Another Museum experience...

Parable of the Museum

One of the many uncomfortable parables of Jesus is about the workers in the vineyard. All received a full day’s pay whether they worked a full day or just an hour at the end of the day. At first glance, it seems a bit unfair.

Bev and I have twice experienced the reverse situation recently. We entered a small museum with just time for a short visit. What was offered was a subscription with free entry for a year. No, we just wanted to have a quick peep at one or two things that had been recommended to us. Couldn’t we just pay for an hour? Sorry, you have to pay for a year’s subscription. Well, it wasn’t a huge amount but we declined.

In the next day or two the same kind of thing happened twice in car parks (probably managed by the same District Council). Four pounds for day, the notice said. How much for half an hour? Four pounds. We didn’t want security for a whole day, just a parking place for a few minutes. So for a 200 metre walk back we found an hour for 30p…

I understand there’s an economy of interest operating in this system. The provider has one kind of interest and we have another. And that’s just life. Both parties make their choice and live with it. Maybe the parable is about something like that. It has to do with some kind of need rather than some measure of entitlement.

So the small congregation doesn’t choose to have all the programmes and properties and paid personnel of a “normal” church. The small church lives by a different standard and contracts for what it needs and no more.