Economic Justice: Queering Matthew 20: 1-16

Welcome to the Queer Theology Podcast. I'm Brian G. Murphy. And I'm Father Shannon T. Elkerns. We're the co-founders of QueerTheology.com and your hosts. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible declares good news to LGBTQ plus people and we want to show you how. Tune in each week on Sunday for conversations about Christianity, queerness and transness and how they can enrich one another. We're glad you're here. Welcome to the Queer Theology Podcast. This week we are kicking it old school and queering a passage. So we are going to queer Matthew 21 through 16. I'm going to go ahead and read it for us. Jesus said, the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace and he said to them, you also go into the vineyard and I will pay you whatever is right. So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o'clock, he did the same. And about five o'clock, he went out and found others standing around and he said to them, why are you standing here idle all day? They said to him, because no one has hired us. He said to them, you also go into the vineyard. When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, call the laborers and give them their pay beginning with the last and then going to the first. When those hired about five o'clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now, when the first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner saying, these last worked only one hour and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat. But he replied to one of them, friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous? So the last will be first and the first will be last. I love this parable. I love it so much. There's so much good stuff. There's so much good stuff. So what sticks out to you first? Well, it's just to reminder that the gospel is political and the gospel has always been political. We're talking about laborers, we're talking about labor, we're talking about wage, economics, fairness, justice. It's all so political. And also a reminder that yes, the Bible is full of ancient stories, but also they speak to a lot of timeless conditions and who deserves what wages or what benefits or health insurance or what fairness, economics, it's perpetually in the news. But also I'm a human who responds to what's in front of me in the here and now sometimes. I'm just very aware of the economy and discussions around minimum wage and living wage and rising costs of living and inflation and corporations having like record profits and screwing over employees. Like it's all, we're arguing about these same things 2000 years later and like maybe that's a little bit depressing, but I guess like the encouraging part is that the various traditions that we come from have thought about these big questions and have some like guidance that maybe we can turn to and wrestle with. What's so funny though, as you say all of that, is that like that is absolutely not how this passage was taught in my church growing up. We did not talk about laborers or money or wages. Like this was absolutely a passage that was when you got saved. It doesn't matter. I like I'm not even I wish I was joking, but like the interpretation of this passage was even if you accept Jesus on your deathbed, you still get to go to heaven. Right? Like it was completely stripped of anything political, of anything economic, of anything bodily. It was just like, are you're going to be mad that someone else gets to go to heaven late? And like there was this kind of idea of like, of there were people that were like salty about like, I can't believe that that person got to like drink and smoke and have lots of sex their whole lives and then get saved right on their deathbed and like have it all wiped away. And here I am being really good my whole life. And I've got to share heaven with with those people. It's just it's just so funny to me, like looking back on it. Like it's such a stretch to interpret that this passage that way. And yet those people would be listening to our interpretation being like, well, the gospel isn't political. Jesus wasn't political. Yeah. It's like, no, friend. Like, like you you your interpretation of this is way more of a stretch than ours, which is like, this is about money and labor and what it says it's about. Yeah. I think a lot of that hinges on sort of how you understand the kingdom of heaven, which I do want to come back to. But first, I like as you as you're saying all of that and like reminding us of like what you were to have been taught at your church. And probably I got taught that as well. Like it was about getting into heaven and you shouldn't like begrudge people who get saved later than you. And like, well, like I like I think I don't want to like like I don't want to laugh at that. I think maybe like I haven't imposed somewhere. I made a sort of like laugh at that interpretation. But actually, as you were saying at this time, I was like, well, you know, there is something there for me to about the best time to plant a tree was 100 years ago, the second best time is right now. Right. And that like, it feels challenging to like hold space that like no one is beyond saving that like you can change. I almost was like repented. You can change. You can like you can repent. You can like turn you can turn into a different direction at any time. And like that's a good thing. And if you're like if you're like if someone is like generous and given like gives you the offer or like you become awakened and you see a new like we understand a new way, I want the door to continue to be open for people. And like what then comes up for me as like an activist and an educator like in a raging liberal leftist is like, okay, so how do you balance like honoring people's human like honoring people's humanity believing that like no one's beyond like saving or repair, like making space for people to return, but also like trying to repair the world and stop interrupt the injustices and like not let what we see like a toxic ideology like take over the world right into like, yes, I want the Trump supporter to stop supporting Trump and learn about economic justice and anti racism and immigration justice and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, like I want to believe this. I want to believe that that's possible. But also like I can't organize my whole life around just trying to like either like convert like one person doesn't want to be converted or to like make too much space where we sort of like excuse harm or injustice and whether it's like political harm like being part of like damaged like, you know, dangerous movements or whether it's like interpersonal harm like you've done back thanks to people like how do you continue to prioritize and center like what's right what's just folks who are on the margins, it's who have been marginalized etc. will also saying like, but what if like we society the universe God like could be so generous and could say like it's never too late. Yeah. And I think like, so I'm just going to riff and this may be doing too much with this parable but all of what you were saying, maybe think of it, right? Because I think that there's a couple things in this parable. There is first the landowner who keeps going back and looking for the people who haven't gotten hired. Right. And we don't necessarily know I heard once an interpreter say, you know, they didn't get hired because they didn't show up right. They were drunk. They were, you know, lazy, they were whatever. But I do think there is this thing of like there is one person in this story who keeps going back to look for the people and he gives them an invitation and I think that there is something when we think about movement building and movement work that that there are people that are really gifted in going and getting the people who haven't shown up yet and inviting them. And then I think the next thing that feels important to me is like the people that got invited, they went right. They didn't stay in the parking lot and still get paid. Like they went out into the fields and they started working. And so maybe they only worked for an hour, but like they actually did the work. And I think that that feels important too of, you know, when you talk about people that are joining late, it's like you don't get a pat on the back because now you're giving lip service. Like you get welcomed in because you're actually doing the work. And I think that that is an important distinction for me. Like announcing that is different. I know why. It's not not enough. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. And like so that feels it feels like an important piece. And I do think that there is a, I don't know, we talk a lot about how like the Bible can be comforting for queer and trans folks. And I think that this is one of those moments where it can also be a little bit convicting, right? Of like, there have definitely been times in my work that I've been like, I have been saying that for 10 years. Why are you just hearing it now? Or why are you joining now? Or why are you listening to this person over there who doesn't even trans when I've been saying the same thing for 10 years? And so there is a there is a piece of this story that I think is convicting for me of like, how can I be generous and excited that they're ready to join and that they're actually like throwing in their lot with all of us now? Like how can I too tap into that mindset of generosity and abundance and that it's not too late? While also, you know, feeling the very real feelings like I don't think that the first laborers are wrong, necessarily, right? To be a little crabby of like, yeah, we worked a lot harder and for a lot longer. Well, these folks didn't. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But like, there's like, some humanists and understanding that they're complaint. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So I want to start back on to like Kingdom of Heaven and they have a little nerd out, like theology nerd out, one which I think I hope are of this is what appreciate appreciate. And so like, when you hear the Kingdom of Heaven, like listen, at home, like, what are you thinking about? And then also like, Shay, like, when you first read this passage or when you first read the Bible, like, what were you taught the Kingdom of Heaven was and how is that different? If you want to share, like, if we want to just have like, then how you understand it today? Yeah. I mean, I'm pretty sure that like Kingdom of Heaven was always just literally heaven, right? If it was like the place that you go when you die. Yeah. And I mean, it was kind of also, I guess, like the Christian life possibly was like, I don't know if people would, but it was kind of like you, you go to heaven when you die, but like while you're here, you engage in these Christian behaviors. And so like all of that was kind of wrapped together. Now, I think very much of like the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God, as like the place where all will be made right, right? It is like the alternate Kingdom. It is the Kingdom of peace and justice in opposition to the Kingdom of Rome, the Kingdom of America, the Kingdom of white supremacy, right? Like all of these different things and that like, to be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven, like the invitation is to be a part of that Kingdom now while you're also still living in Rome, America, white supremacy, etc. Yeah. And we go on to like, we were like really explore like the Kingdom of Heaven, the end of times, like a revelation, all of that sort of stuff in the last chapter, fitting of our book, which is coming out soon at the title of that chapter is Behold, I'm Making All Things New, Reconciliation of All to God. And so we'll be showing more about like pre-wording and covers when that's available, but like, you just want to like to flag that we get, are able to go into even more depth about that in our book. And like for me, what it feels like important to point out is like, this idea of the Kingdom of Heaven is another one of those sort of like really clear like artifacts of Jesus's Jewishness and how like he was very much like from those that people and that movement and that, especially in the early days of the Jesus movement, there was a lot of like Jewish ideals. And so like in Jewish theology, like still to today, right, there's this idea of the Kingdom of Heaven, the world to come, the next world, the messianic age. Those are all some like words and phrases you might hear like English speaking Jews used to talk about this sort of time in the future, which has not yet arrived in which very similar like all will be made, all like all will be made right. There's a concept in Judaism called Tsikun Alam, which is sort of loosely translated like repairing the world. And so there's, there's very much like a repair, it's not like we're going to be dying, we go somewhere else, right? Like a really traditional Jewish theology, everyone like everyone gets resurrected, which you see in that in some of the earliest Christian writings also like this idea that like in the end, we're all getting resurrected here on earth. And so there's an element of like this world will be transformed. And then also that we have some responsibility to like do the transforming. And so I think like in this, in this, in this passage where it's a parable, when he says like the Kingdom of Heaven is like this, in one way, like the parable sort of like funk, like I guess like an analogy or like a metaphor that it's like this, these like laborers are describing something else. But also when we think about like, no, it's like the Kingdom of Heaven is also like happening here all around us. So it like it makes sense that these like these like very specific human real life examples of what the Kingdom of Heaven will be like, because it's like, okay, so then like, we got to make sure that everyone gets paid and everyone gets taken care of. And, you know, you see this also reflected in Jesus, I think in one of the gospels where he's like, you can't be like the Kingdom of Heaven is over there, the Kingdom of Heaven is over here, like the Kingdom of Heaven is like is all around us. And so I think like, it's not just a parable for some other place. It's not just a metaphor for some other place. It's like a little bit like instruction manual for this place that we're in that we're already in. And I think that so much of what's happening with the stories that Jesus tells is trying to help his listeners expand their imaginations for what's even possible, right? Like, if you're living in an empire, and you're under the boot of it, it's really easy to be in a space where it's like, this is all that's ever been, this is all that will ever be. And like, I just have to survive it or not. And I think that it can be really hard to like, dream bigger and to believe that more is possible and to think that everyone resurrected and everything reconciled, like right now sitting in Kansas and Oklahoma, listening to that, I'm like, well, that's ridiculous, right? Like I can't even drive or get healthcare or like whatever. And yet I think that that's like also the genius of these stories is to say, can you maybe believe in a little bit of extra generosity? Can you maybe believe in a world where something like this is possible? Can you start to dream a little bit? And like, if so, then what opens up what might become possible? And I just think that that's such a really beautiful reminder to us to like, continue to dream and continue to imagine and continue to believe, even if you can only believe a little tiny bit that like, a little bit more is possible. Yeah. And like to put into like, modern political terms, like I think it'd be like the Overton window, right? Which of like folks who don't know, it's sort of like the window of like what the general public feels is like possible politically, right? Like socially, that's like achievable. And so then like, when you have really far like extremists like the Trump and the white nationalists, like, it just sort of like anchors, like the extreme, like you can't see, but like it's a gradient, right? Like that then becomes like the furthest point. And so like, now the center gets like drug over a little bit. And so I think like, we have a responsibility as liberals, after people like progressives to like, to dream bigger in a more like, liberatory way. So it's like, what if what if we don't like, imagine like the worst possible ways that we can take advantage of one another? Like, what if we imagine all the ways in which like it could all be better? And I think about like, we're in America, right? We're talking about like universal healthcare, single payer, like a hybrid system, like how like what's actually possible and players up to the marketplace, Obamacare, like, we're like kind of getting to the degree of like what's possible. And so like, I just like think about Leviticus, where it's like, every seven years, all the debts get canceled. If you had to sell any property to pay off debts, you get it back. Right. I think about like just like, like the work of Jesus over and over again, of like, you get healed, you get healed, you get healed. And so there is like, there's a world in which the Bible, these like stories in the Bible are even more radical and liberatory and the life giving than sort of like what's what feels on the table, like, or like feels politically achievable. I'm like, yeah, there's definitely some conservative or militaristic or like not great parts of the Bible as well. But I think it's important to like remember the power of stories like help us imagine even more boldly and like, what if like, what if we just believe that we could cancel literally everyone's debt every seven years, like, or every 49 years, I guess, every 49 years, but like still like, that's just like bananas. And so I can't want to not, yes, be practical and like, achieve what's achievable and also like, never stop dreaming about what could be what's like, even more possible. Yeah. And it reminds me of the story of churches that like got together to buy people's medical debt and forgive it, right? Like that's a really tangible thing that people have done continue to do. Is that enough? No. But it's a start, right? And it again, like invites us into saying like, oh, there could be a world where maybe at least there's no medical debt, right? Like, can we start there? Can we, you know, can we start with a world where like, kids don't have school lunch debt, right? Like, let's let's go there and and then dream even bigger. Yeah. That's just like, you know, our ongoing thesis statement. And I would just sort of like leave with you a reflection on like, what are some areas in your life that maybe you've been dreaming small and how could you dream bigger? And then also like, to bring it back to this like this parable, right? Like, where are some ways that you need to be reminded that it's never too late for yourself or that there's always more generosity available for you. And in what ways do you need to be maybe like challenged to continue to like, not pull a lot of effort behind ourselves and to like be generous towards those who have who are like a little bit less far along in whatever sort of the work is in your life. The queer theology podcast is just one of many things that we do at quee