What’s Fair?

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fair, fairness, generosity, generous, God's way, Gospel, Jesus, justice, Philippians, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, vineyard, worker

The parables of Jesus often find us scratching our heads or grumbling about the outcome of the stories. This weekend’s gospel is one of the more familiar distressing examples. It’s that perplexing story of the workers in the vineyard who were paid what had been agreed upon at the beginning of the day. Fine, right? No, not really, since those who had been hired just an hour before the end of the workday, because no one had offered them work until then, got the same pay as those who had worked all day.

How are we able to make this a story of justice? It’s impossible really, but here’s where the reading from Isaiah comes in: “My thoughts are not your thoughts”, God says, “nor are my ways your ways.” We think everything should be fair. The person who cuts the pie must do so judiciously so that no one gets a bigger piece than anyone else. But sometimes some of the people don’t even get a bite, never mind a smaller piece! The workers who had been hired for the last hour were also probably standing out in the hot sun, hoping for someone to come and hire them so they could feed their family that day. And so God’s way prevailed.

So what is fair? Does it always mean everyone gets the exact same treatment or remuneration for the same circumstance? Or could it be that each person, being a unique reflection of the divine, should be considered individually according to need? We have been amazingly generous as a country over the past several weeks, reaching out to those affected by hurricanes or fires. People have given their time, their talent and their treasure to assure that anyone in need can receive as much help as can be given.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, all the time, we might be willing to fling open our hearts to those in need without stinting – as if everyone had a right to as much as everyone else? Isn’t that how we would always want God to treat us? Paul’s last line to the Philippians today calls them to “conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the gospel.” Perhaps we ought to try to remember that challenge ourselves as we listen to Jesus in the gospel today asking us, “Are you envious because I am generous?”

Fair

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envious, fair, generosity, generous, good, grace, Jesus, love, Matthew, perspective, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

It’s amazing what you can find when you start researching one little word like “fair.” We know it to be a noun and an adjective – with differing meanings, so it’s necessary to put it in context so that you know whether you’re talking about going to a carnival or watching the weather. I went to Merriam-Webster, the most trusted etymological source in my youth, just on a whim, and found 10 examples before I even moved to the nouns or added an “ly” to make it an adverb.

Why this interest? Well, I was just looking for a deeper understanding of why Jesus thought paying people for one hour of work when some others had worked all day was, in a word, fair. (MT 20:1-16) In the end, it really wasn’t a question of fairness at all. The key question of Jesus that put it all in perspective was: Are you envious because I am generous?

It is our small mind that keeps us trapped in the need for everything to be the same for everyone. Families go to court when they don’t see a “fair” distribution of their parent’s wealth – never mind the financial situations of the parties involved!. Children fight over who got the biggest piece of pie at dinner whether or not they can even manage to finish it because the meal was so big. “Fair’s fair,” we say, which – if we’re not careful – can morph into “All’s fair in love and war.”

I know that I’m most likely preaching to the choir here. The people who read these posts probably understand the generosity of God and are less attached to “things” and the examples I have given above. But even for those of us who profess to be “on our way to the kingdom” there is often that niggling little voice inside that catches us off-guard when we are not noticed for praise the way our brother is, or given the attention or recognition that our sister gets.

Today might be a day to look for instances of the generosity of God in our own life and the lives of others and give thanks for what we see, regardless of the beneficiary of this grace. May this practice lead us to the central truth of it all: that everything good and pure and generous and profitable springs from love and that letting go into love is the fairest of gifts we can know in this life.

 

 

 

 

 

Holding On To Hope

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build foundation, evil, generous, goodness, hope, Manchester, spiritual willingness, strong, suicide bomber, terror attack, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, victims

It seems ironic that only 48 hours after I wrote my thoughts about optimism, we are faced with the shocking reality of the dangerous world in which we live. At this moment in Manchester, England, we know there are 22 people dead and dozens more with serious, even critical injuries because of a powerful bomb blast perpetrated, it is reported, by a single suicide bomber. Many of those victims of violence are teenagers. This is an unspeakable horror and ought to shake us to our core.

So where does the hope come from in this situation? Is there a balance to be had in this moment of evil? Even in the few stories I have read this morning, I would say a grateful and resounding YES! The example I choose that illustrates the goodness and solidarity that stands against evil is the 48-year old woman who gathered and led out of the arena a group of teenagers, took them to a hotel, stayed with them and gave them her cell phone number so that all their parents could call her to assure that their children were safe. In addition, hotels were opening their doors to anyone in need, taxi drivers were offering free rides and pictures from the scene showed any number of concert attendees helping the wounded. As all this was happening, no group claimed responsibility for the attack. To this moment it appears to be the work of one person.

This may be impossible for many of us but I (who have never birthed a child, let alone have one involved in this atrocity) must ask us to pray not only for the victims but for the soul of the perpetrator of the event. It is a stretch of our spiritual willingness, to be sure, but if I continue to speak of unitive consciousness and hope for “one world” I must not veer from the principle of universal love in any situation. I take the example of the woman I spoke of above who acted spontaneously out of the goodness that was already in her – as in all the rest of those generous people – to respond in contrast to the act of one person. How will we continue to build and not tear down the foundations of a world where this type of event cannot happen because of the light of love that exists in every citizen? It is only our work in this direction that can move us forward.

Are we strong enough? I can only pray that our corporate answer is “YES.”

Words, Words, Words…

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bumper crop, charity, generous, harvest, Lazarus, Luke, perseverance, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, words

I’m always interested in the various ways of using a word that cause different images to arise. This morning I was stopped by the gospel acclamation which preceded the text from Luke 16 about the rich man and Lazarus. The acclamation said: Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.

There are many synonyms for the adjective generous that let us know we are not using the word “heart” in its physical sense, many of them related to money or time, the giving of which is more plentiful than expected. There is also the notion of kindness involved in the giving and far down in the long list of synonyms a surprising addition: the word “bumper” as in “a bumper crop.”

Instantly upon seeing that word I am flooded with images of fields of tasseled corn, standing tall in the sun, ready to be picked, providing food for many people or animals. Immediately I sense a lifting in my heart, as when the sun peeks over the mountain in the morning. I can even feel a bit of willingness to move out of myself in a way that might move toward a charitable act – like gleaning in that field for the poor, perhaps…

Who would have thought I could take one word that far? If I had time, what might I make of yielding a harvest through perseverance? A bumper crop, certainly…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Cheerful Giver

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catholic, cheerful giver, generous, giving, laughter, lightness of life, pay homage, piety, sanctity, singing, Sirach, smiling, St. Philip Neri, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

This morning’s first reading from the Book of Sirach (35:1-12) sounds like an ad for “sacrificial giving” in church. It is talking about paying homage to the Lord but goes beyond tithing, which ought to be accomplished in a spirit of joy. Expansion of the theme of actual donation is also implied in such language as: in generous spirit…be not sparing of freewill gifts and Give to the Most High as he has given to you, generously, according to your means. Upon reading this I was thrown back to a song that we used to sing during our novitiate days that began: God loves a cheerful giver; give it all you’ve got! (great emphasis on the second part – sort of like a football fight song, gestures and all). Certainly, we were not singing about monetary contributions to the Church but rather the attitude with which we lived our lives.

Serendipitously, today is the feast of St. Philip Neri who lived in the 1500’s, a tumultuous time for the Christian Church. A summary comment from the website http://www.americancatholic.org offers the following:

Many people feel that such an attractive and jocular personality as Philip’s cannot be combined with intense spirituality. Philip’s life melts our rigid, narrow views of piety. His approach to sanctity was truly catholic, all-embracing and accompanied by a good laugh. Philip always wanted his followers to become not less but more human through their striving for holiness.

So, if they’re not already part of your spiritual backpack, it sounds like a good idea today to add smiling, singing and considering those you meet as friends just waiting to be found, with whom the lightness of life can dispel some of the heaviness of the world.

 

 

Give A Little

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deep breath, determination, generous, John, loaves and fishes, mindfulness, miracle, sharing, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

This morning as I read the story of the loaves and fishes (JN 6:1-15), I started thinking about the generous boy who didn’t hide or hoard his food but willingly made known what he had. And look what happened; he was the conduit for a miracle! Because of the internet, that kind of miracle can happen often now. If someone (and it seems even more engaging if it’s a child or teenager) tweets about a cause, the result is often stunning in money collected or people joining the effort. It’s heartwarming to read those stories.

I’m back with the boy in the story, however. He didn’t have a lot. He just shared his lunch. So today I wonder what I’ll be called to give up or share of myself or my goods for someone else. I hope I will share. I hope I will even notice the one who is asking either verbally or silently. It will take mindfulness on this rainy day when sleep seems more attractive than staying awake. A deep breath of determination is a start, so that I’m able to manage – and now for the next breath, and the next…

Synonyms

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alternative Beatitudes, benevolent, benign, clement, compassionate, forbearing, forgiving, generous, gracious, humane, humanitarian, indulgent, Jesus, kind, lenient, liberal, Luke, magnanimous, merciful, mercy, mild, softhearted, sympathetic, tenderhearted, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, tolerant

In this morning’s gospel passage, (LK 6:36-38) Jesus concludes what is sometimes seen as Luke’s “alternative Beatitudes” teaching with a number of qualities/behaviors necessary to the spiritual life. Among his directives is listed “Be merciful.” Over the centuries, mercy has come to be reduced to the concept of pity, as in “Be merciful to us, Lord, for we have sinned.” Interestingly, as I perused the dictionary of synonyms this morning, of twenty similar adjectives only pitying was in less bold print than the others. So as we think of how God wishes us to treat one another today, let us consider that our actions should be forgiving, compassionate, clement, forbearing, lenient, humane, mild, kind, softhearted, tenderhearted, gracious, sympathetic, humanitarian, liberal, tolerant, indulgent, generous, magnanimous, benign, benevolent and, as the dictionary says, “More.”

Fully Human

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apostles, burdens, compassionate, concern, generous, human, humanity, Jesus, Mark, ministry, rest, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Over the past century we have come to know – because of advances in science and theology – that Mark’s gospel was the first of the four to be written. As such, there is more of a slant toward the humanity of Jesus than, for example, in the gospel of John (the last of the four) which did not appear until the beginning of the second century and was highly influenced by Greek philosophy, tending toward the divinity of Christ. This morning Mark gives us two examples of the humanity of Jesus (MK 6:30-34).

The apostles have come back from a missionary trip and are reporting “all that they had done and said.” Jesus, ever the compassionate one, says to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile.” It’s as if a pastor noted all the work his staff had put into the activities of the Lenten season and said to them during Easter week, “Let’s find a place where we can have a nice lunch and maybe go swimming or catch a movie…” just to be together and be at peace. It might be easier to accomplish that now than in the situation of the apostles when the crowd saw them leave in a boat, figured out where they were going and followed them, so that when they disembarked there was a “vast crowd” already gathered. Scripture tells us that when Jesus saw them all “his heart was moved with pity for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.”

These are images of a fully human Jesus who recognized the burdens of ministry and tried for some “down time” with those closest to him. Couples who have babies know what that’s like as do AA sponsors or doctors or maybe even all the rest of us. It’s hard not to be moved by the needs we see around us and do our best to respond. I hope that there was enough time in the boat to be restorative for the apostles and Jesus, just as those little breaks sometimes refresh tired souls in our day. We need those moments, as Jesus knew, to refresh ourselves and carry on.

This morning I’m grateful for Jesus, the fully human man, who was always concerned for those he loved and those he had never met until one moment when they showed up in a crowd. I want to be like him – compassionate and generous and, yes, knowing also the need for rest.

What’s Fair?

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fairness, generosity, generous, Jesus, Matthew, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, vineyard, workers

I’ve often heard the sentence, “All’s fair in love and war.” I can’t say that I ever thought about it much but this morning I wonder how that could be true in war. There are so many atrocities happening now in the world in places where “war” is being played out while not even declared as such. Is even “the rule of law” in conflict even fair? And what about love? People bandy that term around and often use it as a reason to take advantage or manipulate someone as if s/he were property. Real love, the example of which Jesus came to give us, is never like that. Real love is poured out in generosity spilling over the loved one in waves that never ebb. It’s manifested in all sorts of ways, mundane and heroic.

This morning Jesus is talking about generosity (MT 20:1-16) in a story that “hits us where it hurts” – in the pocketbook. It’s the parable about the workers in the vineyard who’ve been working all day and who, upon seeing those who only worked an hour because no one had hired them for the day, are expecting more than the agreed upon wage that they saw was paid to the latecomers. Imagine (or just read about) their reactions when they received just what they had agreed upon in the morning – the same amount that the latecomers had received. Jesus is trying to teach lessons about both justice and love here. He gave the early birds the fair wage that they had agreed upon and had there not been those others who showed up (were invited) at the last hour everyone would have gone home happy. The question that Jesus asks them as they grumbled is one we might ask when we are faced with what sometimes seems unfair:

Are you envious because I am generous?

I think we’re invited this morning to think about God’s preference for generosity over fairness in the way we treat others. Fairness is definitely better than stinginess but sometimes giving just a little bit more is good for the giver as well as the receiver. Going out of ourselves (not just with money, of course) can be a letting go of ego that opens our hearts and minds, changing our world just a little bit more each time.