WORKERS IN GOD’S VINEYARD

WORKERS IN GOD’S VINEYARD

(A biblical reflection on the 25th ORDINARY SUNDAY [Year A], 21 September 2014)

Gospel Reading: Matthew 20:1-16

First Reading: Isaiah 55:6-9; Psalms: Psalm 145:2-3,8-9,17-18; Second Reading: Philippians 1:20-24,27

The Scripture Text
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place; and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing; and he said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the householder, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you, and go; I choose to give to this last as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity? So the last will be first, and the first last.” (Matthew 20:1-16 RSV)

“So the last will be the first, and the first last” (Matthew 20:16).

Except for the concluding line about “last” and “first”, which occurs in all three synoptic (Mark 10:31; Luke 13:30), the parable appears only in Matthew. It is not an allegory, in which each element carries a symbolic meaning, nor is it a moral teaching on employment practices. The point lies in verse 15: “Do you begrudge my generosity?” or “Am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?” (NAB).

During Jesus’ public ministry, the righteous Pharisees were scandalized at Jesus’ welcoming sinners and dining with them (Matthew 9:11). Far from proving their righteousness by works and practices, as did the Pharisees, these common people ignored the law, violated it knowingly or unknowingly – and here is this so called “man of God” claiming that these people will get into the Kingdom first (Matthew 21:31)! This parable, like the three in Luke 15, could well have addressed to the Pharisees and other observant Jews as a defense of Jesus’ ministry, which is to reveal God’s saving justice (“whatever is right I will give you” [Matthew 20:4], and “I am doing you no wrong” [Matthew 20:13]) which is generous beyond human calculations. Instead of being envious of the attention Jesus was giving to sinners, the Pharisees should have rejoiced.

However, in Matthew this parable is not addressed to the Pharisees nor to the crowds but to the disciples, that is, to Christians, and in this setting it could have three possible meanings:

a. Addressed to the Jewish Christians who are uncomfortable or even opposed to the influx of gentiles into the community, it is a warning not to be envious of the late-comers, whom the Lord Himself has called. Such envy could only betray that the labor done for the Lord in their earlier life under the law, or even their observance of the law now, was grudgingly done and looked to the reward as a strict payment in justice. The Acts of the Apostles tells us that among the early Jewish converts were not only a large number of priests (Acts 6:70) but also Pharisees who continued to observe the Jewish law and even sought to impose it on gentile converts (Acts 15:5). Such converts would have been prime targets for Matthew’s reuse of this parable.
b. The main characters, however, are laborers in the vineyard (a symbol of God’s people), and as such they could represent Christian ministers, some of whom appear to receive more honor than others. In Matthew 18:1 and shortly in Matthew 20:20-28 we see that this was indeed a problem among the early disciples. With Jesus, seniority has no claims on choice for ministry.
c. A more generalized interpretation would also fit the context. The parable concludes by the same saying used to conclude the preceding teaching on the rewards of discipleship, except that Matthew literally reverses the place of the first and last (compare verse 16 with verse 30)! Obviously both passages somehow illustrate the same point. In the earlier passage Jesus promised that the twelve would sit on thrones judging Israel and that all the disciples would receive a hundredfold. It would be normal, then, for the disciples to congratulate themselves on their response to Jesus, which has assured them such honors and benefits. The parable of the vineyard laborers, however, would head off such a conclusion, reminding them that their call and their rewards were totally the grace and generosity of the Lord, and if they are “judge” Israel, it is not because of work they have done but purely the goodness of the Lord.

In applying this parable to our lives and to the life of the Church, any of these meanings can provide a legitimate inspiration for reflection and Christian living. The point of all of them is that we cannot apply human standards and limits to the generosity of God.

Short Prayer: Lord Jesus, remind us constantly that our calls and rewards are totally the grace and generosity of our heavenly Father, and we cannot apply human standards and limits to His generosity. We do not ask to be treated fairly, but for our hearts that treat others as He has treated us. Amen.

Note: Adapted from Fr. George T. Montague SM, COMPANION GOD – A Cross-Cultural Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, New York and New Jersey: PAULIST PRESS, 1989, pages 216-219.

Jakarta, 19 September 2014

A Christian Pilgrim