Spiritual Practices: Visio Divina
Visio Divina, or sacred seeing, is a type of prayer in which we allow our hearts and imaginations to enter into an image or a scene in silence to see what God might have to say to us. You can find out more about Visio Divina here. Spend some time prayerfully reflecting on the images below and listen to what God might say to you through them.
Visio Divina, or sacred seeing, is a type of prayer in which we allow our hearts and imaginations to enter into an image or a scene in silence to see what God might have to say to us. You can find out more about Visio Divina here. Spend some time prayerfully reflecting on the images below and listen to what God might say to you through them.
The Late-arriving Workers
JESUS MAFA. The Late-arriving Workers, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48296 [retrieved September 24, 2023]. Original source: http://www.librairie-emmanuel.fr (contact page: https://www.librairie-emmanuel.fr/contact).
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Exploring the Text: Three key takeaways
As I read through this story, there are three key takeaways for me. The first is from the workers who only worked part of the day. When the master of the vineyard hired the workers at the beginning of the day, they agreed on their wages for the day; they knew they were getting a full days pay for a full days work. The ones who came later had no such guarantee. When they went to work in the field all they had was the word of the master that he would pay them what he thought would be fair (verse 4). They had to trust the honesty and integrity of the master; they had to trust the masters heart. In the same way, when we come to God we have no negotiating power, we have to trust his heart. The other thing that we learn from this group of people is that it doesn't matter how later we come to God, we just need to come.
The second key takeaway comes from the group that was hired first. When they got paid they were jealous because they thought they deserved more. Even though they got what they agreed to at the beginning of the day, they were jealous when they saw the master's generosity to those who came late. This raises a question that we need to consider. How do we respond when we see God being generous and blessing? Like these workers, do we get jealous and wonder why God doesn't do more for us, or do we celebrate the goodness of God being demonstrated in the lives of others.
The third big thing we see is that the kingdom of God turns everything upside down. Jesus says that in the kingdom of God, the last will be first and the first will be last. God's kingdom runs contrary to the rules of the world. When we follow Jesus and become part of his kingdom, our principles, our values, our priorities need to be realigned to kingdom principles, values, and priorities instead of the ones that we inherited from our culture.
David Dalton
As I read through this story, there are three key takeaways for me. The first is from the workers who only worked part of the day. When the master of the vineyard hired the workers at the beginning of the day, they agreed on their wages for the day; they knew they were getting a full days pay for a full days work. The ones who came later had no such guarantee. When they went to work in the field all they had was the word of the master that he would pay them what he thought would be fair (verse 4). They had to trust the honesty and integrity of the master; they had to trust the masters heart. In the same way, when we come to God we have no negotiating power, we have to trust his heart. The other thing that we learn from this group of people is that it doesn't matter how later we come to God, we just need to come.
The second key takeaway comes from the group that was hired first. When they got paid they were jealous because they thought they deserved more. Even though they got what they agreed to at the beginning of the day, they were jealous when they saw the master's generosity to those who came late. This raises a question that we need to consider. How do we respond when we see God being generous and blessing? Like these workers, do we get jealous and wonder why God doesn't do more for us, or do we celebrate the goodness of God being demonstrated in the lives of others.
The third big thing we see is that the kingdom of God turns everything upside down. Jesus says that in the kingdom of God, the last will be first and the first will be last. God's kingdom runs contrary to the rules of the world. When we follow Jesus and become part of his kingdom, our principles, our values, our priorities need to be realigned to kingdom principles, values, and priorities instead of the ones that we inherited from our culture.
David Dalton