Upside Down
Matthew 20:1-16[1]
Many of us grew up in a time and a place where
pretty much everybody around us was just like us. For the most part, anyway.
The connections we have available to us not only through traditional media, but
also through the internet and social media, have literally brought the world
into the palm of our hands. We can easily see how the different peoples around
the world live very different lives from us in many ways. Sometimes, the way
people live their lives can feel so different to us that it can seem like they’re
“flying upside down” in comparison to the way we live. I think about people who
live nearby who belong to the Amish community. They have embraced some of the
technology that the rest of us use, with strict boundaries around them. But the
typical image of a horse-drawn carriage on a busy road with a line of cars
behind it reminds us of how differently they live. It can seem like they’re
“flying upside down.”
I would say that the kingdom of God that Jesus
preached and taught is something very different from the way most people live
their lives. The priorities Jesus chose and the principles on which he based
his life have made it seem to many like Jesus was “flying upside down.” Think
about it: Jesus said if someone strikes you on one side of your face, turn the
other side for them to strike as well. That’s just not the way people behave!
And, of course, there’s the whole thing about Jesus literally giving up his
life for us all on the cross so that we could know and enjoy God’s love for us!
When push comes to shove, most of us will choose ourselves and our families
over anybody and everybody else. Jesus’ way of life seems very strange to us
indeed!
Our lesson from Matthew’s Gospel for today is
an example of this. Jesus tells a parable about a man who owns a vineyard. The
harvest is ready and he’s anxious to get the grapes out of the field. So he
goes to town at the break of day to hire day laborers. Then he keeps going back
all day long, sending more workers to help with the harvest. Even when the day
is almost over, he hires those who likely showed up quite “late” for work. When
it comes time to pay the workers, things take a surprising turn. The owner
instructs that the workers be paid beginning with the last to be hired—and he
pays them all the same thing! Those who worked only one hour got a full day’s
wage, just like those who put in a full day’s work!
When those who had worked all day complain,
the employer simply insists that he has a right to be generous with what
belongs to him. I think a big part of what this parable is about is that in the
kingdom of God, we are all “eleventh-hour workers,” regardless of what we may
have done. That’s because we all receive far more than we deserve. In God’s
kingdom, grace and mercy and love define life for all people, and all benefit
equally. That also means that in God’s kingdom, there’s nothing to earn.
Everything is based on the truth that God is generous! And so, in God’s
kingdom, as Desmond Tutu puts it, “There is nothing we can do to make God love
us more” and “there is nothing we can do to make God love us less.”[2]
On one
level, this comes to us as unbelievably good news. But on another level, I’m
sure it makes us more than a little uncomfortable. When the first are last and
the last are first, it upends our expectations that life will follow a
predictable pattern. We want to get what we think we deserve! We’re used to
those who work the hardest getting paid the most. By contrast, in the Kingdom
of God, those who are deemed godless gain entry ahead of those who are
supposedly righteous. Little children, who were definitely the “least” in those
days, are the example by which we all must measure ourselves, not those who are
the most accomplished and the most successful. Those who serve are viewed as
the “greatest,” and those who seem to be “great” are in fact viewed as “least.”
And the “last” are “first” and the “first” are “last.” For those of us who may
have worked hard all our lives to “get ahead,” this may not sound like good
news at all! It may seem to be all backwards. It likely feels like Jesus was
turning everything upside down!
But then maybe that’s part of what this
parable is meant to address: we’re comfortable with a world in which the first
are first and the last are last. Giving everyone the same grace, mercy and love
regardless of what they do sounds “unfair” to us. So does the idea that
everyone receives God’s blessing equally, regardless of how hard they work.
We’re much more comfortable with the idea that you get what you deserve. But
the point of the parable is that in God’s kingdom we all get far more than we
deserve. In God’s kingdom, we all enjoy God’s grace, mercy and love freely and
equally. The Bible reminds us that this applies to all of life. We cannot claim
anything we have as a “reward” for our labor, because, as the Bible reminds us,
it all ultimately comes from God.
When we really listen to what Jesus said in
his parables, it may very well seem to us that he was “flying upside down.” But
I would submit to you that Jesus was describing life as it was meant to be.
It’s the rest of the world, including maybe some of us here today, who are
flying “upside down.” Jesus came to try to help us learn to turn our planes
around and fly right-side up! That reminds me of the Amish and their approach
toward technology. The boundaries they observe are meant to ensure that what they
have doesn’t diminish their family or their community. Now there’s a novel
idea!
One of the things I learned about flying
upside down in preparation for today is that most airplanes aren’t designed to
be flown upside down. The curve of the wing, the structure of the plane, and
even the way the fuel pumps run are designed for flying right-side up. So a
pilot has to work harder to fly upside down. To those who are used to the way
life works in this world, much of what Jesus taught must seem “upside down.”
The more we get serious about following Jesus, the more clearly we see that
those who are trying to get ahead according to the ways of this world are the
ones who are actually “flying upside down.” When we begin the path of
discipleship, it may feel like we’re having to work harder. It takes more
effort to swim against the stream than to just go along with the way things
are. But the more we practice following Jesus, the more natural it will become
for us to do things the way he did: extending grace, mercy, and love to
everyone equally, regardless of what we think they may or may not deserve!
[1] © 2026 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm PhD on 9/20/2026 for
Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.
[2] Desmond Tutu, God Has a Dream: A Vision
of Hope for Our Time, 32
No comments:
Post a Comment