NL 132: Laborers in the Vineyard
image: “Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard” by Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich (1712–1774) (Wikimedia)
Matthew 20:1-16
Initial Thoughts
CEB - ”denarion” - “daily wage”
Warren Carter explains that this is a minimum wage - just enough to subsist for another day.
Previous it the young rich ruler who Jesus tells must sell all of his possessions. This is followed by the “camel through the eye of a needle,” saying. Chapter 19’s last line is “But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
Immediately following this parable is another prediction of his death and the mother of the sons of Zebedee asks Jesus if her sons could sit on his right and on his left.
Bible Study
Is this the right title? Amy-Jill Levine, Short Stories By Jesus, p.215-216
Not necessarily an allegory (The vineyard is Israel and the landowner is God) which threatens to take us out of the world, but a story about what the kingdom looks like in terms of real economics
The story is just as much about the marketplace and managers as it is about working in the vineyard.
“Might we rather see the parable about real workers in a real marketplace and real landowners who hire those workers? The vineyard can still be “Israel”, the ideal community that God intended and that Jesus attempted to call into being…To those who ask ‘Are you saved?’ Jesus might well respond, ‘The better questions is, ‘Do your children have enough to eat?’ or’ Do you have shelter for the night?’” pp.215-216
Are we truly committed to making sure everyone has “enough” - the absurdity of the phrase “to earn a living”. What is the true living wage in your county? https://livingwage.mit.edu/
This story is bookended by repeated “The first will be last and the last will be first.”
The parable expounds on this theme, which is a foundation to the Kingdom of Heaven.
The disciples would be thinking of themselves as “first,” because they’ve been in on this from the beginning.
They are “ground floor” disciples, so expect a reward.
Ground floor investors get better dividends, reap higher rewards
Rookie cards value is higher
Fans of bands consider themselves “better” fans if they knew them when they were playing in small bars instead of huge arenas
“Bandwagon” fans are the worst kind in sports.
Jesus declares - “There are no bandwagon fans in the Kingdom of Heaven.” there is no reward for being on the ‘ground floor.’
Important message to the Matthew Community in particular, which is presumably largely Jewish, and might have considered themselves among the “first,” amidst a growing church of newcomers.
Fairness is a concept learned from a very early age.
Fairness has little to do with the Kingdom of Heaven
Fairness and Grace are not mutually exclusive - there simply is no relationship at all.
Great story to share with youth. Challenges moral assurances. Challenges sense of fair. Challenges “the way things ought to be.”
Challenging the way things ought to be a is vital part of Jesus’ understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Mature faith calls us to move beyond fairness and into grace.
“The parable's focus falls on how the two groups of laborers regard each other. The last paid are not pleased. Their energy and work have been slighted and dishonored. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” Their grumbling evokes that of the Israelites against God after liberation from slavery (same verb; Exod 17:3)...Instead of reinforcing the superiority of some at the expense of the rest (cf. ch. 19; 20:20-28), he has evened out the distinctions and treated them in solidarity as equals. Instead of using wages to reinforce distinctions, he uses them to express equality and solidarity. That this householder, with great wealth, should enact this egalitarian gesture is surprising, especially when he is blind to greater equalizing actions that he might perform (cf. 19:21)!” Carter, Warren. Matthew and the Margins: A Sociopolitical and Religious Reading (Bible and Liberation) (pp. 397-398). Orbis Books. Kindle Edition.
My salvation is not dependent upon yours.
The Kingdom is not a zero-sum proposition. My reward/relationship with God is not affected by yours.
Reward from God is not about wages. It is not a scarcity-based economic exchange. Reward from God is peace, grace, love. These things are not affected by outside forces, or laws of supply and demand.
Immature faith delights in misery of others. Even if they don’t say it like that, it comes out in ideas and concepts such as “They’ll meet their maker someday,” “They’ll get what’s coming to them,” or “Karma will catch up with them.” And while there is an element of “you reap what you sow that is in the gospel,” the overwhelming message of the gospel is that we don’t get what we deserve.
Jesus poses two questions:
“Don't I have the right to do what I want with what belongs to me?”
“Are you resentful because I'm generous?'
The answer to both is “Yes.”
An honest look at this story makes us see ourselves more clearly.
“The question leaves open the workers' and audience's response, while it solicits their/our agreement. The parable challenges audiences of disciples to embrace this alternative egalitarian lifestyle and to view social structures and interactions from that perspective which is fundamental to God's empire. That reign challenges hierarchical and patriarchal structures.” (Carter, Warren. Matthew and the Margins: A Sociopolitical and Religious Reading (Bible and Liberation) (p. 398). Orbis Books. Kindle Edition.)
Thoughts and Questions
An honest look at this passage challenges the way we understand the world. We see the unfairness of the story, and our natural reaction is to wonder what kind of Kingdom this is. An honest look at our own jealousy and sense of unfairness reveals the way that we see others who are on the “outside,” and reveals to us the way we may treat “bandwagon jumpers.” Instead of worrying what others are getting, and worldly concepts of fairness, we must see the reward we already have. Instead of worrying about the unfairness of a God that blesses all, we should rejoice with those that come to join the work, even if they are late arriving.
Seeing the world through the lens of the Kingdom changes everything. The Kingdom of Heaven is a new way of looking at the world. Kingdom evangelism is not about getting people to avoid their punishment, it is about celebrating a bigger party.
How does this affect the way we think of church membership? How many in our churches feel entitled to influence, time, resources, because they have been “members since…” We complain about phone services that offer great things to new customers at the expense of those that have been customers forever, but this passage seems to suggest they have it right. One lesson I’ve learned from The Church of the Resurrection is their concept of membership means that people must surrender their privileges. Members give up the good parking spaces. They were asked to give up the back pews in the sanctuary. Give up even the “prime time” worship times at Easter and Christmas.
Opening music: Misirlou, One Man 90 Instruments by Joe Penna/MysteryGuitarMan at MIM
Closing Song by Bryan Odeen