Called in the evening of life

“…the last will be first..’’ (Matt 20:16)

Matthew 20:1-16 (Year A: Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity 24^th September 2017)

Thanks to extraordinary progress in health and living arrangements, those of us fortunate to live in the economically prosperous world can look forward, with cautious hope, to retirement. We may hope to live a life long enough to accompany our children and grandchildren or other extended family members in their life journeys. We might, also, look forward to good health and an adequate income with a spouse or partner as we face ageing and, ultimately, birth to new life in the Risen Lord.  There are many, however, who do not make it to the ‘third age’ or, through circumstances and challenges, do not enjoy a pleasant transition. Nobody can be sure of what lies ahead. We live in the grace of God day by day and we make our best plans trusting in God’s care for us.

As Christians, we are in the business of growth – growth humanly and divinely as members of Christ. Baptism marks us out as children of God. Nourished by Word and Sacrament we have many possibilities throughout life to grow in loving, in wisdom and in all of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Each of us has been given special talents and gifts. Peter reminds us (1 Peter 4:10):

Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.

Retirement?

When asked for advice about retirement, Winston Churchill advised someone to take up a hobby.  In addition to writing and a busy schedule which included much eating, drinking and smoking, he managed to complete over 500 canvas paintings in the course of a decade (indicating an average of one a week!).

I recall reading a pamphlet entitled ‘Called in the morning’ some decades ago when I was struggling with what vocation meant for me. Somehow, that call never went away though one was held up in traffic, so to speak. For all of us called to be in Christ, our vocation is to live out to the full our baptism. This is more important than any other calling. Our baptismal call is a call to serve and love in a broken world recognising our own fragility and God-given graciousness. God calls us to follow him in Jesus just as we are – not perfect, not rounded and not fully what we could be yet. Some may sense a call to a special ministry of service in the wider local or universal church. Whatever, our calling – which in any case remains something to be uncovered, together, rather than assumed or promoted by one alone – there is much to be done. People are starving for someone to listen – really listen. People are starving for some words of insight. People are starving for Word and Sacrament – though they may never know it.

The notion that special callings to ministry are only for the academically gifted, the relatively young or the ritually pure is not a Gospel value.  God calls as we are. Of course, those with special commissions to serve or witness must do so in a way that is consistent with the purpose and message of Gospel living.  The gap between what is said and what is lived needs to be narrowed as much as possible. After all, people learn more from how those in ministry act in their whole lives than what they might say for 10 minutes or so once a week.

This week’s Gospel passage presents us with a parable about servants who were called at different times of the day. I guess that, nowadays, we would refer to such servants as ‘if and when workers’ waiting for work in the market place of modern, precarious work. But, this parable is not, primarily, about fairness or the details of working conditions in the Hellenistic-Roman world which were, by all accounts, brutal. The parable is about God’s generosity in calling each one and all in no matter what stage of life they find themselves.

Called late in the day

Those called late in the day responded and received the same recompense according to the story. The point of the narrative is not that ministry is something undertaken for one’s own reward or recompense. Rather, the story makes the point that God can call anyone at any stage including those approaching their ‘third age’.

There were those, in the story, who were standing around idle for most of the day because “Because no one has hired us.” (verse 7). They were waiting for something to happen or for someone to tell them what to do.  Too often, institutions (including churches), can engender apathy, passivity and stagnation. We need a healthy balance of initiation or innovation, on the one hand, and respect for ‘the way things are’ on the other. Many churches here in the Western world have become (or always were) much too complacent and comfortable. As congregations dwindle and age it seems not to occur to many that this cannot go on indefinitely. In some cases, there are still reasonably sizeable congregations but fewer and fewer priests (such as is the case in the Roman Catholic church in Ireland today). In other cases, the opposite seems to be the case where there are very small congregations but quite a few involved in ministry (as is the case in the Church of Ireland). What is striking in many Christian traditions is the extent to which we have turned in on ourselves. This can take many forms including:

• Seeking to conserve the past including ways, manners of doing not to mention ancient buildings and ancestral monuments therein.
• Seeking to draw people into closed circles of like-mindedness and piety while the big, bad world out there carries on.

What many people – including the young who search – wait for is (a) authenticity of living and (b) a sense of community, belonging and identity. If churches do not give this they look elsewhere or, even in a few cases, in new church expressions outside the mainline churches we are familiar with in Ireland and in other parts of the English-speaking world.

All of this points to a burning need to rediscover the essential purpose and mission of church today in our localities and places of social engagement. Perhaps, we need to rethink at least some parts of the menu we are offering others. Perhaps, we need different courses and options when it comes to participation in Sunday worship? Perhaps we need to get out more into the streets and thorough fares not to preach at people or make them feel even more insecure but, rather, to listen, to serve, and to stand in solidarity with people where they are and how they are. The gospels are full of examples where Jesus and his disciples broke taboos and even annoyed the Temple and Synagogue officials in the process.

The time is limited
The truth is that we have limited time – here on earth – to fulfil what it is that God has given us to do. There is an urgent need to announce, once again, the Gospel story of freedom that can set many people free. For in John 9:4 Jesus declares:

We must work the works of him who sent us while it is day; night is coming when no one can work

The vineyard awaits us at any time of life. But who will be sent?  What does this ‘sending’ mean, concretely, for you, me, others?  Do we hear a gentle whisper some time? Might it say to us:

I have sent you to touch the minds and hearts of many and to set my people free…

Might there be those, among us, in the ‘third age’ of life who can help in some way?  It’s evening time for many of us and it is the second best part of the day after the morning (or maybe it will be the best?). I conclude with a saying attributed to the American actress, Bette Davis (1908-1989):

I will not retire while I've still got my legs and my make-up box.