October Surprise

Now that September is winding down the pennant races in Major League Baseball are coming to some sort of conclusion. My hometown team, the Brewers, have choked. At one point they were locks to make the postseason, now they are locks for an early vacation. The Cubs are on the verge of clinching their second straight division title and the White Sox are ready rap up their place in the playoffs soon. What happens next is any one's guess however.

October is full of surprises. The phrase "October surprise" comes from the realm of politics. The Democrats and Republicans hold their "hands" close to the vest for much of an election year waiting for the last weeks of the campaign to play their aces so that the "surprises" they hold will have the most impact on the voters. I'm sure there will be a surprise or two about Senators McCain and Obama revealed next month.

In baseball the October surprise often comes in the form of a Cinderella team making waves out of no where. Just when everyone is talking about the Cubs, Angels and Red Sox it is the Rays or the Dodgers who win it all. Last year Arizona pulled off such a surprise on the Cubs. Pessimistic Cubs fans are convinced that it will happen again.

But maybe the biggest October surprise we can experience this fall will come from our Lord Jesus Christ. Wonderfully in the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard Jesus tells us about a land owner who hired workers to work his vineyard. He promises to give them the fair daily wage for their work. Later in the day he hires more workers. Still there is not enough workers so even when there is only one more hour of daylight he hires even more harvest his grapes. When the work is over he gives every single worker the same amount of pay: the fair amount for a day's work. Those who worked the whole day are furious. "How dare he! It's not fair that those who worked only an hour get the same pay as they got!" There's your October surprise. The owner is generous. He is fair to the workers who worked all day and merciful to those who worked only an hour. All receive the same. God love for his children is the same for all.

So how do you respond to God's October surprise? Do you cry out "It's not fair?" Does it anger you? Have you convinced yourself that you deserve "the championship" because you're better than others? Truly, deep down in your heart, you know through the Spirit that such feelings are wrong. The generosity of God is to be celebrated and not scorned.

But sin leads you to ask: "Why should I toil in the vineyard all day then?" Ahhh... The truth is that service in God's name is a joy and not toil. Working in God's presence and in God's vineyard brings meaning to your life. Those who wait in nothingness don't experience such satisfaction and joy until God brings them into the vineyard to work for their hour. Grace is not an excuse to be faithless. Grace is a gift to be both treasured and shared.

Look for God's October surprises... even now in September. (An October surprise in September? Now that's surprising.) And as you encounter them don't fall into the trap seven-year-olds fall into. Don't cry out "It's not fair!" Instead cry "Thanks be to God!" All are welcome in the vineyard of the Lord... where the wages are fair and the cup of mercy overflows.