Gospel of Matthew, chapter 20:16

Growing up in a rural, farming community have its advantages. When the crop is ready for harvest, the whole family would be out in the field working together. They would not work at the same pace. The father and eldest brother would, most likely, be in the field very early while the younger ones are still asleep. Mom and the younger ones would join Dad and the older brother in the farm later. At the end of the day all would go home together. As supper is prepared and served, no one would suggest that you eat only as much as you have worked? Not at all! No one complains, no one is jealous, and everyone is content.

In today’s parable of the workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) we hear of a harvest in which some workers put in more time than others. When pay time comes, they are all treated equally, but the early birds among them begin to complain and grumble. Why do the workers in this parable complain and grumble whereas the workers in the family farm do not? The answer is clear. The norms of behavior, of contribution and reward, in the family are different from those in the wider society. The question that this parable poses to us in the church today is: Do we see ourselves as family with a common purpose or do we see ourselves as a bunch of individuals, each with his/her own agenda? We call ourselves brothers and sisters, but we often treat one another as rivals and competitors.

The early-bird workers were reprimanded by the landowner because for them, it was all a business affair. The landowner made it clear to them that they would receive a full day’s pay for a full day’s work. The latecomers were less legalistic in their approach. They took the job trusting in the landowner’s word of honor. He said to them: “whatever is right I will give you.” So they went (Matthew 20:4). In fact, those employed in the sixth, ninth and eleventh hours were told nothing whatsoever about payment. He said to them, “Why do you stand here idle all day?” They said to him, “Because no one had hired us.” He said to them, “You go into the vineyard too” (Matthew 6:7). Everything was based on trust. The Johnny-come-lately workers possessed a family spirit; and they were grateful for the master’s generosity. The early-birds were ungrateful even though they were paid what had been agreed to.

This parable was addressed by Matthew to his fellow, Jewish Christians. God called them a long time ago to build the kingdom of God. Now, at an apparently late hour, God was calling the Gentiles also to work with them in building up the same kingdom. The early-bird Jewish Christians saw themselves as superior to the Johnny-come-lately Gentiles because they had “borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat” (Matthew 12). The problem with Mathew’s Jewish audience was their difficulty in appreciating that God’s kingdom is for all peoples; Jews and Gentiles alike.

The kingdom of God is a family affair more than a society affair. A society is characterized by rivalry and survival of the fittest. A family, on the other hand, is characterized by a spirit of cooperation rather than competition. In this parable, we are called to reject a legalistic notion of the kingdom of God and see it more as a family of equals where everyone is respected from the lowest to the greatest. The important thing whether we enter into the kingdom early or late, is how we respond to the Lord’s generosity.

This is why Jesus says: “those who are last will be first, and those who are first will be last.”

Fr. Hugh Duffy