Gospel – Mt 20: 1-16
Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard.
Going out about nine o’clock,
he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard,
and I will give you what is just.’
So they went off.
And he went out again around noon,
and around three o’clock, and did likewise.
Going out about five o’clock,
he found others standing around, and said to them,
‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’
They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’
He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’
When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,
‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay,
beginning with the last and ending with the first.’
When those who had started about five o’clock came,
each received the usual daily wage.
So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more,
but each of them also got the usual wage.
And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,
‘These last ones worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’
He said to one of them in reply,
‘My friend, I am not cheating you.
Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
Take what is yours and go.
What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?
Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?
Are you envious because I am generous?’
Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Life is not fair. It doesn’t take much to agree with that statement and I’m sure most of us have a multitude of examples where that has played out in our lives. One coworker is recognized and rewarded but I am not. Those who never attend Church services seem to be living quite well while those who do struggle with problems. One couple is given a child with some significant handicaps while another have five beautiful healthy children. We priests may feel that the advancement or recognition of one priest over another is questionable – Why him? Politics over achievement.
The well known Gospel for Wednesday’s readings is clearly, on the surface, a story of injustice. The owner of the vineyard pays those who worked and sweat in the heat of a long day the same wage as those who were hired at the end of the day and worked for maybe an hour. Where’s the evenhandedness in that? Where’s the over-time pay, the higher wage for those who have worked longer and harder; for those who have been loyal to the company?
As all parables which Jesus told, this one is deliberately designed to evoke a reaction from the hearers. And so it does. It is deeply unjust and would likely not be tolerated in real life – Just wait until the HR Department hears about this one. But, as all parables, the meaning is not on the surface but underneath; behind the analogies used. So, we need to dig deeper than what we hear at first blush and this is a good one.
It is a story not about the human measure of fairness but about God’s mercy with us that goes beyond our limits. This lesson is not about human justice and injustice but about God’s love which does not measure and calculate; parse and divide; punish and reward or grant special favor to one over another. We cannot earn or equal the love that God has for us. Riches are not viewed sign of God’s favor to one over another. If that were true, how does God feel about the poor? God’s love is gratuitous, freely given, unearned and wishes all, even those who come at the eleventh hour, to be saved. Our works of charity, our generosity to another, is a sign of our interior faith and should not be seen as an effort to receive reward. Could you imagine Blessed Mother Teresa or St. Vincent de Paul, saying, “I’m only doing all these good things to get to heaven. The poorest of the poor are just my means to and end.”
What other examples do we have in scripture of this? Take a look at Luke 15: the lost sheep, the lost coin, the prodigal son. What sort of equality was it for the father to welcome that good for nothing, greedy son home after all he did to destroy his father’s reputation and selfishly spend his wealth? “That’s not fair!” demanded the obedient brother. No, it isn’t – at least from our perspective. But from God’s – it’s different. The value of the person, their coming to “see the light,” the need to be saved, regardless of when and where, is more important than any sense of punishment. We see it in the RCIA process each year. Adults come to the faith and are baptized with all sin forgiven; they begin life again, like innocent babies. Is that fair? We must rejoice in the gift of new life and God’s mercy freely given.
In the end, no matter how we think of God’s ways, God is consistently just and loving. As you ponder the Gospel below, also pray through the Gospel of Luke, chapter 15. It challenges our perception of how much we are loved and can humble us before one another. As God sees us, should we not see one another on some level?
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