Dear St. Paul’s Friends and Family,
“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
(Matthew 20:16)
Jesus’ parable of the laborers in the vineyard is likely one of his most controversial parables for our own time. He told his disciples about a landowner who hired laborers to work in his vineyard. The landowner went to the town square to hire workers five times, at daybreak, 9am, noon, 3pm, and 5pm. He promised the first group he hired a day’s wage (one denarii) and to the others he’d pay them “what is right.” The twist in the parable was that when it was time to pay the workers, the landowner paid the ones who were hired last first and he paid all the laborers a full day’s wage. When the laborers who were hired first raised their voice in protest of this unexpected equalization, the landowner rebuked them for being jealous and reaffirmed his prerogative to do what he chose with his money. The master of the vineyard had remained true to his agreement to pay the day-long workers what was agreed upon while also paying the others what he saw as right.
You really can’t blame those who labored all day for being upset. Fair pay for fair work has been instilled in many of us. However, if you put yourselves in the sandals of the workers who were hired at the end of the day, this unexpected display of generosity is quite a gift. I have often wondered what the laborers who were hired at the end of the day were like as opposed to their earlier hired peers. The vineyard owner asks them, “Why have you been standing here idle all day?” Their response was that no one had hired them. Why hadn’t they been hired earlier? Were some of them elderly or children, crippled or disabled, or maybe just unwanted or undesirable?
Jesus told parables to get us to think about the Kingdom of God. This parable gives us a lot to think about. God’s economics are not the world’s economics, nor is God’s currency dollars and cents. The vineyard is not just a vineyard any more than the town’s marketplace is just a place for commerce. The location is the Kingdom of God, and the currency is God’s provision: love, grace, healing, and inclusion in God’s community. The laborers aren’t simply workers hired to do a job for pay, but rather, God’s beloved who are sheltered from the dehumanizing forces of exploitation and death. They become a new creation within the Body of Christ.
This parable teaches us that it’s God’s will and desire to include as many people as possible in Christ’s wholeness-making, live-giving work. The benefits of Christ’s abundant life are for everyone regardless of one’s faith, ability, or position in life. In God’s house we are measured by our need for love and healing, not for what we can do for God or if we can prove we are sufficiently faithful.
We are participants in the Body of Christ. Just as we receive Christ’s gifts, we are invited to share his love, compassion, and acceptance with others. May the Holy Spirit guide you and me as we labor together in God’s vineyard.
Blessings for your journey,
Pastor Matt