A sermon preached for Trinity Lutheran Church in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, on the 16th Sunday after Pentecost.
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Recently I’ve been spending more time with a hobby I’ve
picked up in the last few years – calligraphy. I find it to be relaxing and
enjoyable, and have had fun doing special projects for friends. A lot of my
learning about creating letter forms and practicing various styles has come
from looking at pictures and watching tutorial videos on social media,
particularly Instagram.
This is, of course, a double-edged sword. On the one hand,
watching videos made by calligraphers of a variety of skill levels has supplemented
my practice and sparked ideas in a way that has been so valuable. On the other
hand, though, it’s easy to get discouraged and frustrated when I feel really
pleased with something I’ve done, only to see someone else’s work and start
noticing all the flaws in my own piece. Suddenly I'm no longer happy with the work I've done, but rather feel jealous of others' talent and work.
Teddy Roosevelt summed up this experience quite nicely:
“Comparison is the thief of joy.” Comparison is the thief of joy. Perhaps you,
too, have experienced this. Your kids seem happy and smart and advanced, until
you find out that someone else’s kid is even more advanced. The raise you got
seems like enough, until you hear that your coworker got a bigger raise. You’re
happy with the family vacation you just went on, but then you see pictures on
Facebook of a friend’s vacation to an exotic place you could never afford to
visit, and suddenly your vacation (which was fun and relaxing) seems paltry in
comparison.
This is part of what’s going on in the parable Jesus tells
in today’s Gospel reading. A landowner goes out to the marketplace throughout
the day to hire more workers for his vineyard. The landowner agrees to pay each
worker what is right. At the end of the day, the landowner has his manager
gather everyone together and pass out their earnings, beginning with those who
were hired last. Those who started first thing in the morning were promised as
compensation the usual daily wage. When they realize that the people hired at
the end of the day who worked only an hour or two are receiving the usual daily
wage, the full-day workers think that surely they’ll earn more since they
worked more. Only, they too receive the promised daily wage as compensation for
their work.
We all can sense the unfairness in this story. We can relate
to those full-day workers who expected to receive more than they were promised
and were sorely disappointed. When compared with the eleventh-hour workers,
that usual daily wage that seemed so enticing at the beginning of the workday
now feels like an insult, even though the compensation that the other workers
receive has nothing to do with the first-hired workers! Comparison is the thief
of joy.
What then is the antidote to comparison? How do we cling
tightly to our joy, rather than allow it to be stolen away? One way is that,
rather than compare ourselves to others, we can count our blessings. We have
been blessed with life, family and friends, talents and skills, a roof over our
heads and food on the table. We have been given the gift of life and salvation,
not because of our diligence, or hard work, or kindness, or holy living. We are
saved not because we are “good people,” but because we were created by a
loving, merciful, abundant God.
So perhaps we can be intentional about practicing gratitude
every day. Maybe you can spend time each day listing one or two things you’re
thankful for. Cultivating a habit of gratitude is a great way to feel happier
and more content.
We show gratitude because we are blessed to have been called
to the work God would have us do. Though we may find ourselves relating to the
first-hired workers in the parable, where God is concerned, we are much more
like the last-hired workers, the ones who are recipients of a surprising
abundance, more than they earned or deserve.
We trust that God has sought us out and given us important
work to do, here and now. We are reminded of all the ways God has blessed us
with relationships and resources through which we can share the love of God
with our neighbors near and far. This is true for us as individuals, and it is
also true for us as the congregation of Trinity Lutheran Church.
And so we seek to joyfully do the important work God has
called us to. Not woefully comparing our present situation to how things were
in the past. Not comparing the work and ministry to which we are called to the
work and ministry to which other congregations are called. But together
counting our blessings and celebrating all the ways God is present among us,
and all the ways God has provided what we need, rather than what we deserve or
what we have earned.
Joyfully, we give new school clothes and shoes and backpacks
to kids in our community who may otherwise go without, while celebrating all
the ways other congregations are also reaching out to support children and
families. Joyfully, we give thanks for the members and friends and visitors who
join us for worship, rather than focusing on who isn’t here or how full the
sanctuary was in the past. Joyfully, we extend kindness and encouragement and
help to others not because of what we’ll get out of it, but because of God’s
generosity, abundance, and love for us.
This is something to celebrate! Like the manager in the
parable, we get to participate in distributing the fruits of God’s generosity.
This is the work God calls us to – to invite others into community, to share in
helping one another and caring for all that God has made. Rather than getting
bogged down and discouraged by comparing ourselves to others, let us celebrate
all the ways God provides for us, even and especially when we don’t deserve it.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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