[1] The kingdom of heaven is like to an householder, who went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
[2] And having agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
[3] And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing in the market place idle.
[4] And he said to them: Go you also into my vineyard, and I will give you what shall be just.
[5] And they went their way. And again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did in like manner.
[6] But about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing, and he saith to them: Why stand you here all the day idle?
[7] They say to him: Because no man hath hired us. He saith to them: Go you also into my vineyard.
[8] And when evening was come, the lord of the vineyard saith to his steward: Call the labourers and pay them their hire, beginning from the last even to the first.
[9] When therefore they were come, that came about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
[10] But when the first also came, they thought that they should receive more: and they also received every man a penny.
[11] And receiving it they murmured against the master of the house,
[12] Saying: These last have worked but one hour, and thou hast made them equal to us, that have borne the burden of the day and the heats.
[13] But he answering said to one of them: Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst thou not agree with me for a penny?
[14] Take what is thine, and go thy way: I will also give to this last even as to thee.
[15] Or, is it not lawful for me to do what I will? is thy eye evil, because I am good?
[16] So shall the last be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Now and forever. Amen.
Merry Christmas, dear readers, and happy new year, and happy Epiphany week! I know it's been a while, and for that I do apologize. Today we have a great parable to look at, but once again, it's a challenge to us. It also has a lot of layers, so let's dig in.
From a surface level reading, this seems to be teaching us some economic principles. First of all, we might notice that the workers actually work in the vineyard for all of the daylight hours, which is approximately 12 hours. Remember, in the Jewish understanding (coming from Genesis), the new day begins at sundown (around 6 pm), and morning is at sunrise (around 6 am). So, the householder goes out early in the morning, around 6 am, and hires workers for his vineyard, who work the whole day, until the 12th hour, or about 6 pm.
So we have a 12 hour work day, which, for most of us in our time, is a much longer work day than we're used to (for most it's about an 8 hour work day). Remember that the next time you feel bagged at the end of the work day. Then remember also that the Jews worked six days a week, not five. That's a lot of productive capacity!
Moreover, we see some form of contract law. The householder contracts the workers to work the day for a penny (a silver denarius, which was the usual daily wage). It's a verbal contract, but the contract is understood as binding. In addition to this, we also see property rights in this story, as the householder, being the owner of the vineyard, and the one hiring the workers, has a right to pay his workers whatever he wants, because it's his money, his vineyard, and therefore he can pay them what he chooses.
But notice, of course, that he does not defraud the workers. Now, it might at first glance appear that there is an issue of justice here, because the workers who work fewer hours get paid the same as those who worked more, which doesn't seem fair. Indeed, the workers who started at the beginning of the day express precisely this, and feel that an injustice has been paid to them. Jesus addresses this in the parable, though. The workers agreed to the daily wage, which is the normal, daily wage that workers work for. The implication here is that if they worked anywhere else, this is what they'd get paid. Therefore, it wasn't that the householder paid them less than they deserved, but rather he paid those who worked fewer hours more than they "deserved". It demonstrates generosity on the part of the householder, rather than stinginess.
The workers who started at the beginning of the day were hoping to take advantage of the generosity of the householder, in the same way that those who came late received his generosity. But, he paid them their agreed rate, which is just.
So, that's all on the surface of the parable--but let's go a little deeper.
Remember that Jesus, as with most of his parables, begins with the phrase, "the Kingdom of Heaven is like..." Therefore, we know that this also reveals something to us about the God's plan for salvation, and His Church. So, one level down, you might say, this is about the historical kingdom: Israel and the Church (the New Israel).
The Jews were God's chosen people for the transmission of the Old Covenants. The Israelites, the descendants of Abraham, and of Shem (Semites), the son of Noah, were the people that God worked His promise of salvation through. The vineyard in the parable is the world, and the Jewish people were the workers that God hired from the beginning to work His vineyard. Those who are hired later in the day are the Gentiles. They all receive the same reward: heaven.
In the early days of the Church, immediately following Jesus' departure, the work of evangelization began, first among the Jews, and then a little later the Apostles began their work among the Gentiles. Paul recounts in his letter to the Galatians that he had to correct Peter on one occasion, because Peter wasn't being consistent in his behaviour among the Jews as among the Gentiles. Without getting into the specific mistake, the only point I want to make here is that it would be an error if we were to hold that the Jews have a special place in heaven because they were God's chosen people. The gift of heaven is open to all, and what matters is the heart of man, and his responsiveness to the Gospel, not what group he happens to be born into--this is also revealed in the parable, but I'll touch on it in more detail later on.
So, the first will be last and the last will be first. Just because you're a Jew doesn't mean you get special place. Now, I should say, this doesn't mean we, as Gentiles, should hold the Jews in low regard. They are our elder brothers in the Faith, and to hold them in low esteem would be a violation of the commandment to honor your father and your mother. Nevertheless, the reward at the end of our lives is the same, Jew or Gentile: eternal beatitude in the glory of heaven.
We can go one step deeper into this parable, though, and understand what it means for us, on an individual level. I'll repeat Jesus' statement again, because He says it many times in the Gospels: the first will be last and the last will be first. This is a challenge to our pride, and an invitation to humility. If we are upset by the notion that someone who converts late in life gets to go to heaven just the same as I, who has worked for the Church and the salvation of souls since I was a young boy (or girl, as the case may be), then that reveals something about your heart: that it is proud.
Remember what Jesus says in Luke 15:7: "I say to you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than upon ninety-nine just who need not penance." This is the attitude that Jesus expects from us. Rather than grumbling that the latecomers to get the same pay, the labourers in the vineyard should be filled with joy that those who came late received the same daily wage. Why? Because it isn't that they didn't want to work--but rather that nobody would hire them. So, the householder rewarded the desire of their hearts: which was to work the whole day.
So, when we see one repent of their sins and turn to God, our hearts should be filled with Joy, whether this conversion comes early or late. Such a disposition is that of humility, recognizing we are all in need of God's grace, and that our life in the Church was by God's work in us, and not our work in ourselves. God gives to all the true desires of their hearts, whether early or late. Do we desire to work in the service of God? Or do we desire only the reward for that work? That's a good question to ask yourself.
There is one final point I want to make about this parable. The question of work versus grace is strong in this parable. On the one hand, our reward is a free gift of grace, and is not dependent upon how much work we do. I think you can see that clearly in the parable. On the other hand, that gift is given only to those who respond to the householder's invitation to work. The householder doesn't just go around giving people silver denarii! He invites them to work, and by their generous response to his invitation, and gives his grace generously, irrespective of how much work is actually done.
So, yes, God's gift of grace is generously given, but it is only given to those who actually respond and come to work. The workers at the 11th hour say in response to the householder who asked them why they were idle all day, "no one would hire us." They want to work--but they have nobody to work for. They were probably not expecting a full day's wage, for one hour's work. But they responded generously to the invitation of the householder to work, happy to receive the wage, even if it was for only one hour of work.
We who are raised in the Faith often have no sense of the desperate desire that there is among non-Christians, or even non-Catholics, for truth, and virtue, and a righteous mission. We don't have this sense because we already possess it--even if we're not living up to it.
Many are called, few are chosen. The chosen are those who respond to God's invitation to work for His Kingdom. God will reward us for that generosity of spirit--not based on how much work we actually do, but based on our desire to do that work. His reward is generous, even if we don't deserve it. All He asks is that we be willing, and that we respond to His call when He makes it.
God bless you, dear reader, and thank you for reading.
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