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“It’s not fair!” I would shout at the landowner.
Besides not being fair—it just did not make any sense.
It just wasn’t right, paying people the exact same wage
when others worked less. Of course the persons who
worked all day should receive higher pay, it is the
American way. This employer needs to be reported to the
authorities. This isn’t how we do business or treat
employees. You probably have the same reaction as I do
to this gross unfairness—it’s not right!
Jesus told parables that would draw people into the
story. Just when you think you have figured out where
Jesus is going—he throws in a new twist that causes you
to rethink your position.
It’s harvest time, in today’s parable. There is an
urgency is gathering the grapes before they became over
ripe. Vineyard owners would secure additional help to
harvest all the grapes in one day. Farmers today will
hire extra help at harvest time. Early one morning the
landowner goes to the town square to hire workers. Sure
enough there are people there waiting to be hired. They
agree to work the full twelve hour day for the standard
daily wage of one silver coin or denarius. Off to the
vineyard they go and begin working immediately. Those
first on the scene were great workers too. A couple of
hours later the landowner realizes that even with those
top-notch workers more help would been needed if the
harvest was to be completed that day. So at nine
o’clock additional workers are hired. The landowner
tells them that he will pay them “whatever is right.”
They too need the work, went to the vineyard and began
working along side those who already had worked three
hours.
At
noon the landowner realizes that the only way to harvest
all the grapes that day would be to hire additional
workers. Back at the town square he finds other would
be workers and hires them. At three o’clock he does the
same and hires additional help. In an act of
desperation the landowner makes a final trip at five
o’clock to hire a few more workers. Nothing is said
about their wages. They were happy to have some work,
some is better than none at all. At least they would
have some income to take home to their families.
With all the extra help the grapes are harvested in one
day. It took much effort and hard work, but they did
it. The manager was instructed to line up the workers,
beginning with those just hired at five o’clock and
ending with those who worked all day. Those hired at
five o’clock, who worked only one hour were paid one
silver coin. Not bad for one hours work. In fact all
the workers received the same pay—one silver coin—for
one day’s work. This is when the trouble began—those who
worked all day in the hot sun, who barely took any
breaks all day thought they should receive more. It was
only right—they worked longer and might I say harder
than all the others. However, they too received one
silver coin.
Those who worked all day began grumbling, “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.” They said in disbelief, it was not fair! Had
they known they would have reported to work later in the
day and slept in. The landowner is surprised by their
reaction; after all he reminds them that they did in
fact agree to work a full day for the “usual daily
wage.” He did not trick them but was honest with them
from the beginning. Before sending them home he asks,
“Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs
to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” The
workers who worked all day long left shaking their heads
in disbelief. This was no way to run a business. They
might have vowed to never again work for this
landowner. How might you have reacted in that
situation?
Jesus concludes the parable with these words, “So the
last will be first, and the first will be last.” These
were not very comforting words to those who worked all
day.
This parable intersects with us on two levels. Most of
us have been attending church all of our lives. I’ve
heard people say that they cannot remember a time when
they did not go to church. Many of us have labored in
the church doing one thing or another, engaging
ourselves in one form of ministry or another for a long
time. This parable calls us to reexamine our attitude
toward newcomers in the faith. How do we treat persons
who are new to our church, who are new to the Christian
faith? Do we welcome them with open arms, celebrating
that they are with us or are we resentful toward them?
After all we’ve been part of the church for a long time.
I
think of a woman from a small town church that I
served. Janice was a caring Christian. She was on hand
to welcome us as we moved into the parsonage. She
served the church in a couple of leadership positions.
She shared her experience of coming to faith in Jesus.
She would say that she was a born again Christian.
The older people in that small town remembered Janice as
a rebellious teenager who did some things that no doubt
she later regretted. People in the church were
resentful of Janice and told me more than once about her
many indiscretions as a youth. There were some who
thought she should not hold any leadership positions in
the church because of her past. Even members who never
came to church would pull me aside in public to tell me
some tale of horror. It was sad. Why couldn’t these
people see Janice for who she was? All they saw was a
rebellious teenager of twenty years before.
Unfortunately this story does not end well. With their
resentful, unforgiving attitudes, they managed to drive
Janice and her family out of the church. Janice had put
up with them for too long, she moved away from that
small town to a place where no one would know or care
about her past, where she could continue to faithfully
serve the Lord Jesus. The church lost someone who I
believe could have truly made a difference in that
church. It was truly sad.
The parable of the workers in the vineyard calls us to
reexamine our attitudes toward those who are just coming
to faith. We should celebrate their presence with us
and not hold on to resentments. There are people who
might have different life experiences than we do—but we
are to welcome them in the name of Jesus and not look
down on them.
In the early church there was
tension between those from a Jewish background and those
who were gentiles. In the coming kingdom that Jesus
preached about all those worldly differences no longer
matter. All are one in Christ.
The second point of intersection for us is that the
landowner represents God. The landowner in the parable
is “generous” giving workers more than they expected or
deserved for that matter. God reaches out to all people
with God’s amazing grace. We do not earn our salvation,
but it is freely given to us. “Am I not allowed to do
what I choose with what belongs to me?” the landowner
asks the grumbling workers. Those who were hired first
and worked all day should have been happy for those who
worked less than a full day and still received a full
day’s wage. We in the church should be happy and
welcoming to those who come to Jesus after living in
less than God honoring ways.
Like the landowner, our God is generous, giving us more
than we deserve. God forgives us our sins. God loves
and cares for each and every person and longs for the
day when one person will return to God.
Our faith is built, not upon those of us who are first,
but upon the gracious love of God who reaches out, in
Christ, to the least and the lowest of the last.
Well, I guess I was wrong in claiming unfair treatment!
Instead, I marvel that God’s love is able to touch
lives.
Amen
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