Twenty-fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (A) [Mt 20:1-16]
24.09.2023
The Parable of Labourers in the Vineyard
1. Theme in brief
God’s generosity goes beyond justice
2. Focus Statement
God’s generosity, goodness and mercy towards us
are unmeritorious; they go beyond strict justice and what we actually deserve.
3. Explanation of the text
In the Parable of Labourers in the Vineyard, Jesus emphasizes that our vocation as well as salvation are gratuitous or free gifts from God, and have nothing to do with our merits. He sharply focuses on the generosity and goodness of God, or his gracious love for those who may not deserve it but are in need of it. In other words, God’s goodness and mercy towards us are unmeritorious. They not only go beyond what we deserve, but also beyond justice.
Originally, Jesus might have told this parable in answer to the following objection raised by the scribes and Pharisees: Instead of associating only with the respectable people in Jewish society he mixed freely with sinners and outcasts. In this parable Jesus compares the first-comers for work in the vineyard with the former and the late-comers with the latter. But Matthew applies this parable to mean Jewish Christians in his Church as first-comers and Gentile Christians as late-comers. Rightly projecting the mind of Jesus, Matthew wants to make it clear that those Christians who got converted from the chosen race (Israel) had no reason to feel superior to gentile or pagan converts; both had the same and equal status in the Church.
Just like the employer of this parable who gives equal wages to those who work for the whole day and those who come at the eleventh hour (one hour before closing) out of his generosity and compassion for the unemployed (20:8-9), God too does the same through his Son (Jesus). He gives tax-collectors and prostitutes who repent and get converted equal rank with the righteous in his Kingdom. This extraordinary generosity of the employer is emphasized very much by insisting that he goes in search of labourers at five different hours of the day: first early in the morning, then at 9 o’clock, at noontime, at 3 o’clock in the afternoon and at five o’clock in the evening – called the eleventh hour as per Jewish timing (20:1-6).
This employer’s arbitrary
generosity shocks
the early labourers, and the manner of his payment looks unusual. Nobody pays
full wages to the eleventh-hour workers in the presence of early comers. In fact
his conduct goes against all fair dealing. The employer holds on to his
principle that he has done no injustice to the early labourers. Though some
commentators have noted that those who are standing idle in the marketplace are
lazy, it seems their idleness is not because of their laziness, but
because nobody has employed them (20:7). In fact, he has done full justice in
paying the agreed wage to the first-comers (20:13); hence they have no right to
complain.
With them he is just,
whereas with others he is generous. It is up to him if he wants to be more
generous to others. Does he not have the right to do what he chooses to do with
what belongs to him (20:15)? Here he uses the standard of grace to deal with the week, instead
of merit. The point is clear that God’s grace goes beyond human merits.
In Jesus’ days, the
early labourers mentioned in the given parable, who are shown as complainers or
grumblers,
were no other than the scribes and Pharisees who thought that God rewards
strictly according to the merits they gained by meticulous observance of the
Law of Moses. Here they are shown to be resentful at the generosity of the
employer and envious
of the late-comers. They may be thinking, since the late-comers do
not deserve that much pay, it should be taken away from them. The extraordinary
goodness of the employer pricks their eyes. In Greek language Matthew puts it
this way: “Is your eye evil because I am good” (20:15)? The NSRV
version of the Bible puts it this way: “Are you envious because I am generous?”
Instead of rejoicing
at the fortunes of others, they become so envious.
4. Application to life
The details of today’s Parable of Labourers in the Vineyard are not meant for literal imitation in labour relations, business and administration of institutions. That would be absurd. Nobody hires labourers to work in one’s field or garden one hour before the working hours end, or gives first class certificate to failed students or those who come last in sports events. First of all, this parable invites us to reflect deeply on God’s generosity towards the undeserving. Here Jesus presents before us the picture of a God who loves not only the so-called respectable and pious people, but also late-comers, back-benchers, the undeserving, the underdogs, the unloved and the uncared for. He is a God whose mercy or compassion goes beyond human merits.
God is so generous that he goes after those who are left out or those who are not in the main stream, and not doing any useful work for the society (i.e. “standing idle in the marketplace”). When we reflect on our own call to Christian discipleship, or married state, or to religious life/priesthood, we realize that it is an act of God’s benevolence and mercy. Did we deserve to be called? Or let us think of all the things, gifts and blessings which we consider very personal. Do we deserve them? Are they not from God’s free bounty? When we work for God’s Kingdom, we should not always hanker for rewards. As God’s children, if we want to imitate of a little bit of God’s own generosity, there must be some moments in our life when we work for God’s Kingdom out of our generosity without seeking for any reward. But as humans, we expect rewards not only in terms of money, but also in terms of applause, appreciation, promotion and gifts. When these things do not come, we react in words and by withdrawing from that work.
God is still going to marketplaces continually inviting those who are too selfish to use their time and energies for the service of society, or those who do nothing even if they see so much suffering and so many needs in front of them, and those who do not make use of the opportunities available to them. He tells them: ‘‘You also go into the vineyard” (20:4, 7). Today, God uses the same words to the lay people in the Church to ensure their participation or involvement in the mission of Christ through their parish programs and activities, instead of leaving this mission as a monopoly of the clergy and the religious. But the question is whether our parishioners are willing to sacrifice their time and energy for the mission of the Church which is also the misssion of a parish? This parable has a message for the Religious and pastors of the Church also: “Do you actively promote participation and empowerment of the laity in the Church? Do you go to ‘marketplaces’ and tell them, ‘Why are you sitting idle? You also come and work in the Lord’s vineyard.”
We must recognize the fact that just as God is generous with us, he is generous with others too. As we are happy with his generosity with us, we should be happy when he is generous with others too. Then where is the room for becoming envious? Instead of becoming envious of others’ gifts, talents, blessings, goodness and possessions we should imitate God’s generosity towards others and glorify God for their gifts. In other words, we are invited to rejoice over God’s mercy towards the undeserving, instead of becoming envious of it. Only when we do this, envy and greed will go away. If they do not go, real peace will not come on earth.
This parable reminds us that God gives equal reward to the ‘old’ Christians and the ‘new’ Christians, to life-long virtuous people and life-long sinners who repent just at death-bed. Instead of becoming envious of God’s generosity, this parable invites us to imitate it. Actually, the early labourers were not complaining about the amount of money paid to them because they had agreed to work for that amount only (20:2); instead about the same amount paid to late-comers. Envious people think like this: “Not only what others possess should be ours, but also others should not possess at all what they have.” Therefore they want to take away what others have, and if that is not possible, they want to spoil or destroy it, especially by spreading rumours and gossiping about them.
Actually envy goes beyond hatred for one’s opponents. When we hate others we try to destroy what we find as evil in them; but when we are envious, we destroy what is good in others precisely because it pricks in our eyes. This is exactly what the employer says in this parable: “Are you envious because I am generous” (20:15)? That means we wish that God should be so generous that he should be very considerate to our weaknesses, failures and defects only and not of others. When envy reaches its heights, people perpetually compare what others have with what they do not – a big bungalow, latest brand of motor vehicle and cell phone, fancy garments, high level friends, higher posts, better payment, etc. They themselves do not lift a finger to render a service to the society or the Church, but are envious of those who do a good service. Envy might dictate its terms to the clergy and the religious also. It might prompt them to grumble like this: “Unworthy and unqualified people are given so high posts in the Church (diocese) or religious congregation (Province), and I, though better qualified and deserving, am not considered or sidetracked.” Probably what they want is to sit on somebody else’s chair or seat, which they think should have been theirs.
Further, this parable
teaches us that justice
alone, though an important requirement to be a citizen of the
society of God’s love (that is, the
5. Response to God's Word
In imitation of a little bit of God’s own generosity, do we sometimes render services out of our generosity even if we are not rewarded for it in terms of applause, appreciation, pr25tomotion, money or gifts? How do we respond to God’s call: ‘‘You also go into my vineyard?” Are we envious of others’ gifts, talents, blessings and possessions? Do we engage in spreading rumours and gossiping against those whom we envy? Do we hanker for a special treatment and expect a ‘most favoured’ status in the Church or our community because of our position or contributions? Do we present ourselves before others as regular grumblers and complainers about the better privileges and positions of others?
6. A prayer
We praise you Lord for your generosity towards the undeserving. Your mercy or compassion goes beyond human merits. You are so generous that you go after those who are left out and are not in the main stream of life. Grant that we may imitate your infinite generosity by serving occasionally without seeking for any reward and overcome with your grace our feelings of envy about the goodness or fortunes of others. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment