From this do we learn that
God is not fair? Is it not rather than being fair, God is lavish. One priest,
in commenting on this text, said, "I am so glad that God is not fair. If
God were fair and gave me what I truly deserve, I would be tortured slowly
before being consigned to hell for ever." But fairness is the highest
ethical stance of many in our culture. Some would even choose fairness over
lavish love. Children see fairness as the standard. They are especially keen on
fairness if they believe that they have been treated unfairly. All who are
parents are familiar with the cry of outrage, "That's not fair!" This
may be accompanied by that other great ethical benchmark of children, "But
all the other kids get to..." All good parents have a set of responses to these
statements that they heard from their parents.
Children seldom raise the
issue of fairness when they are being favoured. In fact, almost no one raises
the issue of fairness when they are favoured or privileged. There have been
some first class church fights grounded in unfairness. We have the recent and
current debates over acceptance and inclusiveness, free speech and vilification
of groups in our community despite the call and example of Jesus to live
compassionately and lovingly as our God does.
Even sometimes it comes
within the Church and it is a group of spiritually aware folk trying to guide
the life of a congregation in a more "holy" way. And they are not
treated fairly in the decision making. Sometimes it is a group of long time
church members who have laboured long for the sake of the congregation and they
are excluded from decisions about congregational life by a newer group of
members. Sometimes there is even conflict between the clergy and laity.
Frequently all of these problems are identified as "fairness"
problems. And they are. There is a lot of unfairness in churches, in our
community and in our society. There is a lot of unfairness in life. Anyone who
wants to fill their heart and life with resentment will have ample opportunity
to do so.
Jesus invites us to move
beyond fairness and into boundless love. The kind of love Jesus calls us to, is
grounded in, and is in his own sacrificial love. This love was won on the
cross. Suffering preceded Jesus' death. Jesus' death was unjust. We might see
it as a cosmically unfair event. But that awful death became the door to
Resurrection for Jesus. In Jesus' Resurrection we see the meaning of suffering,
the meaning of injustice, and the meaning of death transformed by God's power
into our experience and knowledge of God's limitless love. Even in the process
of death, Jesus was transforming meaning. He said to the thief on the cross,
who admitted that his death sentence was fair, "Today you shall be with me
in paradise."
Jesus said to God about those
who were killing him, "Father forgive them, they do not know what they are
doing." Both of Jesus' statements were cosmically unfair. Both of Jesus'
statements are signs of God's lavish love for us. Jesus' Ascension may have
been the most extreme example of God's lavish love. In the Ascension Jesus left
a particular time, place, and group of people to be present for all time and in
all places and with all people. This act insures that we, even 2,000 years
later, thousands of kilometres away, and without any personal knowledge of
Jesus' disciples can know that lavish love in the deepest and most personal
ways.
So, when you think you are being
treated unfairly, rejoice because it reminds you that God loves you lavishly. Also
it’s interesting to check out whether what we perceive as unfairness is
actually that and not our own greed etc. Once you think you are being treated
unfairly do something to make those who you think are treating you unfairly
feel really crazy -- forgive them and share with them the love you have
received. Not easy I know but that is what we are called to.
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