Unfair labor practices were rampant when Jesus was alive. The story he tells in today’s gospel lesson resonated with his listeners. They didn’t scoff, and say to Jesus, “C’mon! Be real! That stuff doesn’t happen! It can’t happen. It’s so obviously unfair!” No, the hired hands don’t say this. The UFW (United Farm Workers) doesn’t have their backs. There is no civil rights legislation to which they can appeal. They cannot submit a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). There is no fairness doctrine to protect their right to be heard. They are forced to choose: fairness or following Jesus.
Ever since Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden because of their disobedience, society has been beset with labor problems.
Without apples and vegetables readily available for food, the first couple needed jobs. They would henceforth need to work for a living, they were told. No more pomegranate juice cocktails at dusk in a grove of palm trees. No more grapes, figs and dates just for the asking. No more free lunches of cucumber and tomato salads. The ride was over. The house was no longer going to comp these meals.
God minces no words: “Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”2
So, labor issues are common in the Bible. Remember the squabbles Abraham and Lot had over where their flocks and cattle could feed? The scriptures tell us that we must sow before we can reap, that laborers are worthy of their hire, that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few and that if we don’t work we won’t eat.3
Some jobs are not acceptable work: “Thieves must give up stealing,” writes Saint Paul, “rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.”4 To the Colossians, he also wrote: “Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters.”5
And today, labor strife is not uncommon. Although jobs are not scarce, labor is needed most in fields that pay the least. Temp service companies like Manpower, KellyServices, McLellan Temporaries, SelectTemp, Nesco Resource Staffing and others are doing a brisk business. Some of these temp outfits work only with medical staff. Others specialize in the tech field. Still others offer day laborers to business entities who need an office painted or weeds pulled. Some of these day laborers are paid in cash at the end of the day. They get no raises, no holiday pay, no paid days off and no promise of continuing or future employment. They show up for work every day with the knowledge that they are always disposable. And what is even more galling, they may be working alongside someone who is a company employee who does get raises, holiday pay, paid days off and is reasonably assured of a position with the company for the foreseeable future — and who is getting paid more for the same work!6
&
...approximately 1,922 words remaining. You are not logged in. Please see options at the top of this page to view complete sermon.
