“Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?”
In reading the Gospel for today many questions come to mind. In all our questions we remember with humility the words of Isaiah. “My thoughts and ways are above you says the Lord.” (Isaiah 55:9) People may become jealous or envious of what others have or received. However, we must remember that the ways and thoughts of God are so far above us, that we will never be able to understand them. “The greatness of God’s plans for us is always superior to our short range, human designs.” [1] How many times have we not seen the bigger picture of what God has for us until much later?
The first words of our Holy Father, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI when he became Pope were: “After the great Pope John Paul II, the Cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble laborer in the vineyard of the Lord. The fact that the Lord knows how to work and to act even with inadequate instruments comforts me, and above all I entrust myself to your prayers.”
ACTIVITY – The Modern Day Vineyard
Jesus is trying to tell us something in this parable. What is He telling us? It might be helpful to have a few individuals or groups either create their own modern day story of this parable by telling the story or acting it out. Who are the characters, landowner, laborers, vineyard, etc.? In this way the themes and teachings of the parable may be better understood.
Why a vineyard? The vineyard and working in it are symbolic of the Lord’s saving mission. Most of the people listening to Jesus were farmers. A vineyard takes lots of manpower and hours to make it a great vineyard. It takes year-round care, and those that work on it may not see the fruits of their work right away.
Why did he keep hiring more workers? Jesus is telling us that He calls people throughout their entire life. He will call us at different times whether we’re young, middle-aged, or elderly. We all have talents and purposes to work and serve in the kingdom of God. Whether we are five, fifty-five or ninety-five years old when we start working for the kingdom of God, we are all called and we can all contribute a unique gift. There is such a variety of people working in the vineyard that it sometimes seems unfair that some are called early and never fail in the work, while others respond late in life but contribute greatly. Saint Therese asked this same question and God gave her an answer.
“I often asked myself why God had preferences, why all souls did not receive an equal measure of grace. I was filled with wonder when I saw extraordinary favors showered on great sinners like St. Paul, St. Augustine, St. Mary Magdalene, and many others, whom He forced, so to speak, to receive His grace. In reading the lives of the Saints I was surprised to see that there were certain privileged souls, whom Our Lord favored from the cradle to the grave, allowing no obstacle in their path which might keep them from mounting towards Him, permitting no sin to soil the spotless brightness of their baptismal robe. And again it puzzled me why so many poor savages should die without having even heard the name of God. Our Lord has deigned to explain this mystery to me. He showed me the book of nature, and I understood that every flower created by Him is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would lose its springtide beauty, and the fields would no longer be enameled with lovely hues. And so it is in the world of souls, Our Lord's living garden. He has been pleased to create great Saints who may be compared to the lily and the rose, but He has also created lesser ones, who must be content to be daisies or simple violets flowering at His Feet, and whose mission it is to gladden His Divine Eyes when He deigns to look down on them. And the more gladly they do His Will the greater is their perfection.” [2]
Who is the landowner? The landowner in this parable is Christ, Himself. He is the one that seeks out workers, inviting us to come and work for Him for a just wage, which is Heaven.
What does the money represent? “That denarius clearly represents eternal life, a gift that God reserves for all. Indeed, those who are considered the "last", if they accept, become the ‘first’, whereas the "first" can risk becoming the ‘last’. Another parable in which we see this “first” and “last” theme is the prodigal son. The older brother who does everything correct and has his father favor could be considered the “first”. At the end of the parable, the older son is angry that the Father has so readily welcomed the lost brother home. It is possible that if the older brother stayed in his stubbornness and refused to show mercy and generosity he could risk going from “first” to “last.” The younger son, who is the prodigal son is at first “last” but by the end of the story repents and become “first.” The father says that his son was once lost (last) but has been found (first). Are we willing to rejoice when conversion takes place in a person’s life, even if that person is the least we would expect to convert or our enemy? Are we willing to rejoice even if we have been doing things correct the whole time?
The first message of this parable is inherent in the very fact that the landowner does not tolerate, as it were, unemployment. He wants everyone to be employed in his vineyard. Actually, being called is already the first reward: to be able to work in the Lord's vineyard, to put oneself at his service, to collaborate in his work, is in itself a priceless recompense that repays every effort. Yet only those who love the Lord and His kingdom understand this: those who instead work only for the pay will never realize the value of this inestimable treasure.” [3]
What does Jesus mean by the last shall be first? In the story of the Rich Young Man (Matthew 19:16-30), Jesus finishes the story by saying, “But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” The next story in Matthew’s Gospel is the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) in which Jesus says the same thing but reverses the order, “Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.” What does Jesus say last and then first in one story and then first and then last in the next? He wants us to understand that the first and last does not matter, what matters is that due to the generosity of God, all are able to receive Grace and Mercy.
“He wants us to understand that his grace is a pure gift. Whoever is called to follow Christ, as a youth does not thereby enjoy precedence over someone called during maturity or in life’s final moments. People who are near death should not think it is too late to follow Our Lord.” [4] In the same chapter, Jesus repeated this theme of first and last again but in different words, “…whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.” (Matthew 20:26-27) All the talk about first and last, would inspire everyone to want to be “first” even those that feel as if they are “last.” Jesus now gives the conditions of being “first.” He says that we must be a slave and then defines what it means to be a salve, using His own life as an example. “Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28) So if we really want to be first, we must be willing to lay down our life.
Why give the same amount to everyone? Christ presents the landowner giving the same amount to everyone because God gives the same amount to everyone. The ultimate payment given for work done in God’s vineyard is Heaven. We must remember that no man can merit that eternal reward on his or her own; we can only achieve Heaven on account of God’s mercy.
Wouldn’t paying everyone the same amount be unjust? “The owner’s conduct involves no violation of justice, and that all the workers receive the same wage is due only to his generosity to the latest arrivals; the resentment of the first comes from envy.” [5] As mentioned earlier, the payment in this parable is God’s grace. “That gift will always be infinitely greater than whatever anyone has done in the life.” The greatness of God’s plans for us is always superior to our short-range, human designs.
Envy, one of the seven deadly sins, is “sadness or discontent at the excellence, good fortune, or success of another person. It implies that one considers oneself somehow deprived by what one envies in another or even that an injustice has been done…Envy is a sin against charity.” [6] The first workers are sad and discontent that the last workers receive the same wage. The sin of envy is opposite the beatitude, “Blessed are those who mourn.” When we mourn with another we share in their pain but also share in their good fortune, we show compassion for their misfortune and are willing to be joyful in their good fortune.
The laborers are rebuked not for dissatisfaction with what they receive, but for dissatisfaction that others receive as much.” [7] How many times have we been envious of others? When have we been judgmental of others success for what little they have done?
What does this parable tell us about the justice of God and the mercy of God? God is just and He pays us our daily wage. Justice is giving to others what they are due. God in His justice, because of the passion, death and resurrection gives us eternal life because of what Jesus Christ earned for us. We must give God what He is due. God is due our worship and our faith. We believe and accept His Son! God is merciful in that we do not deserve to get paid or to work. Without God’s mercy and invitation we would be stuck in perpetual “idleness.” He is merciful and asks us to work with Him, in His vineyard and then He even pays us to do it. He is also merciful in the fact that, He is patient and faithful and continues to “call” and “invite” even though we may remain obstinate in our sin and we remain idle and disinterested in his offer.
Why are we working in the vineyard? What is our motivation? Are we only working to get a reward? Saint Therese is famous for what is called the “Little Way.” The Little Way is the spirituality of doing little things with great love. Blessed Mother Teresa practiced this spirituality. The spirituality embodies the “last shall be first” in that striving to be “little” or “last” leads to being “big” or “first” in the eyes of God. Saint Therese’s motto, which is taken from the writings of Saint John of the Cross is, “Love is repaid by love alone.” What is our payment? Love. How much? Love is infinite, this would be like saying that one person is going to get more heaven than another, or in other words, one person is going to get more eternity than another. We love and desire only to be loved in return.
This video [Thai Life Insurance Commerical] shows several instances of how an average man does good deeds throughout his day, repeatedly on each day. At the end of the video, the narrator comments on how this man doesn't do these good deeds for money or fame but because they bring others happiness. The narration accompanies several examples of how the man enjoys his new friendships and sees wonderful changes in the lives of those he helps. It should serve as a visual example for how working and serving through love benefits not only ourselves but others.
What else is the meaning of this Parable? The first level meaning behind this parable is the relationship between the Jews and Gentiles. The Gentiles were brought in late and given equal mercy and grace as the Jews. It also deals with the twelve Apostles, themselves. Jesus had just promised them twelve thrones. Brothers, James and John, looked to see where their positions were, and Jesus warns them that it doesn’t matter; once we have been let into the kingdom of God, all have been granted full admission.
[1] In conversation with God 5, 10.1
[2] Saint Therese the Little Flower; Story of a Soul, Chapter I
[3] Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus 21, September 2008
[4] In conversation with God 5, 10.1
[5] Matthew 20:14-15 footnotes
[6] Fr. John Hardon, S.J.; Modern Catholic Dictionary; page 189
[7] The Jerome Biblical Commentary Matthew 137, 14-15