"You too go into my vineyard . . ."
The Word for Sunday: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/092114.cfm
Is 55: 6-9
Phil 1: 20c – 24, 27a
Mt 20: 1-16
This
Sunday Jesus shares a somewhat unsettling parable from Matthew about laborers
in the vineyard and a landowner who, in response to the grumbling of ungrateful
workers, queries: “Are you envious because I am generous?” That’s an
interesting question.
We
don’t normally equate envy with generosity.
Why would I be envious because you are a generous person? I could easily be generous myself. I might be
envious because you are rich and I am not.
Or jealous because you have a beautiful voice and I can barely carry a
tune. You have outstanding athletic prowess and the ball never goes where I
want it to in golf. You’re handsome or beautiful and I’m just an average Joe.
You walk into a room and everyone is glad to see you. I walk in and just blend silently into the
crowd.
These
are the sorts of things we usually equate with envy. The larger discussion
about “Be grateful for what you have rather than sad about what you do not
have” is valid here but why would I be envious of your generosity. That’s a choice that any of us can make: to
share or not to share. That is the question!
Why
were the workers in the vineyard today envious? If we look between the lines,
as we must do in the teachings of Jesus’ parables, we see their grumbling is
far more about what they perceived as unjust payment for work done or not done
rather than envy about a generous landowner.
Still, the point of the workers is a good one on surface.
In
ancient times, unlike today, it was believed that all things had limits. We Americans feel there’s always more where
that came from: food, oil, jobs, and money, whatever. Yet, everything in the ancient Mediterranean
world was believed limited including work. There is only so much of anything to
go around so there is not more where that came from.
So
one would need to be invited to work rather than to apply for a job. Once invited, as the landowner did five times
in today’s Gospel, a wage was agreed on and one could not assume that more
would be given since there is only a limited amount to be shared. Yet, work
done is work rewarded.
So,
the real “envy” in today’s Gospel is of those who were invited at the eleventh
hour as we say and who were paid the same as those “who bore the day’s burden
and the heat.” We can hear them cry, “This isn’t fair!”
Yet,
the parable today is not about fair working practices but about what “The
kingdom of heaven is like.” God operates in a different manner; on a higher
plane than we limited humans. The Kingdom of Heaven is about a God who calls
everyone to his vineyard (kingdom) and wants all to share in abundance
regardless about when they were invited.
The kingdom of heaven, the parable teaches us, is about a God who is
generous and hospitable. About a God who
invites then rewards. It is about a God who always has more where that came
from and is never limited in his generosity. Pope Francis once reminded us that God never tires of forgiving it is we who tire of asking for it.
This
parable is not the only time we hear about God’s bigheartedness. The parable of the prodigal son (Lk 15:
11-32) with the envious elder brother comes to mind. That elder brother, the
good son, upon seeing his father’s forgiveness and the party thrown for his
reckless wasteful brother, is furious with envy: “That son of yours!” he
complains to his Father. He can hardly bring himself to admit, “That brother of
mine.”
But,
here the Father who is God is overwhelmingly generous because the value he
holds for the person is greater than the bad choices he has made: “He was dead
and has come back to life.” The elder son has suffered no injustice. The Father reminds him: “Everything I have is
yours” but the jealous son feels it’s unfair.
When
we come to God in prayer, in need of forgiveness, in gratitude or with any
request we come before a God who has our best interest at heart. So these
parables can bring before us a different vantage point. The workers who labored
all day most likely readily stood in the front of the line to receive what they
felt would be generous pay – more than they had agreed upon. The elder son confronted his father and may
have pushed his way into the party revelers to make a beeline for his Dad. As I
stand in front no one else behind me matters. It’s all for me – or so I may
assume and expect.
Yet,
the parables challenge our perception of God’s “fairness” and ask us to take a
look from the end of the line. God’s
mercy, forgiveness and generosity are available to everyone no matter where I
stand. God’s generosity, mercy,
forgiveness and love are not a buffet line or potluck dinner – when it’s gone
its gone. There will be just enough for me by the time I reach the front. With God, there is always more.
It
certainly creates a different perspective of how I view my fellow human
being. No matter what language I speak
or my economic level or the home I live in or color of my skin or my past
wayward life all that come to the Lord with sincerity and seek his will share
in his abundance.
The
more we see others ahead of us receiving what God gives the more we may see our
own shortcoming and imitate the mercy which God himself shows. As Isaiah
reminds us today when the Lord speaks: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts .
. .”
This
is the point of the parable for us. The
reception of the Holy Eucharist during each Mass is to receive this person who
is lavishly generous. As the crowd walks
forward do you think about who it is who is giving himself to you? About who
and what you will receive? How can we be
envious of that? What a gift; what a
generous God.
Graciously raise up, O Lord,
those you renew with this Sacrament,
that we may come to possess your redemption
both in mystery and in the manner of our life.
Through Christ our Lord.
(Prayer after Communion)
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