This parable is about the owner of a
vineyard, who goes out early in the morning and hires workers for the day. The owner and laborers agree upon compensation
of one denarius for the day. This was
the usual daily wage rate at Jesus’ time, although this wage was barely enough
to maintain a family at a subsistence level.
Several hours later—around 9 o’clock—the owner sees some other laborers
idly sitting around the village marketplace.
When he discovers that no one offered to employ these workers, the
vineyard owner hires them for the day and sends them out to his vineyard to
join with those already working. To this
second group of workers, starting a few hours after the first group, the owner promises
to pay: “What is right.”
As the parable continues, the
vineyard owner goes out and hires additional workers at 12 noon, again at 3 pm,
and finally some even at 5 pm. When
evening comes, the laborers gather up to receive their pay. The owner first calls up those who didn’t
begin working until 5 in the afternoon. Each
member of this group receives 1 denarius—the equivalent of a full day’s
pay. Seeing how much the 5 o’clock group
has been paid, the workers who have been in the vineyard since sunrise assume
that they will be paid significantly more than the usual day wage of 1
denarius.
One by one, the vineyard owner calls
up each group and each man gets the same compensation, 1 denarius, regardless
of how long they worked in the field. The
first group, who have been laboring in the hot sun all day long, assumes that
they will be paid more than the standard of 1 denarius per day. Even though the customary wage rate is 1
denarius per day, the first group assumes that they will be paid more because
they have labored all day long and the owner is already giving 1 denarius to those
who worked for just one hour.
When the first group complains to
the owner, he reminds them that they had eagerly agreed to work all day in the
vineyard for 1 denarius. Then, he
says: “‘Take what belongs to you and go;
I choose to give to this last [group] the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with
what belongs to me? Or are you envious
because I am generous?’”
Now, here’s where I struggle with
this passage: I agree with the first
group of workers who labored all day under the hot sun. Even though the customary wage-rate is 1
denarius, it seems unfair that the early bird workers get paid the same amount
as latter groups of workers who did not work for nearly as long. This violates the fundamental principle of
justice as fairness which states that we should always treat equals,
equally. For instance, we do not believe
it is fair to pay a man a higher salary than a woman, just because he happens
to be male. There should be equal pay
for equal work, but in the parable the level of work is not equal. So, it is not just or fair that those who
worked 12 hours in the vineyard get the same wage as those who worked for only
1 hour.
Biblical scholars suggest that Jesus
probably told this parable as a means for explaining and justifying his
willingness to accept tax collectors, prostitutes, and others who were outsiders
in the Jewish culture at the time. So,
the point of Jesus’ parable was not to offer commentary on economic justice, as
important as that topic is. Rather,
Jesus intends for us to hear his parable a pointing to a greater and deeper
spiritual truth.
The key to interpreting this parable
lies in the way Jesus concludes his telling of the story. Jesus concludes by observing: “So the last will be first, and the first
will be last.” Writing in The New Interpreter’s Bible, C. Eugene
Boring observes, “The ‘first’ and ‘last’ in Matthew’s view both refer to
insiders [in the Church], to Christians who have worked long and faithfully,
and latecomers who have not.”[i] In the parable, our relationship with God is
based upon God’s generous, overflowing grace.
Our relationship is not based upon longevity or how hard we have labored
to help build God’s Kingdom here on Earth.
For many Christians, this is a
difficult message to hear. In my case, I
was born and nurtured in the Church. I
have been a Christian all of my life—and an ordained pastor for over 30 years. I clearly see myself as an “early bird”
worker in the vineyard. It’s just human
nature to believe that I am entitled to some status and special treatment
because “I have earned it.” Yet, that’s
not the way God thinks. God’s grace
extends to everyone and all of us are specially loved by God. We do not earn God’s grace and love so much
as we simply receive it.
This is a difficult truth for me to
accept, as well as many others, who have been a faithful part of a certain
congregation for a long time. Slowly,
subtly, we drift from seeing it as “Jesus’ church” to thinking of it as “our
church.” We find our niche and become very
comfortable.
In vital, growing congregations, this can create unique challenges and
difficulties. As new persons become
members of our community of faith, they bring new perspectives and new ways of
doing things. In short, they have new
ideas. Sometimes, we may need to step
aside from positions of responsibility and power in order to make room for these
newcomers who have new ideas. We catch
ourselves saying, “But, we’ve never done it like that before.”
Jesus’ parable of the workers in the vineyard is intended for those of
us who have been long-standing “pillars” of our congregations. This parable reminds us that the church does
not belong to us, but rather to God. It
tells us that sometimes the most faithful response is to try something new and different
or to step aside from a position which we have served in forever.
As someone who would be one of the
first laborers in the vineyard, this is a difficult parable to accept. In my struggles, I have found “The Covenant
Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition” to be a source of solace and perspective:
“I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Thou art mine, and I am thine.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.[ii]
Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.
No comments:
Post a Comment