Equality

Tues night's sharing was taken from Mt 20:1-28 : The Labourers in the Vineyard.

My first thought was, yah its natural what... You work longer, you supposed to get more rewards. Where is the justice in paying all the same? Of cos I will complain. So what message was Jesus really trying to get across.

I looked at the few verses before this chapter and found this. Firstly, this parable was only addressed to the twelve. And secondly I think its really linked to Mt 19:27-30. Because there, the disciples were asking Jesus, what they would get, from leaving everything and following Him. And Jesus said that they will "sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel". They must have been quite happy about themselves, and that's how it led to James and John asking for the left and right seats.

Thats why Jesus follows that with this parable, and I feel He was trying to tell them, don't get so big-headed, and proud, just becos you were the first to follow me. All who follow me will get the same reward. Equality is the word that comes to mind. And we can't understand it from the worldly point of view of rewards. Where those who do more get more. Here the reward Jesus is talking about is eternal life, the fullnessof joy that we will have in heaven with Him. He already promises the full, complete joy. The disciples hoped to be "more full" than the rest. Br Michael Broughton used a scriptural example to explain this at the last Lumen Gentium. He said imagine the cup, and its filled to the full and overflowing, you can't add anymore to it.

And I think that Jesus was trying to address another worldly thinking that we have. That of the teacher and the disciple. Humanly, the teacher would not teach the disciple everything that he knows, for fear that the disciple will one day overtake the teacher. Like my father will teach his students only 9 of his 10 secret 'P' strategies. But Jesus is telling us, especially in His Great Commission : "Go make disciples... teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." He's saying raise up equals, what's there to fear that they overtake you in holiness. Teach them all you know about me. If everyone kept a small part of the message to themselves as they passed it on, what little we would have now.

Actually have one more part here about teaching, but gotta go off...maybe blog it tonite.