September 18th 2011 A.D. "Do you begrudge my generosity?"

Matthew 20:1-16

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 Today’s story is not intended to be a paradigm for labor-management relations nor material for a business school ethics seminar. It has but one purpose, to teach us about the nature of God’s love. All other lessons are not pertinent to the story. It would seem that the outline of this story was well known to those who were listening to Jesus. It was a rabbinic story which ended with those who came at the 11^th hour working so hard that they earned the day’s wage.

 Jesus characteristically twists the ending in a very different direction. He shows those who came late wasting their time wondering how much pay they will get. The emphasis is not on their industry but on the generosity, one might almost say the crazy generosity of the farmer. That’s what God is like, by human standards his generosity is crazy.

Fr. Greeley's Last Book:

 Once upon a time Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn were doing their white wash scam on the local kids. It worked every year. They conned five kids to white wash all the fences. Then when they had finished, Becky Thatcher – you remember her, don’t you? – said to the suckers, come on guys, Tom and Huck are going to take you down to the ice cream score for a cone.

 Hey, Tom and Huck said, we didn’t promise that. But you’re going to do it, she replied, because you’re nice guys and you want to be generous to these kids. Generous to sucker?

Shush, Becky said. You want them to come back next year.

Well . . . OK, but next year we won’t. We’re not THAT crazy! 

Yes, you are said Becky because both of you are very generous people.

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Psalm 145:2-3,8-9,17-18

2 Every day I will bless you, and praise your name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.
8 The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.
17 The LORD is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings.
18 The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.

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