, idle, all day. And actually, idle is a nice word for it… in the Greek it can mean idle, it can also mean that they’ve been “lazy” all day, or “without thought” all day, or “indifferent” to the world around them all day, or, perhaps most painfully… that they have been “useless” all day!

I think, given those choices, I do prefer “idle.”

But really, if these workers had truly been standing out there at 5pm still doing nothing, wouldn’t that be how much of the world would see them? Wouldn’t the world see them as being lazy, without thought, indifferent, or even… useless?

Might even those unpicked workers, who had been standing out there ALL day, wonder about those very same labels for themselves? They had come to the temp office earlier that day hoping to feed their families and instead ended the day with nothing. Would they have been upset with themselves that instead of bringing home the proverbial bacon or whatever the Jews of the day called it back then... probably -not- bacon… that they would have been tempted to come back home with their heads hanging down after proving to be “not enough” this day?

The Pain of Rejection

These workers were the last ones standing, waiting to be picked in middle school to be on the dodgeball team. These were the ones who weren’t “good enough” to be hired. These were the ones who weren’t strong enough, fast enough, whatever enough! There are no warm fuzzy feelings with being in this position. Being rejected by your peers, rejected by your community, rejected by the world… there is deep pain here. And as it happens again and again this message of rejection begins to eat away at your sense of self until you can find yourself beginning to believe what they say about you: that you’re not good enough.

I wonder who here today may have experienced being told at one time or another that you were not good enough. I wonder who here today had been pushed back and pushed around by others and it made you feel like you were somehow less than your neighbor. I wonder who here today can identify with these workers who had been left behind all day long as they watched others being picked.

I wonder also who in our communities or in our society as a larger whole have been told by others that they are not welcome… that they are not worthy… that they are not ‘good enough’ to be a part of the lives of others around them because of who they are.

Society’s Unseen Rejection

And what is particularly painful is that when this reality strikes, the larger whole of society often doesn’t even realize they are telling someone they are not “good enough.” Instead, society simply stops seeing that person or that group as truly being human—of deserving respect, care, and love.

There’s a story of a man who had a deep love for his congregation. He had been born within the community, baptized in that congregation and, over the seventy plus years of his life, had only ever been part of that one congregation. He was a firm believer in God’s extraordinary grace, love and forgiveness.

But when his congregation of seventy plus years began working on a statement of belief on who they wanted to welcome from the community, he became frustrated. He became frustrated because, within his congregation’s welcome statement, they listed the groups whom the church has often had a history of pushing away. And one of those groups happened to be a hot button for him.

This is what he said, “All we need to say is that ‘All are Welcome.’ We don’t need a list to say specifically that this group or that group is welcome. When I say ‘all are welcome,’ ‘all’ means ALL! Besides…” he continued, “…we don’t need THAT group here at our church anyway!”

Even as he claimed that for him, welcoming ‘all’ meant that ‘ALL’ were supposedly welcome, in the very next sentence he spoke against welcoming the one particular group that was a hot button for him. Because for him… that particular group was not part of the “ALL.” For him, he likely (unintentionally) saw this one group of people in society as being somehow “less” than human and therefore it was “ok” in his mind to take them out of the welcome statement even when all supposedly means all to him.

But that’s the reality of being picked last for middle school dodgeball. That’s the reality of being the last one standing at the temp agency, waiting for someone to hire you. The reality of being passed up again and again is that a person is made to feel “less” than human after awhile and “less” deserving than others.

Extraordinary Generosity

But that’s the extraordinary piece in Jesus’ parable. For when the landowner chose those workers who had been left behind for hour after hour who had been overlooked for whatever reason in ways that likely began to demoralize and dehumanize them… the extraordinary thing is that the landowner still recognizes that these previously overlooked workers still have human needs. They need money for food for themselves and food for their families. And so when they come to receive their wage they are given an abundance! A full day’s wage for but an hour of work!!!

Why does the landowner pay so much when there is so little work being done? Because the Kingdom of God is not about HOW MUCH is being harvesting but about WHO the harvest is feeding. Again, the Kingdom of God is not about HOW MUCH is being harvested… we’re not talking good business practices here. The Kingdom of God is focused on WHO the harvest is feeding.

The landowner makes certain that even those who had been passed by and overlooked by the rest of the world are fed. Because, ultimately, that is the purpose of the harvest… the harvest is meant to feed the people. Not just those that are deemed ‘good enough’ by some… but truly ALL people.

Our Challenge

And that’s also the challenge for us today. Because while we might shake our head at the one who said “all are welcome except for that group…” we do the very same thing all the time. We ourselves choose who is picked first and who is picked last.

But the good news is that the Christ the King continues to go out and collect those whom the world has passed over… even those whom we have passed over! Perhaps that’s hard to hear at times as Jesus stretches us to welcome those whom we would prefer not to truly welcome. But remember that Christ also welcomes you. Remember that YOU are included in those Jesus says “come and follow me!”

We are not perfect disciples… but neither were the first 12. Despite that, Jesus sees you as child of God. Jesus sees you and your neighbor as one deserving of respect, care, and love. The Harvest is for you! The feast is for you!

Call to Action

So come and be fed and join in the harvesting. Come and stand together, declaring that God’s Kingdom truly is for ALL… even those whom stretch us. Hear Christ’s call and extend your hearts to others who have been overlooked and left behind… even to those whom we might think “deserve” to be left behind.

Because, again, the Kingdom of Heaven is not about what’s fair. Those who had started working at the beginning of the day can tell you that. The Kingdom of Heaven is about feeding all people so that no one is left standing outside God’s grace. And, people of God, you are called to be a part of that outpouring of God’s love. How extraordinary that is!

Conclusion

So let us, as we leave this sacred space today, let us move with renewed hearts and minds, ready to embody the extraordinary grace of God in our daily lives. Let us go forth as ambassadors of love, reconciliation, and inclusion, ensuring that everyone we encounter knows that they are valued, cherished, and welcomed in our midst. Because the Kingdom of Heaven is for the first AND the last. The Kingdom of Heaven is here for you AND your neighbor. And that is an extraordinary, holy thing indeed.

God be with you. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.