1st Trinity I, Integrity

 

1^st Trinity I

Matthew 20:1-16

"The kingdom of the heavens is like a man, the master of his house, who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. Agreeing to pay them one denarius a day, he sent them out into his vineyard.

"At about nine o'clock, he went out

Burnand

and saw others standing in the marketplace, and he said to them, 'Go also into my vineyard, and I will give you whatever is right.' So they went.

"He went out again at about noon and at three o'clock and did the same. At five o'clock, he went out and found others standing there, and he said to them, 'Why do you stand here all day idle?' They said, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said, 'You, too, go into the vineyard.'

Burnand

"And when evening came, the master of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the workers and give them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.'

Burnand

"Those who had been hired at five o'clock came forward, and each received one denarius. Therefore, when it was the turn of those hired first, they expected to receive more. However, they, too, also received one denarius each. They took it, but they began to grumble against the master of the house. 'These men who were hired last only worked one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'

"However, he answered one of them,
saying, 'Friend, I am not being unjust to you. Did you not agree with me for one denarius? Take what you have earned and go. I wish to give to the one hired last the same as I give to you. Have I not the right to do as I wish with what is mine? Or do you give me an evil look because I am generous?'

"Thus will the last be first and the first will one day be last."

 

First Trinity I

February 7, 2021

Matthew 20:1-16

In the business world, what one is paid is often kept secret. This practice allows the owner to hire people as cheaply as possible, by the hour even.

The gospel presents an interesting work

Byzantine, Workers in the Vineyard

situation involving full disclosure. The master contracts openly with each worker for the standard day-laborer wage, for just enough to support their life for a day, no matter how long or short they had worked. Those working more hours did not earn more. Nor did those who worked fewer make less. Each simply received enough for the day’s need, for working together as long as they could. The day’s wages are given based on daily needs and human dignity, not on the number of hours worked.

Christ offers this story as a likeness of the

Codex aureus Epternacensis, 11th cent.

kingdom of the heavens, which is a kingdom arising in human hearts. He shows us that expecting more than, more than what others get, more recognition, more praise, more rewards than others, is not what we human beings on earth have actually contracted for; for the true being of the economic sphere flourishes in an atmosphere of brotherhood.

We have all agreed to work on fields of earth. Our work on earth gives us the opportunity to earn both the integrity of our selfhood (symbolized by our one denarius) and at the same time to build a healthy relationship to our fellow workers.

In order to develop both, we must avoid comparisons. Some come early to working on the fields of the kingdom, some late. Comparing ourselves with others and expecting more for ourselves is deadly here. It poisons both our integrity and our cooperation. For we have no way of knowing another human being’s true standing in God’s kingdom. And we have no right to denigrate their contribution to the work.

All we can be sure of is that the Master’s task is urgent—the harvest needs to be brought in. The work needs to be done, and we need all the workers we can get. It’s not about what is more advantageous to me or even about what appears to be fair. We are all working for the Father. The Father will give us what we need for our daily bread: the strength we need to maintain our integrity and work well with others.

 

1st February Trinity, Gratitude

February Trinity

Matthew 20: 1-16

[But many who are last will be first, and many who are first will be last.] The kingdom of the heavens is like a man, the master of his house, who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. Agreeing to pay them one denarius a day, he sent them out into his vineyard.

At about nine o’clock, he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace, and he said to them, “Go also into my vineyard, and I will give you whatever is right.” So they went.

He went out again at about noon and at three o’clock and did the same. At five o’clock, he went out and found others standing there, and he said to them, “Why do you stand here all day idle?” They said, “Because no one has hired us.” He said, “You, too, go into the vineyard.”

And when evening came, the master of the vineyard said to his steward, “Call the workers and give them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.”

Those who had been hired at five o’clock came forward, and each received one denarius. Therefore, when it was the turn of those who were hired first, they expected to receive more. However, they too also received one denarius each.

Burnand

They took it, but they began to grumble against the master of the house. “These men who were hired last only worked one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.”

However, he answered one of them, saying, “Friend, I am not being unjust to you. Did you not agree with me for one denarius? Take what you have earned and go. I wish to give to the man hired last the same as I give to you. Have I not the right to do as I wish with what is mine? Or do you give me an evil look because I am generous? Thus will the last be first and the first will one day be last."

1^st February Trinity

Feb 9, 2020

Matthew 20:1-16

The story in today’s reading seems to be about fairness. Those who worked the entire day feel entitled to more than a day’s wage, because those who seemed to do less received the same day’s wage.

van Gogh

But on a social level, the story is actually about a generosity that is beyond fairness. The master, the great and generous heart of the world, would give daily bread, sustenance to all. Human dignity requires that all be sustained, regardless of circumstance. That is also our own human task—to work to feed others, not just ourselves.

On yet another level, this story is also about the broader reasons we labor on earth at all. Each day we come back from the fields of night, where we received our inspirations for the work of earth. We are all day laborers working on our own sense of self, our own integrity, our own great-heartedness. To be without outer work is to suffer a loss of meaning, loss of relationships to others, loss of a sense of self, and one’s place in the community.

For we have all come to labor on the fields of earth to build up our own inner strength, and to join with others in doing God’s work of earth, even if we appear to have no outer job at all. The poet Mary Oliver wrote:

My work is loving the world.

….Let me

keep my mind on what matters,

which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be

astonished.

Which is mostly rejoicing….

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart

and these body-clothes,

a mouth with which to give shouts of joy

to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,

telling them all, over and over, how it is

that we live forever.*

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---

*Mary Oliver, “Messenger,” in Thirst

1st February Trinity 2019, Set It Free

4^th Epiphany

Kenneth Dowdy

Luke 13: 10-17

Once he was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit weakening her for eighteen years: she was bent over and could not stand upright [lift her head all the way up]. When Jesus saw her, he called her to him and said to her, “Woman, you are released from your illness!”

He laid his hands upon her, and at once she was able to straighten up. And she praised the power of God. Then the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days for doing work; on those days you can come and let yourselves be healed—but not on the Sabbath.”

But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Does not every one of you untie his ox or his ass from the manger on the Sabbath and lead it away to the water trough? But this daughter of Abraham, who was held bound by the dark might of Satan for eighteen years, wasn’t supposed to be released from her bondage on the day of the Sabbath?”

All his opponents were put to shame by these words, and the people rejoiced over all the signs of spiritual power that happened through him.

1st February Trinity

Feb 3, 2019

Luke 13:10-17

Tissot

Many of us have an appointment calendar or at least a plan for the day. Sometimes everything seems to fall into place. Other times we become annoyed when something unexpected prevents us from carrying out our plans.

The woman who was ill has waited 18 years for just this moment. She has a direct encounter with the loving and healing being of Christ. It is her illness itself that brings her to him in this great moment of destiny. The synagogue leader, too, has a plan. Certain things are to happen on certain days.  He shows no compassion or joy. He can only criticize. He tries to control and limit, according to the schedule.

These two, the woman and the leader, are two archetypes that dwell in every human soul. We all have a part of us that needs healing, a part that longs for a direct encounter with our Creator. And we all have a part of us that says, ‘not now’.

Yes, we need to create and protect our schedules. But the encounter with the Being of Love doesn’t happen by appointment. It happens when it happens; when the moment is ripe; when we are open.

So, as the poet suggests:

Whoever you are: step out of doors tonight,

Out of the room that lets you feel secure.

Infinity is open to your sight.

Whoever you are,

With eyes that have forgotten how to see

From viewing things already too well-known,

Lift up into the dark …

….

And when at last you comprehend its truth,

Then close your eyes and gently set it free.*

---

*Dana Gioia, "Entrance (After Rilke)", in Interrogations at Noon

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1st February Trinity 2018, He Reaches for You

1^st or 2^nd February Trinity
Luke 8:4-18

 
And as a great crowd had gathered, and ever more people streamed to him out of the cities, he spoke in a parable:
A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some seed fell on the path. It was trodden upon, and the birds of the sky (air) ate it up.

The Sower, van Gogh

Other seed fell upon the rocks, and as it sprouted, it (the sprouting green) withered, because it had no moisture. Still other seed fell under the thorns; the thorns grew with it and choked what came up. And some fell upon good soil, grew, and brought forth fruit a hundredfold. When he had said these things, he called out: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”


His disciples asked him what this parable might mean. And he said: To you it has been given the gift of being able to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God; but to the others, it is given in pictures and parables, for they see and do not yet see, and hear, although they do not yet understand with their thinking. The meaning of the parable is this:
The seed is the Word of God. That which fell upon the path are those who hear it; afterward, the tempter comes and tears the Word out of their hearts so that they cannot find healing through the trusting power of faith working in them.


Those on the rock are those who, when they hear the Word, take it up with joy; but they remain without root. For a while, the power of their faith works in them, but in times of trial, they fall away.


What fell under the thorns are those who hear the Word from the spirit, and as they go on their way, the sorrows and the riches and the joys of life choke it, and they bring no fruit to maturity.


And the seed which fell in the good soil are those who hear the Word, and take it up into their hearts, feel its beauty, become noble and worthy and patiently keep it alive, tending it there until it brings forth fruit.

No one lights a light and hides it under a vessel or under a bench; instead, he places it on a lampstand so that all who come in see the light. For nothing is hidden which shall not be revealed, and nothing is secret which shall not be known and proclaimed.So attend to how you listen. For he who has enlivened in himself the power to bear the spirit, to him more will be given. He however who does not have this power, from him will be taken that which he thinks he has.

2nd February Trinity
February 4, 2018
Luke 8: 14-18
 
In spring the soil in a garden is turned, opened, so that seed can be sown into the worked earth.
 
The ground in the garden of the heart also requires periodic turning. Hearts opened through turns of destiny, hearts opened through the will’s conscious intent, are fertile ground. The seed of the living spirit, the word funneling into the heart through the ear, received through intentional listening, germinates in the prepared ground of the soul.
 
But germination is just the beginning. The gospel makes it clear that this is only a first step. The Spirit Word wants to grow, to develop strength, to blossom and ripen. Keeping the Spirit Word alive and growing in the garden of the heart takes some effort on our part. It takes tending, patience, time.
 
In a simpler age, reading from the Good Book, hearing the Word of the Spirit at the end of the day was one way to keep it alive in the soul. This allowed the Word to take root. The “riches” of modern life tend to crowd out such a practice. But many find helpful the practice of refreshing the Sunday reading at home during the week.
 
Once the Spirit’s Words, the mystic trees that grow mankind’s future, are sprouted, the soul garden houses living beauty. The soul becomes a noble and

Alfred Soord

worthy place. As Rilke says:
               
The deep one, whose being I trust,
                …breaks through the earth into trees,
and rises,
when I bow my head,
faint as a fragrance
from the soil. *
 
Our tending helps to ripen His trees’ shining fruits. The fruits that feed mankind’s future are the light of understanding, the continuing life of our souls and spirits, the nourishing of love. His fruits, ripening in our hearts, nourish us. They nourish all whom we encounter. And our fruits of soul, ripening in our hearts, nourish—Him.
 
Be modest now, like a thing
ripened until it is real,
so that he who began it all
can feel you when he reaches for you.**
 
* Rilke’s Book of Hours, pg. 101
**, pg. 96

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1st February Trinity 2017, I Have Received

1st February Trinity

11th Century Codex Aureus Epternacensis

Matthew 20: 1-16

[But many who are last will be first, and many who are first will be last.] The kingdom of the heavens is like a man, the master of his house, who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. Agreeing to pay them one denarius a day, he sent them out into his vineyard.

At about 9 o’clock he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace, and he said to them, “Go also into my vineyard, and I will give you whatever is right.” So, they went.

He went out again at about noon and at 3 o’clock and did the same. At 5 o’clock he went out and found others standing there, and he said to them, “Why do you stand here all day idle?” They said, “Because no one has hired us.” He said, “You, too, go into the vineyard.”

And when evening came, the master of the vineyard said to his steward, “Call the workers and give them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.”

Rembrandt

Those who had been hired at 5 o’clock came forward, and each received one denarius. Therefore, when it was the turn of those who were hired first, they expected to receive more. However, they too also received one denarius each. They took it, but they began to grumble against the master of the house. “These men who were hired last only worked one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.”

However, he answered one of them, saying, “Friend, I am not being unjust to you. Did you not agree with me for one denarius? Take what you have earned and go. I wish to give to the man hired last the same as I give to you. Have I not the right to do as I wish with what is mine? Or do you give me an evil look because I am generous? Thus will the last be first and the first will one day be last."

1st February Trinity

February 5, 2017

Matthew 20: 1-16

Rembrandt, Workers in the Vineyard, WikiCommons, Salomon Koninck

Some individuals seem to have all the luck – everything they do turns out well and is rewarded. Meanwhile, others sweat and toil under difficult circumstances and seem barely able to exist. Those for whom things go well may be guilty of pride – they may think that the others just aren't applying themselves enough, while the disadvantaged individual may likely suffer envy.

Without knowing about each other's past lives, it is impossible to determine the reason for the differences. On the great wheel of incarnations, we are sometimes up and sometimes down. The whole purpose of incarnating is to develop a strong and independent self. In the parable, this selfhood is the 'one denarius' that is the reward of a day's labor, the reward for our daily labors on the field of earth. This single selfhood can then open in gratitude and be offered as a container for a higher, truer Self.

Some seem to come to selfhood only after a tremendous amount of labor and suffering. Others may seem to achieve their 'one denarius' quickly, late and with little effort. What we do not know is how much this individual has suffered or labored in the past, either in this lifetime or another. The parable seems to be saying that grumbling and envy are in any case detrimental; they won't bring you greater rewards; in fact, they erode the self.

In addition, the parable assures us that, despite what the envious may think, the Master is generous. He always rewards our labors, no matter how it may appear to us. He gives us our daily bread, sufficient for the day's needs. In fact, we are all working together to achieve the harvest. Albert Einstein said, "Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors of my fellow men, both living and dead and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received."

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1st February Trinity 2016, Selfless Selfhood

1st February Trinity

Van Gogh

Matthew 20: 1-16

[But many who are last will be first, and many who are first will be last.] The kingdom of the heavens is like a man, the master of his house, who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. Agreeing to pay them one denarius a day, he sent them out into his vineyard.

At about 9 o’clock he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace, and he said to them, “Go also into my vineyard, and I will give you whatever is right.” So they went.

He went out again at about noon and at 3 o’clock and did the same. At 5 o’clock he went out and found others standing there, and he said to them, “Why do you stand here all day idle?” They said, “Because no one has hired us.” He said, “You, too, go into the vineyard.”

And when evening came, the master of the vineyard said to his steward, “Call the workers and give them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.”

Those who had been hired at 5 o’clock came forward, and each received one denarius. Therefore, when it was the turn of those who were hired first, they expected to receive more. However, they too also received one denarius each. They took it, but they began to grumble against the master of the house. “These men who were hired last only worked one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.”

However, he answered one of them, saying, “Friend, I am not being unjust to you. Did you not agree with me for one denarius? Take what you have earned and go. I wish to give to the man hired last the same as I give to you. Have I not the right to do as I wish with what is mine? Or do you give me an evil look because I am generous? Thus will the last be first and the first will one day be last. “

1st February Trinity

February 7, 2016

Matthew 20: 1-16

This gospel reading about the day’s wages is often used to illustrate the idea of social justice. And it is indeed that. But it can also be explored on another level.

We are all of us sent from heaven to fields of earth, to work here for the Master, the Lord of the Harvest. Some of us have arrived early and labored long. Some of us have been sent more recently. But each of us laboring toward one goal – the Lord’s harvest of human virtues, grown here on earth.

And in the end, our reward, our ‘one denarius’, is the earning of our own individual selfless selfhood. Some must labor long and hard; others seem to achieve it with what only appears to be less struggle and effort.

A part of what Christ is trying to tell us here is that a desire for a greater reward than another runs counter to the ideal and goal of selfless selfhood. Demanding more in comparison to others is not selfless; in fact, it is spiritually counterproductive. The harvest the Lord is trying to bring in will be the selfless virtues of all of humanity.

Those who have worked longest and hardest to achieve them will rejoice for the others; for we are all working together toward the same goal. And the Lord of the Harvest is generous.

1st February Trinity 2015, Ploughed by Pain

1^st or 2^nd February Trinity

Luke 8:14-18

And as a great crowd had gathered, and ever more people streamed to him out of the cities, he spoke in a parable:

A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some seed fell on the path. It was trodden upon, and the birds of the sky (air) ate it up. Other seed fell upon the rocks, and as it sprouted, it (the sprouting green) withered, because it had no moisture. Still other seed fell under the thorns; the thorns grew with it and choked what came up. And some fell upon good soil, grew, and brought forth fruit a hundredfold. When he had said these things, he called out:

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

His disciples asked him what this parable might mean. And he said:

To you it has been given the gift of being able to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God; but to the others it is given in pictures and parables, for they see and do not yet see, and hear, although they do not yet understand with their thinking. The meaning of the parable is this:

The seed is the Word of God. That which fell upon the path are those who hear it; afterwards the tempter comes and tears the Word out of their hearts, so that they cannot find healing through the trusting power of faith working in them.

Those on the rock are those who, when they hear the Word, take it up with joy; but they remain without root. For a while the power of their faith works in them, but in times of trial they fall away.

What fell under the thorns are those who hear the Word from the spirit, and as they go on their way, the sorrows and the riches and the joys of life choke it, and they bring no fruit to maturity.

And the seed which fell in the good soil are those who hear the Word, and take it up into their hearts, feel its beauty, become noble and worthy and patiently keep it alive, tending it there until it brings forth fruit.

No one lights a light and hides it under a vessel or under a bench; instead he places it on a lamp stand so that all who come in see the light. For nothing is hidden which shall not be revealed, and nothing is secret which shall not be known and proclaimed. So attend to how you listen. For he who has enlivened in himself the power to bear the spirit, to him more will be given. He however who does not have this power, from him will be taken that which he thinks he has.

1^st February Trinity

February 8, 2015

Luke 8: 14 – 18

Anyone who has tried planting a garden knows: the conditions must be right. The right season, the right temperature, neither too hot nor too cold. The right level of moisture, neither too hard and dry, nor too muddy. The right level of fertility.

Our hearts are also gardens waiting to be cultivated; cultivated through art, through truth, through spiritual and religious practice. Some of us may be just starting. Or maybe we tried before, but we lacked sufficient depth. Or maybe our hearts wandered off into the busyness of life. But there comes a moment.  The poet says:

My soul is a dark ploughed field

In the cold rain;

My soul is a broken field

Ploughed by pain.

Where windy grass and flowers

Were growing,

The field lies broken now

For another sowing.

Great Sower, when you tread

My field again,

Scatter the furrows there

With better grain.[1]

James Tissot 

Our hearts ploughed by life’s sorrows, broken open with gratitude, watered by tears. And the Word-Seed is sown. Recognizing our fertility, our heart’s potential, the Creator drops his Word – I AM – into our hearts.

And the Word-Seed takes root. We recognize that it has the potential to grow into a thing of beauty in us. And so we straighten up and do our best to cultivate the garden of our heart. With patient effort we tend the Word-Seed. We keep our hearts moist and soft. We weed out our bad habits. With patient effort we tend the creating Word in our hearts until it grows and blossoms forth in beauty of soul. Until it matures into fruitful deeds of love.

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[1] Sara Teasdale, “The Broken Field"

1st February 2007, God's Garden

1st February Trinity

Matthew 20: 1-16

The kingdom of the heavens is like a man, the master of his house, who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. Agreeing to pay them one denarius a day, he sent them out into his vineyard.

At about 9 o’clock he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace, and he said to them, “Go also into my vineyard, and I will give you whatever is right.” So they went.

He went out again at about noon and at 3 o’clock and did the same. At 5 o’clock he went out and found others standing there, and he said to them, “Why do you stand here all day idle?” They said, “Because no one has hired us.” He said, “You, too, go into the vineyard.”

And when evening came, the master of the vineyard said to his steward, “Call the workers and give them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.”

Those who had been hired at 5 o’clock came forward, and each received one denarius. Therefore, when it was the turn of those who were hired first, they expected to receive more. However, they too also received one denarius each. They took it, but they began to grumble against the master of the house. “These men who were hired last only worked one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.”

However, he answered one of them, saying, “Friend, I am not being unjust to you. Did you not agree with me for one denarius? Take what you have earned and go. I wish to give to the man hired last the same as I give to you. Have I not the right to do as I wish with what is mine? Or do you give me an evil look because I am generous? Thus will the last be first and the first will one day be last. “

1^st February Trinity

Feb. 4, 2007

Matthew 20: 1-16

In a garden, some plants blossom for a year, vigorously all season long. Others come back every year; but they flower in their own particular time. Some bloom in early spring; some at midsummer; some even wait until fall. The wise gardener knows how to place each type according to its nature, how to place it in the garden so that something is in bloom through the whole season.

We are all like plants in God’s garden. Some of us can work vigorously doing what we do for Him all of the time, all of our lives. Others return and bloom early; some mid-season, some late. But we are all part of the larger community of His garden. He has chosen us for His work, and for His pleasure, according to His timing, because of our individual natures.

Patricia Brintle

The congregation is another of God’s gardens. Some of us appear all the time; others have their seasons. Together we make up a garden of blossoming, fruitful hearts. God and his angels walk among us, taking pleasure from the beauty and fragrance of our souls, taking nourishment from our hearts’ fruitfulness. In the Act of Consecration of Man we are practicing setting seeds for a new life. Offering ourselves up to Him is like a little death.

Over the course of the day, the Act of Consecration of Man blossoms successively across the face of the earth, beginning in the east and ending in the west. Whole congregations become areas in the garden of the earth. One after the other they give up the blossoms of their most selfless thoughts, the warm fragrance of their noblest feeling, offering the fruit of their devotion. We are offering God a concentration, the seeds of our life substance for his harvesting of life. With the poet we pray as He walks the garden of earth:

The great death that each of us carries inside

is the fruit.

Everything enfolds it.[1]

We stand in your garden, year after year

We are trees for yielding a sweet death.[2]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1]  Rainer Maria Rilke, The Book of Hours, Barrows and Macy. p. 132.

[2]  Ibid. p. 133.