Posts
"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' So they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?' They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.' He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.' So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.' And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.' But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?' So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen."
- Matthew 20:1-16
Yesterday, we read that after Jesus had encountered a rich young man who inquired after eternal life, He taught the disciples: "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Then Peter answered and said to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?" So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first."
"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' So they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?' They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.' He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.' So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.' And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.' But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?' So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen." Of today's parable, my study bible explains that the vineyard is life in this world. "The day refers both to the span of a single person's life and the whole of human history. The laborers are all the people in every nation. Each hour can refer to times in a person's life, whether infancy, youth, adulthood, maturity, or old age. It also has a second meaning in the span of history, referring to those called during the covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and finally Christ. God's generosity provides equal reward for both early and late comers. Jesus teaches that the former should not be proud of their long service nor resent those called at the eleventh hour. To the latecomers, He teaches that it is possible even in a short time or at the end of one's life to recover and inherit everything. In the early Church, this message applied specifically to the Jews (the first-called) and the Gentiles (those called later). In our day, it can be applied to those raised in the Church and to those who find the Church later in life, both of whom receive an equal reward. St. John Chrysostom's renowned paschal sermon [see Paschal Homily] is based on this parable, applying it to the preparations of each person in approaching the paschal Eucharist."
Let us consider what it means that the last will be first, and the first last. In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave the same statement, but in an alternate way: "Many who are first will be last, and the last first." As my study bible points out, there are many ways in which these teachings apply to the Church and to the spiritual life. Perhaps for every age, or even for every new issue, these words apply in an appropriate way. One thing is certain, they invite us into a place where time doesn't apply in the usual ways that we think of it. Neither does measurement, in some sense. All these laborers are promised the same reward. In that sense, the teaching here is of a kind of great leveling, that really undoes the notion of superiority of background, even what labor has been done before. In the end, the outcome is the same. But Jesus adds another saying, something else He's teaching. He says, "Many are called, but few chosen." We can ponder over what this means, as well. But I think there's a greater depth involved in this statement than meets the eye, or is even suggested by the statement that the last will be first and the first last. It gives us an idea that the landowner is the true judge. Ultimately, what is given as reward for labor is up to him, and him alone. He gives a sharp rebuke to the earlier laborers who felt they should receive more. He affirms his own goodness when he asks, "Is your eye evil because I am good?" (The evil eye, as a traditional concept found all over the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries, is a symbol for a kind of envy or jealousy of what is somehow good.) Ultimately, it is the choice of the landowner that counts. It is his discernment, his reward. And in this we have an equal preciousness of each of those who are chosen, the ones whom the landowner truly finds worthy of his largesse, his reward. Humility has to extend to each reward, to the equality of all places in the kingdom, to the concept of what service is and means. It's a way of saying that it's our dedication that really counts, our commitment to do what it takes, our joy to be chosen. God does not think like we think. God's ways are not our ways. (See Isaiah 55:8.) Let us remember we are those who are called. But it is up to Someone Else to choose.
