Waiting

Matthew 20: 1-16

Pastor Erin Stenberg

Matthew 20: 14-16- “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous? So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Waiting is hard. A pet peeve of mine- folks who wait less patiently than I do. I vividly remember times anxiously waiting at Amusement Parks or Zoos, for ropes to lower to allow the crowds into the stadium for a show.

Arriving at the front of the line, sacrificing time in the park to find a place towards the front, I can remember the feel of people pushing forward, edging around, trying to find space to move to the front. The cord, a tiny rope, hip high, keeping us in place, is being unclipped from the post and the energy of the crowd is surging forward. It drops, and off we go, charging to find the “perfect spot.” In a stadium with thousands of seats, people push and sprint on ahead, regardless of who is in their path.

In the gospel of Matthew, we find Jesus in the region of Judea beyond the Jordon. He has been speaking to the crowds, answering the testing questions of the Pharisees, and teaching the disciples.

Here he is speaking of what the kingdom of heaven is like. It is like a landowner, who hires laborers throughout the day. At the close of the day, the owner asks his manager to pay the laborers, beginning with those hired at the end of the day, and then going to the first. They are all to be paid the same, a day’s wages. Those hired first, paid last, and paid equal to all others, began to grumble at the landowner. Not only paid the same amount, the laborers have to wait around to be paid last.

Waiting is hard. And if we have to wait, we want our reward to be greater.

During this pandemic, we have waited. We have sheltered in place, worn masks. We have sanitized everything, and sacrificed time together with friends and family. We have been worshipping at a physical distance and finding ways through technology to stay connected.

But with the gradual reopening these past few weeks, we seem to have wanted our reward for waiting and surged on ahead, pushing to the front. I know I have been more casual lately than at the beginning of this pandemic. But where are we called to be? We have recently seen a resurgence in COVID cases, I believe partly because we have rushed forward too fast.

With this Scripture I am reminded there is a peace at the back of the line. The frenetic energy and hunger for a better position, is something I am glad to let go of. God is generous. While we yearn for things to reopen and “go back to the way it was,” may we behold the blessings that might be found as we patiently wait in the back of the line.