He went out again, at about nine in the morning, and, seeing others idle in the town square, he said
to them, ‘You also, go to my vineyard, and I will pay you what is just.’ So they went.
The owner went out at midday, and, again, at three in the afternoon, and he made the same offer.
Again he went out, at the last working hour—the eleventh—and he saw others standing around.
So he said to them, ‘Why do you stand idle the whole day?’ They answered, ‘Because no one has
hired us.’ The master said, ‘Go, and work in my vineyard.’
When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them
their wage, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’ Those who had gone to work at the
eleventh hour came up, and were each given a silver coin. When it was the turn of the first, they
thought they would receive more. But they, too, received one silver coin. On receiving it, they began
to grumble against the landowner.
They said, ‘These last, hardly worked an hour; yet, you have treated them the same as us, who have
endured the heavy work of the day and the heat.’ The owner said to one of them, ‘Friend, I have not
been unjust to you. Did we not agree on one silver coin per day? So, take what is yours and go. I
want to give to the last the same as I give to you. Don’t I have the right to do as I please with what is
mine? Why are you envious when I am kind?’ So will it be: the last will be first, the first will be last.”
Reflection:
This parable does cause heartburn for many who find the act of the landowner unjust. But perhaps
he is teaching us a greater justice. Imagine the scenario: here are some workers waiting to be picked
up for a job in the market place. We go out in the morning to choose some from them. Whom do we
choose? The young, the fit, and the healthy. The old, the sick, and the handicapped are left out.
Hence, when the landowner of the vineyard goes out at the eleventh hour, they are still there,
and he chooses them. Knowing fully well that they have a family to feed and needs to meet, he
pays them generously; and pays them first – for, being old, sick, or handicapped, they might take
longer time to reach home! Those laborers who worked the whole day received exactly what
they had agreed for as well. Jesus leaves us a clue at the beginning as to what to expect in the
Kingdom – a deeper justice anointed with compassion.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2022