WEBVTT 00:00:05.929 --> 00:00:09.050 Kia ora and welcome to the St Francis Church 00:00:09.050 --> 00:00:11.570 sermon podcast. We're so glad that you've joined 00:00:11.570 --> 00:00:14.970 us. Our prayer is that as you listen, you would 00:00:14.970 --> 00:00:17.910 encounter God's presence. Be refreshed in your 00:00:17.910 --> 00:00:20.769 faith and equipped for everyday life with Jesus. 00:00:21.629 --> 00:00:24.289 As a church, we are learning to faithfully follow 00:00:24.289 --> 00:00:27.899 Jesus by practicing His way at His pace. For 00:00:27.899 --> 00:00:30.899 more info about who we are and what God is doing 00:00:30.899 --> 00:00:36.799 among us, head to stfrancis .co .nz. Grace and 00:00:36.799 --> 00:00:47.020 peace. Morning everybody. I really enjoy my weekly 00:00:47.020 --> 00:00:51.399 visits to my two grandsons down the road. I don't 00:00:51.399 --> 00:00:53.020 know whether you can see them, Mitchell and Finn. 00:00:53.380 --> 00:00:57.060 I love them to bits. But as young as they are, 00:00:57.229 --> 00:01:00.469 I'm very much aware that they're already displaying 00:01:00.469 --> 00:01:06.349 a key human quality, envy. So envy is defined 00:01:06.349 --> 00:01:11.549 as a painful or bitter resentment of another 00:01:11.549 --> 00:01:15.250 person's better fortune. So every week I have 00:01:15.250 --> 00:01:18.650 to bring two of everything, two grapefruit, two 00:01:18.650 --> 00:01:21.150 chocolates, whatever it is, and I have to try 00:01:21.150 --> 00:01:23.590 to divide my time the same between the two of 00:01:23.590 --> 00:01:28.120 them, otherwise envy sets in. And that's what 00:01:28.120 --> 00:01:30.879 today's gospel is all about, highlighting this 00:01:30.879 --> 00:01:33.799 quality of envy. So I'd like to go through the 00:01:33.799 --> 00:01:36.780 reading, which Jenny has just read out, and reflect 00:01:36.780 --> 00:01:40.599 upon each section of it. So we have the landowner, 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:44.280 owner of a vineyard. He goes out in the morning, 00:01:45.019 --> 00:01:47.379 six o 'clock in the morning, to the marketplace 00:01:47.379 --> 00:01:50.079 of the village, the local village. And he looks 00:01:50.079 --> 00:01:52.280 for laborers, the promising laborers that look 00:01:52.280 --> 00:01:55.349 strong enough to do the vineyard work. then he 00:01:55.349 --> 00:01:58.689 agrees with those laborers for a denarius, which 00:01:58.689 --> 00:02:02.609 was the standard coin of those days, for a day's 00:02:02.609 --> 00:02:07.189 labor. So that was set as the pay or the wage 00:02:07.189 --> 00:02:10.729 for a whole day's work from six to six. So he 00:02:10.729 --> 00:02:13.550 agrees with them that day, sends them into vignette. 00:02:14.050 --> 00:02:15.889 And if that was the end of the story, at the 00:02:15.889 --> 00:02:18.530 end of the day, there wouldn't have been an issue 00:02:18.530 --> 00:02:21.689 about them claiming any more. No question of 00:02:21.689 --> 00:02:26.229 it. However, He goes out about nine o 'clock, 00:02:26.229 --> 00:02:29.229 three hours later. He sees others standing idle 00:02:29.229 --> 00:02:32.370 in the marketplace. These would be men hoping 00:02:32.370 --> 00:02:35.370 to feed their families, getting a day's wage, 00:02:35.969 --> 00:02:38.729 and at the end of the day, going home satisfied 00:02:38.729 --> 00:02:40.830 that they'd earned their money. But they were 00:02:40.830 --> 00:02:43.330 now standing idle. He says, you also go into 00:02:43.330 --> 00:02:46.849 the vineyard. I will pay you whatever is right. 00:02:47.669 --> 00:02:50.069 So not the denarius. He doesn't promise them 00:02:50.069 --> 00:02:53.479 that. Whatever is fair, whatever is right. So 00:02:53.479 --> 00:02:56.900 they went. It goes out at 12 o 'clock, 3 o 'clock, 00:02:57.039 --> 00:02:59.379 and then at 5 o 'clock, one hour to go before 00:02:59.379 --> 00:03:02.439 the end of the working day, he finds others still 00:03:02.439 --> 00:03:05.099 standing around desperately hoping for some work 00:03:05.099 --> 00:03:08.000 to feed their families, and he said, you go into 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:13.860 the vineyard too. Now, when those who were hired 00:03:13.860 --> 00:03:17.759 at about 5 o 'clock came, each of them received 00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:21.699 a denarius. So this is a story about the generosity. 00:03:21.979 --> 00:03:24.900 of that landowner. He didn't have to pay them 00:03:24.900 --> 00:03:27.439 a denarius or anything remotely like that, but 00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:29.939 out of his kindness and compassion, knowing that 00:03:29.939 --> 00:03:31.819 they were laborers, knowing they needed the money, 00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:36.099 he pays them the full day's wage. Now when the 00:03:36.099 --> 00:03:39.639 first came, they thought they would receive more. 00:03:40.379 --> 00:03:43.419 So again, you think of my two grandsons comparing 00:03:43.419 --> 00:03:46.340 as granddad giving me more chocolate than, you 00:03:46.340 --> 00:03:50.599 know, sort of thing. So. But each of them also 00:03:50.599 --> 00:03:55.099 received the same denarius for a full 12 -hour 00:03:55.099 --> 00:03:58.379 day. When they received it, they grumbled against 00:03:58.379 --> 00:04:02.020 the landowners saying, these last worked only 00:04:02.020 --> 00:04:06.340 one hour making comparisons and you've made them 00:04:06.340 --> 00:04:10.060 equal to us who've borne the burden of the day 00:04:10.060 --> 00:04:14.280 and the scorching heat. So again, sense of comparison 00:04:14.280 --> 00:04:17.600 coming out. But the landowner replies to them. 00:04:17.920 --> 00:04:21.019 Friend, I'm doing you no wrong. Did you not agree 00:04:21.019 --> 00:04:23.680 with me for the standard wage, the denarius? 00:04:23.860 --> 00:04:27.420 What's the problem? Are you envious and the Greek 00:04:27.420 --> 00:04:32.639 is poneros, evil, ophthalmos eye? Have you got 00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:38.879 the evil green eye? Because I'm generous? That's 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:45.250 the story. So I just wonder. Why do human beings 00:04:45.250 --> 00:04:48.250 have this very strong impulse to be envious? 00:04:49.529 --> 00:04:53.509 And I can just talk about my own life. I was 00:04:53.509 --> 00:04:56.649 from an early stage channeled into thinking of 00:04:56.649 --> 00:05:00.050 myself in comparison with others, my older sister, 00:05:00.129 --> 00:05:02.769 my younger brother, my cousins, whatever it was. 00:05:03.430 --> 00:05:05.949 And I was directed into competition with others 00:05:05.949 --> 00:05:08.970 on the tennis court, who was going to come first 00:05:08.970 --> 00:05:12.149 in class, right, the sense of competition. measuring 00:05:12.149 --> 00:05:15.430 up to other people's standards. I remember taking 00:05:15.430 --> 00:05:18.009 piano lessons, and I reached a certain level, 00:05:18.730 --> 00:05:21.589 but not beyond that, and I became envious of 00:05:21.589 --> 00:05:24.870 people like Belinda, who are so much better than 00:05:24.870 --> 00:05:28.750 me, comparing myself with others. What Jesus 00:05:28.750 --> 00:05:32.389 is pointing to is that self worth should not 00:05:32.389 --> 00:05:37.250 be defined by other people's condition. A far 00:05:37.250 --> 00:05:41.009 better way is to focus gratefully on who I am, 00:05:41.259 --> 00:05:45.759 and what I have and have been given by a gracious 00:05:45.759 --> 00:05:50.279 and compassionate God. And I'm called to do the 00:05:50.279 --> 00:05:54.279 best I can with what I have been given and leave 00:05:54.279 --> 00:05:57.579 others to enjoy what God in his generosity has 00:05:57.579 --> 00:06:02.240 given to them. In that way I can live a happier 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:04.939 and more productive life. Envy is at the end 00:06:04.939 --> 00:06:08.199 of the day completely futile. It's not going 00:06:08.199 --> 00:06:12.459 to change anything. Now there's a story about 00:06:12.459 --> 00:06:16.639 Rabbi Zusha who lived some time ago in Eastern 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:22.920 Europe. And on his deathbed he began to cry uncontrollably 00:06:22.920 --> 00:06:26.220 and his students and disciples tried hard to 00:06:26.220 --> 00:06:29.720 comfort him. They asked him, Rabbi, why do you 00:06:29.720 --> 00:06:33.579 weep? You are almost as wise as Moses. There's 00:06:33.579 --> 00:06:37.579 the comparison coming in. You are almost as hospitable 00:06:37.579 --> 00:06:40.990 as Abraham. and surely heaven will judge you 00:06:40.990 --> 00:06:46.209 favorably." Zusha answered them. When I get to 00:06:46.209 --> 00:06:48.870 heaven, I won't worry so much if God has asked 00:06:48.870 --> 00:06:52.569 me, Zusha, why were you not more like Abraham 00:06:52.569 --> 00:06:56.750 or Moses? After all, I was not given the righteousness 00:06:56.750 --> 00:07:01.670 of Abraham or the faith of Moses. But what will 00:07:01.670 --> 00:07:06.949 I say when God asks me, Zusha, why were you not 00:07:06.949 --> 00:07:14.839 more like So Lord I pray that I will be the best 00:07:14.839 --> 00:07:16.519 Peter that I can be.