Take that thine is, and go thine own way…
(Matthew 20:14)

The Gospel for today is taken from the 20th chapter of St. Matthew, and is called the parable of the laborers in the vineyard.

In it we see workers called at various times of the day, who agree to work for the same wage: a penny. (A penny was a day's average wage in those days.)

At the end of the day, those who labored longest are upset that the newcomers have received the same wage, namely a penny.

Jesus says that he can do what he wishes with that which is His.

The truth, however is that everything is His. Those who were upset by their wage were guilty of envy. They thus rejected God's plan and wanted their plan.

The food you have to eat is a blessing from God. The house that keeps you warm and safe is a blessing from God. The job that gives you income is a blessing from God. The family you have is a blessing from God. But if you are perpetually not satisfied with these, spending your days complaining, grumbling, and in bitterness, you are rejecting God's blessing.

What Jesus shows in the Parable of the Laborers of the Vineyard is the destructive power of envy, and where that ultimately leads. Not content with what the Master gives to him, the disgruntled worker is also not content with the generosity of the Master towards the other workers – because he thinks the division of wages is unfair.

This behavior leads to expulsion from the vineyard.

What is the source of this envy? Consider these words from The Wisdom of Solomon, found in the Septuagent, or Greek version of the Old Testament: "Through the devil's envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his party experience [death]" (Wisdom 2:24).

The Book of Revelation tells us that Satan (Lucifer) was and angel cast out of heaven because he envied God for His lordship and made war against God. He and his followers were cast out of heaven. In Paradise Lost, Milton has Satan declare: "Better to rule in hell than serve in heaven." This is the model of all rebellion against God: self worship and the attempted usurpation of God's authority.

It can be speculated that the devil hated man because of the love God had for man. In Genesis, we are taught that the serpent taught our first parents envy. But through his envy, "death entered the world". We are all born belonging to his party, wrapped up in envy.

God did not make us this way. No – God created man for life and not death. Man was created for self-giving – to live in love towards his neighbor and to love and worship God. But through the deceit of the devil, man has become like the devil in the exercise of our free will. That is, man has become envious. Envy leads to death, as it did for Cain, who murdered his brother Abel in the field. On that day Cain died more than Abel, for Cain gave in further to his envy.

Envy is far more insidious than simple materialism, it is the extreme form of coveting. Envy takes hold of our hearts as we become absorbed in our wishes, our desires, our anger, and refuse to let God be our God, on God's terms.

Envy drives us to boasting or depression, envy drives us to rage or sulking, envy drives us away from confessing our sins and truly examining ourselves. And so by the power of envy, we can seek our own path to eternal destruction. That is what real hell is: God finally gives a person over to what that person has willed for himself or herself. A person's depraved mind is finally given over to the death in which it wants to live – a life eternally apart from God. Such an existence can never be real life, for life and love come from God.

So God's wrath is when God finally withdraws from a man so that He says, "Thy will be done; live in the death you want, since you will not live in the life I give." That is the terrible sentence, the horrific judgment the land-owner speaks to the envious worker when he says, "Take what is yours and go your way."

When you are envious of others, you are in truth rejecting God. For God promises to give you everything that you need. Your envy declares that you do not believe this, that you do not look to God for everything good. Instead, you think He is cheating you, keeping you from what you deserve. In truth, what you deserve is nothing but wrath and damnation, hell and fury, bitter cold and isolation.

But this is not what God wants for you. God – who is pictured as the land-owner in today's parable – keeps on going to the marketplace, keeps on going into the world to call people into His vineyard, i.e., His kingdom. He goes out early in the morning, at the beginning of the world. He goes out at the third hour, and again at the sixth, and yet again at the ninth. Finally, He goes out at the eleventh hour, the last hour, as the clock of this world ticks towards the last hour. Still He is not finished. Still He wants more for His kingdom. The Lord does not wish for anyone to be condemned; He desires all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. "Little children, it is the last hour" St. John says; the time is urgent – invite everyone to God's Kingdom, invite everyone to repentance and Baptism for the remission of their sins.

But we see something else in today's parable – namely, that God calls us to work. That might sound strange, since we know that we are not saved by our works. But still, there it is: the kingdom of God is like a land-owner hiring laborers for his vineyard. God is calling you to work, and as we begin this season called "Pre-Lent" – three Sundays preparing us to observe a good Lent – we are reminded that being a Christian will mean work.

What kind of work? "Do works befitting repentance" (Acts 26.20). Turning away from sin is a work you are called to do. Turn from your false gods and fear, love, and trust in God. Call upon God's name. Give attention to the Word. Honor your father and mother. Help your neighbor with his physical needs. Show honor to your spouse. Stop taking from others or withholding what is due them. Stop grumbling and speak good things about your neighbor. Repent, and bear the fruits of repentance.

St. Paul, who so clearly indicated that we are saved by God's grace apart from works, also said, "If anyone's work which he has built on [the foundation of Jesus Christ] endures, he will receive a reward" (1 Corinthians 3.14). How are you going to do these works? Again, Paul says, "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work." (2 Cor. 9.8). God gives you what you need – His sufficiency, His grace – to do the works He calls you to do.

Now I want to remind you again – there is no work you can do to gain salvation. That was the great mistake the envious laborer made in today's parable. He thought he was owed something on account of his work. This is man's hubris at work. For God needs nothing we have to offer and owes us nothing.

There are two kinds of righteousness: the righteousness we have before God, and the righteousness we are called to have in and towards the world. Before God, our righteousness is no good, for "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." In our relationship with God, we need a higher righteousness, a goodness that is better than that of the scribes and Pharisees. No man is good before God, and so we are going to need a righteousness that lives up to the demand, "Be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect." We do not and cannot accomplish that. This is what the Lord Jesus has done for you. It is His righteousness that saves you.

So the things God commands you to do towards Him aren't so that you can earn His favor, but so that you will know and be kept in His favor. God commands you to pray because He wants to hear your petitions. We are called to fast and discipline our bodies so that we will learn that man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God. God calls us to hear His Word because He knows how easily we are enticed by the words of the devil and the world. God calls us to give thanks to Him so that we will not forget that He gives us all things out of His love for us.

And then, God calls us to work in His vineyard by having a righteousness toward the world. We aren't saved by doing any of these things. Why then does God call us to do them? Not for His benefit, but for your neighbor's benefit and your own benefit. God is calling you to work in His vineyard by doing the things written in the commandments: be kind; share what you have; help; because these things benefit your neighbor and allow you to honor God by the grace he gives you to do good works in faith.

And at the end, a wage is promised. Not based on what you have done – for the wages of sin is death. Rather, it is a reward for what Christ has done; for the same wage, the same gift, is given to all equally. Payday for God's workers is described in Isaiah 55: "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." The wages that God gives are free, and He gives them because He is good. He gives them because He is love. He gives to all – even those who came at the eleventh hour.

So what is the wage? What does God give? Life. Life in His kingdom. Freedom from the envy that destroys you. Freedom from death, forgiveness of sin. Life with the One who is good and who wishes to give His goodness to all.

So the worst thing we could ever hear would be the words from the land-owner, the damning word from God, "Take what is yours and go your way." The Christian response is to implore God NOT to let us "go my own way, not to turn me over to my basest desires, rather give me instead what is Yours."

The Christian says to God: " You are good, and I see that You give to me what I could never earn. You are love, and You give me Your love. You are life, and in Jesus You give me Your life. You are merciful, and on the cross You showed me Your mercy. Teach me to go Your way, and do not send me away. I am Yours; save me! Hear my voice when I call to you, do not look at my sins, but show me Your mercy."

Take that thine is, and go thine own way…