Competition. We love to compete.

St. James’ Episcopal Church
Proper 20
September 24, 2017
 
 
Competition. We love to compete.
-          football; baseball; basketball; hockey; tennis; swimming; golf; chess; poker; darts; arm-wrestling; road-racing; frog-jumping; bake-offs; best in show; beautiful baby; Miss Congeniality; Mr. Universe
-          we were born to compete
 
We all know this.
-          especially if we grew up around other children
-          and probably we all did, whether at home or in school
 
In my own case, at home, I was the oldest.
-          that was my competitive edge
-          which counted for nothing, because I had three younger siblings
-          and especially two younger brothers, both born within three years of me
-          sure, I could assert my rights and try to boss them around
-          but what counted in our relationship was physical strength
-          they twisted my arm, wrestled me to the ground, put me in a ½-Nelson
-          and especially when it was two against one, I was at their mercy
 
What about school? Well, in school, I was the youngest.
-          I was the least mature; the least physically coordinated
-          I was shy and socially inept
-          the only arena in which I could compete: I got good grades
-          so I kept going for good grades, all the way through high school and college
-          I earned plenty of rewards, but I also stressed myself out
 
What a relief, then, to go to seminary and study passages like the gospel we just read.
-          Jesus tells a parable about the kingdom of heaven
-          which is not at all like the world of human competition
-          in this parable, there are five sets of vineyard laborers
-          12-hour laborers, 9-hour laborers, 6-hour, 3-hour, and 1-hour
-          in my world, A-students, B-students, C, D, and F
-          at the end of the day, the landowner pays them all the 12-hour wage
-          the 12-hour laborers might have been content with the 12-hour wage
-          which was what they had agreed to with the landowner
-          except that they looked at the 1-hour laborer’s paycheck
 
I love this parable.
-          I love the way it turns our expectations inside-out.
-          We get paid what we deserve, right?
-          and if we work longer hours than someone else, we should get paid more
That’s not what the kingdom of heaven is like.
-          in the kingdom of heaven, we do not get what we deserve
-          and God help us if we do
-          in the kingdom of heaven, we receive from God’s amazing grace
-          and God’s grace is undeserved
-          in the kingdom of heaven, there are no 12-hour Xians and 1-hour Xians
-          there are no A Christians, B Christians, C, D, or F Christians
-          there are only Christians
-          there are no heroes or zeroes
-          there are only forgiven sinners
-          there are no oldest children or youngest children
-          there are only God’s children
-          there are no teacher’s pets or dunces
-          there are only human beings loved by God
-          and, as C. S. Lewis points out, not loved because we are lovable
-          we don’t have to be lovable in order for God to love us
-          we don’t have to earn God’s love, and indeed we can’t
-          God loves us, not because we are lovable, but because God is love
 
Once I learned this lesson, I disciplined myself not to “look at other people’s paychecks.”
-          I’m not always successful, but when I am, it’s quite freeing
-          for one thing, it’s much less stressful when I don’t compete
-          when I don’t compare myself to other people
-          when I’m not envious of God’s generosity to them
-          but receive my lot from God, with gratitude
-          and do the work that God gives me to do, day by day
-          for another thing, I am less ready to judge other people
-          whether they are getting more or less than they deserve
-          whether they are getting more or less than I am
 
I mentioned C. S. Lewis a minute ago.
-          I want to end this sermon by reading from one of his children’s books
-          you may have read The Chronicles of Narnia or seen the movies
-          The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
-          Prince Caspian
-          The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
 
This is The Horse and His Boy, a story about a boy named Shasta, a girl named Aravis, and two talking horses who make a long and dangerous journey together.
-          toward the end of the story, Shasta is riding alone in the fog
-          and passing the time by looking at other people’s paychecks <p. 155>
-          suddenly he is aware of a large someone pacing beside him
-          it’s the lion Aslan, the Christ-figure of the Chronicles
-          but it’s foggy, so Shasta doesn’t know that <pp. 157-159>
-          God tells us no-one’s story but our own
-          and it’s always the story of God’s amazing grace
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