Reading
Matthew 20:1-16
20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.
“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Comment
There are many interpretations given to this parable by exegetes throughout history. There are those who consider the workers of the first hour the children of Israel and in the last the pagans to whom the message of salvation was extended. This would agree with the fact that the parable is present only in the Gospel of Matthew, addressed above all to converted Jews. Others have identified the different ages of life in which the gospel is received or the length of service rendered to the Lord. Another interpretation considers the converts "of the first hour" as opposed to those who convert near death, like the good thief on the cross, who is welcomed into paradise on the very day of his conversion.
The placement of the parable makes it seem like an answer to the question asked by Peter after the rich young man left saddened: «We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?" (Mt 19:27). In this case, Jesus' intent would be to dispel the opportunistic spirit of those who serve in his vineyard, the kingdom of God that makes itself present in history.
Far from representing a reward given on the basis of one's own works, the parable of the landlord, apparently unjust, shows the mercy of God at the moment in which he takes into account not the work done but the sincere welcome of the grace, even if done at the last hour. In fact, Paul affirms in his letter to the Romans (quoting Exodus 33:19): "What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion” (Rom 9:14-15).
On the other hand, Jesus did not say that there is more joy in heaven for a sinner who is converted than for ninety-nine righteous who do not need conversion? (Lk 15:7). The envy of the workers of the first hour recalls that of the brother of the prodigal son when the father kills the fatted calf to celebrate his return home.
The incapacity to share God's joy towards those who accept to work in his vineyard, even at sunset, means placing oneself away from communion with his feelings of mercy and not understanding the profound meaning of the gospel. We are not called to serve God with a mercenary spirit, but with gratitude for the meaning he gives to our lives, making them industrious, to cultivate fruits of eternal life.
Prayer
Give us, o Lord, feelings of gratitude for having called us to participate in your plan of salvation and the ability to rejoice with you for your mercy towards those who are converted to the gospel of grace. Amen.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
