Unfair

The great writer Annie Dillard died this week. Her 1975 nonfiction book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek won the Pulitzer and it is about the titular creek that’s just outside of Roanoke. In the very beginning of her memoir about a year of living near the creek, she writes about a curious habit she had as a child. She would sneak pennies from her parents and hide them in the cracks of the sidewalk. Then, she would take chalk and draw long arrows to the hidden currency with a label that said “Surprise Ahead!” I am convinced that those are some of God’s very favorite words. Pay attention, turn to wonder, slow down, otherwise you might miss the surprise. Maybe that’s what all the parables are all about. We all thirst, not simply for answers, but for our imaginations to be ignited and for God to show up. Surprise Ahead! Case in point: The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard...