Parish Magazine Item for November 2026

 

From The Rectory – for November 2026

 

Over the last few weeks in church we’ve continued to think about the teaching of Jesus from Matthew’s Gospel. The set readings from the Church of England Lectionary put two parables in subsequent weeks: The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matthew chapter 18 verses 21- 35) and The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16). You might like to take a moment to read them. As ever, you can find the sermons on the Warbleton Church website or You Tube channel.

 

As you’ll know, and as I’m often telling the children of Dallington Primary School, a parable is a (made up) story, with a meaning. Or as is sometimes said, ‘an earthly story, with a heavenly meaning’. The word ‘parable’ literally means to throw alongside. It suggests a parallel. Think of this in terms of that.

 

These two parables has some similarities. Jesus says that both of them are about what “the kingdom of heaven is like”. “Kingdom of heaven” probably means the same as “the Kingdom of God”. Devout Jews, like Matthew, would have been careful about using God’s name so as not to take it in vain (the third of the Ten Commandments – Exodus 20). Saying “heaven” as a way of meaning “God” could be safety precaution. In both parables there is someone in charge, a king or a landowner, who we can surmise stands for God the King. These stories tell us something about how God exercises his reign. And both are to do with money – which features very frequently in the teaching of Jesus – here in the form of debts and then in the form or wages.

 

We sometimes sing a song in church which neatly captures something of these two parables. The verses go like this:

 

Mercy is when God does not give us [the bad things, the judgement or penalties, we might say] which we deserve.   

 

And:

 

          Grace is when God gives us [the good things] we don’t deserve.

 

So what do these parables teach?

 

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. Mercy! We are all sinners. We all owe God a massive debt we can’t repay. Everything we have comes from him. We owe him our very lives. And morally speaking we are all deeply in the red. We fall short our own standards, let along God’s. None of our thoughts or actions is perfect, as they ought to be, so we should give up on any idea of repaying God or earning his love. That’s not the game! God is merciful. He forgives those who ask him. He is very kind and generous – amazingly so. And so we ought to be ready to forgive and show mercy to others.  

 

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard. Grace! God is generous. He gives us far more than we deserve. We ought to depend on his grace – his undeserved love – not demand our supposed rights. It is a mistake, in a way, to ask God for justice because (see the parable above) we all in fact deserve judgement. We may think we’re better than Jones or Smith. But what if our circumstances were different? Only God really knows the heart and can look at the whole. It’s not for us to judge one another. God gives his good gifts generously. And we ought to be thankful for that. We depend on that. It’s stupid to compare and be resentful. We are sinners who need grace.

 

Mercy and grace. They are wonderful complimentary truths. Trusting Jesus and his death for us, we can confidently look to God’s kindness. And we can pray that he would help us more and more to live out his grace and mercy to others.

The Revd Canon Marc Lloyd