In its method and aim, the parable of the workers in the vineyard, which we hear today, is a particularly good example of Jesus’ teaching. The method is a popular one: the parable tells a simple story; it shows ordinary people in everyday situations; it appeals to common experience. Being thus constructed, the narrative incites the hearers to take sides, to adopt the position of such and such a person, of such and such a group of protagonists; in a word, to verbalise their spontaneous reactions to the circumstances described. Such reactions cause Jesus to react in his turn. He then says: “You think so. Well you are in error.” All see themselves directly and concretely affected by the teaching of the parable. This is why, even when we know a parable by heart, even if we have heard it a hundred times, it does not stop prompting questions in us. Finally, the parables show that Jesus knew how to announce the good news of salvation without seeking to systematically offend his hearers, without in the least watering down the demands of the Gospel, and without showing any demagogic or even apologetic concern. There is a lesson here for the Church in its preaching, as well as for all Christians called to witness to the Gospel and to preach it by their lives. We must, therefore, attentively reread the parable of the workers in the vineyard.
The first part—the hiring of workers at dawn, around nine, noon, and five—could be read as a simple preamble necessary to introduce the scene in which every group of workers receives payment for the hours worked. Indeed, the master’s behaviour is the focus of the parable and contains its particular teaching. Jesus lingers a little on this hiring scene in order to arouse the hearer’s curiosity and attention concerning what is going to happen in the evening when salaries are allotted. There is no reason to dwell on all the details in order to find in them an allegorical meaning. Certain father’s of the Church have done so, interpreting the various times of hiring as successive phrases of the history of salvation, the last one being our own era. Preacher’s, for their part have often utilised the different hiring hours to exhort latecomers to go and work in the vineyard: “It’s never too late. The last hired workers are also welcome.” It is possible to thus illustrate the appeal, “Oh, that today you would listen his voice: harden not your hearts……” But the parable does not centre on this moral exhortation, important as it is.
On the other hand, it is certainly not by chance that the parable speaks of workers sent to work in the vineyard. The image is a traditional one in the Old Testament and New, to designate God’s people. That it is used here emphatically shows that we are dealing with a parable of the kingdom of heaven.
We shall especially remember from this first part of the parable that this master, who goes out at any time to hire workers, behaves much like the Shepherd who seeks the lost sheep. God does not want that any of these little ones, for whom Christ came, be lost without employment in the kingdom.
The way in which the master orders the payment of the workers’ salaries is surprising, even shocking. Who would dare to begin with the last and finish with the first. The latter, seeing that each of their companions receives a silver coin—the agreed upon sum for a whole days work— could they not only expect to get at least four times that amount. But no. The master demands that they be given one silver coin, in spite of having borne the day’s burden and the heat. “It’s not fair. It’s even downright scandalous.”
Certainly—we know it— Jesus does not give here a lesson in justice or social equity. He intends to drive home what the kingdom of heaven is like. This, however, is not sufficient to make us accept as evident the teaching of the parable. Other and graver questions arise precisely because we are speaking about the kingdom of heaven. Would God make light of the requirements of justice and a payment of a just salary that he himself enjoined upon human beings when he gave them his Law? On the day of judgement, is he going to exercise a regal power based on his arbitrary good pleasure? The words put in the landowner’s mouth answer these questions or rather show that they are not germane.
By giving to the workers the salary agreed upon, the master in no way wrongs the workers of the first hour. In any case, they do not dispute this. But they grumble because those who came last are given as much as they are; and, this is what the master reproaches them with, curtly reminding them that they receive their due. They are envious because the master is generous. Those workers at dawn were hired because the master is good. Through kindness, he offered them a silver coin for their salary. Therefore, they should not only be grateful to him, but also rejoice that others were called later and now receive the same pay. The parable of the workers in the vineyard is to be seen in the same perspective as that of the prodigal son and his older brother. In both cases, Jesus condemns the complaints of those who do not accept God’s goodness. There is no room in the kingdom for the pursuit of a higher salary, for what we receive comes from God’s liberality and not from our own merit. Through grace, we are given a share of his goods. If we do not see in this light the salary and God’s service—the work in the vineyard—we go astray, failing to understand—and worse, to accept—that our relationship with God is one of love. “Everything I have is yours,” says God to us. How can we not be overwhelmed by such generosity? How can we not rejoice when others also benefit by it?“Love is not jealous, [it] is not pompous, it is not inflated.”
The sentence that concludes the parable in the lectionary—“Thus the last shall be first and the first will be last”—does not restrict its meaning to merely a teaching on the order in which God will render their dues to each one. To understand this word of Jesus, we must begin by discarding the meaning it has in ordinary life when it is cited as a proverb. It was necessary that the workers hired last be paid first; otherwise, the others would not have known their master’s generosity— that the master gave the latecomers the same salary as theirs, that which was agreed upon for one day’s work. In the opposite case, the narrative would probably have mentioned, instead of the grumbling of those who saw themselves as unjustly dealt with, the latecomers’ joy and astonishment. But this is not what Jesus wanted to speak of. Jesus’ intention was certainly not to emphasise only—and rather uselessly —a secondary theme of the parable.
It would also be too skimpy and too simplistic to say that when payday comes, we who have arrived at the last hour shall go ahead of the others. Matthew is not bent on encouraging proud self-satisfaction among Christians. Throughout his whole Gospel, he appears, on the contrary, intent on vigorously warning them against such a fault.
God is just; he will not fail to give all workers what he promised them. In the parable, those hired last are paid first. This is certainly not meant as a reward for those ones and a slight on the others. The point that must hold the hearers’ attention is the piece of good luck that befalls the workers hired at days end. The master does not discuss salary with them; nevertheless, they go to work in the vineyard, relying on the masters judgement and generosity, not worrying about the amount that they will receive. In this, they are the models of God’s servants who boast of nothing, they have done only their duty. They are first.
It’s not that the others feel penalised. They have had the good fortune to be hired at dawn. It is the master who mentions the wage and indicates its amount. He has nothing to reproach them with. But their behaviour at pay time marks them as servants who are jealous of their companions and murmur because God, the master of the vineyard, is good. Those who resemble them will be last, even though they will have borne the day’s burden and heat.
The final saying does not explain any teaching in the parable that we can be sure of. It is a general statement and concerns us all. We are God’s servants—a good thing. But what kind of servants?
In spite of similarities in vocabulary, the service of God and the salary he promises and gives have no equivalents among human beings. When he hires workers for his vineyard, he bestows a grace on them. When he pays them, not only does he exceed their deserts, but he grants what no labour could ever deserve.“I do not refuse work in your service”; this is what true servants of God say, even when they legitimately long to enjoy rest at last. To answer God’s call, to remain available for what he wishes is their joy and their reward.
God is good and generous and all his gifts are grace, there is no room in the Christian community for jealousy or laying claim to any privileges, as if they were deserved. Has God, not the right to do what he likes with his own. My brothers and sisters:
“Why be envious because I am generous……Everything that I have is yours!”
