Whatever is right I will give you

Grape harvest detail,  mosaic.  Nave of Santa Costanza (4th century), Rome

"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 his encounter with the rich man who desired eternal life (Tuesday's reading),  Jesus said to His 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."   My study bible tells us that in this parable, the vineyard represents life in this world.  The day refers both to the span of a single person's life and to the whole of human history.  The laborers are everybody -- all the people in every nation.  Every hour can refer to the varied times in a person's life -- possibly infancy, youth, adulthood, maturity, or old age.  There is also a second meaning noted in which this references the entire span of history, those called during the covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and finally Christ.  God's generosity, my study bible says, 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, the parable tells us that it is possible even in a short time or at the end of one's life to recover and inherit everything.  My study bible also adds that in the early Church, this message applied specifically to the Jews (who were the first-called) and the Gentiles (those who were called later).  Today, we can apply this to those raised in the Church and those who find the Church later in life, both of whom get an equal reward.  The renowned paschal sermon of St. John Chrysostom is based on this parable, in which he applies the preparations of each person in approaching the midnight paschal Eucharist.

One thing that is striking when one reads this parable is that there is little doubt who is really in charge; that is, who is the boss.  It is the landowner.  He makes the deals, and the laborers agree to the wages, but he has the final say.  To those who come later than the earliest workers, even to those who are called latest, at the eleventh hour, he tells them, "whatever is right I will give you."   When those who began work the earliest complain, the landowner says, "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?"  On this day of Thanksgiving (in the United States, at any rate) it is a good idea to remember who the landowner is, and even to think about what the purposes of work are in our lives.  That is, what do we labor for?  Where does our highest effort go?  Of course we all have natural needs, and this extends to all those who are in our care and whom we care about.  In God's sight, and by the tradition of the Church, all of our community falls into this perspective.  In particular, we also seek to remember those who cannot do for themselves, and so our labor may be for an entire community, even those whom we do not know.  But the parable emphasizes that there is more than one side to this question of labor and payment, and the ultimate distinction rests within the hands of the landowner.  What is our reward?  Is the purpose of this work merely payment, or is there a different story to be heard in the way in which the landowner decides "whatever is right"?  In this story, there is a different sense of justice involved in "what is right" than is conventional or worldly.  The longest laborers do not get more.  This is not about evening up, or weighing on scales, or measuring time.  It's not even about measuring labor.  It is all about those who come into the work, those who show up and participate, who hear the call and who respond.  It is all about coming to the place where we understand who the landowner is, and what is worthy of our labor, where we participate.  We can work our whole lives for the expectations of others, for the "good" of the society, for our own goals and ambitions, for a great deal of possessions, or any number of infinite goals we might choose or find ourselves serving in life.  But ultimately, there is one landowner who gives according to a kind of justice that we don't necessarily see and know.  There is one landowner who knows something about the value of labor that we don't.  There is one landowner who both calls and chooses, and that is the One who has created the world and given us our lives, even our capacity for labor, our talent, our intelligence, and all things are ultimately in God's hands.  There is that heart-to-heart meeting of each laborer with the landowner when the landowner decides to give us "what is right."  This parable applies to everyone who ever lived and who ever will live in this world.  This landowner clearly is "above" time, with a different sense of time than we who dwell in the world understand.  In the parable, he doesn't see the laborers as the laborers see themselves, and neither does he view their labor as they see their labor.  He's got a different point of view about what's fair, and he wants all beings -- no matter how late they come into the project -- to be sure they know they have been called.  There is a kind of unity in the reward that speaks of communion, that teaches us that no matter what individual roles we might play, we are really all in this together.  Whatever our individual life experiences, whatever roles we play, however long it might take us to come to this harvest and our labor and participation in it, there is one reward and it is, in fact, an equal reward.  The only ones left out are those who choose not to respond to the call, for the landowner calls, and calls again, and calls again.  Some of us may have great obstacles to overcome to get there, others may have great labors they need to do, and some may just show up at the last minute.  But we're not supposed to pay attention to what the others need to do, our deal is with the landowner alone.  Let us be grateful to put our hands into this growth and harvest, to know what we are about, and put our trust in the One whom we serve.  For it is not a question of what we get, so much as it is the great endeavor in which we are all called to participate, and for which we may be chosen.  The work continues, the vineyard remains a work in progress, and we may choose to put our hands to the work at any time -- and join in with those who were first.  Let us be grateful for the call to this great work, and humble enough to accept the places chosen for us in it.