The 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 that they will
be paid 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. 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 vineyard.
The first group, who have been laboring in the hot sun all day long, had assumed
that they will be paid more than the standard 1 denarius per day because
they have labored so long and because the owner has already given 1 denarius to
those who worked for just one hour.
When the first group complains to
the owner that they have received the same pay as those who worked just one
hour, 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. It is unfair that the early bird workers get paid the same amount as
latter groups 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 the same. 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 work is not equal. So, it is not fair that those who worked 12
hours in the vineyard get the exact same wages as those who worked for only 1 hour.
How do we resolve this tension
between the parable and our commonly accepted understanding of distributive
justice?
The key to interpreting this parable
is to see that Jesus is not offering a commentary on economic justice, as
important as that topic is. Rather, this
parable points to a greater and deeper spiritual truth. For Matthew, this parable concerns the
eschaton or end-time. The parable is an
allegory, in which the owner represents God and the “pay” represents God’s
judgment. Matthew intends his Gospel to
be read and studied by members of his local faith community. Thus, the audience is comprised of “insiders”
in the sense that they are all members of Matthew’s church.
In the parable, the final judgment for Christian disciples is based
upon God’s generous and overflowing grace.
By grace, we mean God’s support and help as we strive to connect with
the Divine. The point of this parable is
that we do not earn forgiveness and reconciliation with God. Instead, forgiveness and reconciliation are a
free gift, given through God’s grace. In
the parable, all of the workers receive the same wage of 1 denarius because
this compensation represents God’s forgiveness and reconciliation. Our relationship is not based upon longevity
or how hard we have labored to help build God’s Kingdom here on Earth. We do not earn our salvation, even though as
followers of Christ we are expected to join joyfully in the work of
building God’s Reign on Earth.
Jesus concludes by observing:
“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” 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. The members of Matthew’s church,
reading his Gospel for the first time, would probably have also interpreted the “first”
as referring to the original Jewish Christians, while interpreting the “last”
as the more recent Gentile converts to Christianity.
So, historically, this has been a difficult parable for many
Christians. 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 “Christ’s 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 contains what may be a challenging message to 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 take a risk—to try
something new and different.
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.[i]
Come, join us at Christ Church this
Sunday, August 30th, as we struggle with the “Parable of the Workers in the
Vineyard” and what it says to 21st century congregations striving to be
faithful to God. Christ United Methodist
Church is located at 4530 A Street in Lincoln, Nebraska. Our classic worship services are at 8:30 and
11:00 on Sunday mornings.
Everyone is welcome and accepted because
God loves us all.
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