(Edited for September 20, 2026) Sunday reflections: (From) Years 2014 (A), 2015 (B), and 2016 (C)
September 21, 2014
Liturgical readings
Isaiah 55:6-9
Psalm 145
Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a
Matthew 20:1-16
"You go to the vineyard too."
The passage in Matthew 20 is another parable taught by Jesus: the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard. It shows how the Reign of God is like the owner of a vineyard, who hires laborers at different hours of a day. The owner went out to hire: early in the a.m., at 9:00 a.m., 12:00 noon, 3:00 p.m., and at 5:00 p.m. What is surprising about this vineyard-owner is that he continued to hire even up to the last hour of the day - at 5pm.
When work day ended, the owner of the vineyard commanded his steward to call everyone and pay each group of laborers - beginning with the last group who worked only one hour and then ending with the first group who worked early. Those who worked only 1 hour were paid a day's wage, but those who worked since the early a.m. also received a day's wage. The first group naturally complained. But the vineyard-owner explained to them, that they (the first group) had agreed to receive a day's wage. Could this vineyard-owner's business involve more than just the number of work hours? Was he emphasizing his business as more important than the laborers sense of justice?
In the parable of Jesus, that vineyard owner represented God and His ways of repaying those who respond to His call. The parable shows the nature of God's "business" as different from the human understanding of labor, hours worked, and wages. God's "business" in that parable revealed a justice that is not based on mere labor and hours worked. It is a "business" that emphasizes His judgment as the basis for His repaying the laborers. It challenges our modern economic systems to think also in terms of a God who is generous to laborers and whose judgment is based on His divine point of view. But how can we understand this "divine point of view"?
In our very secularized world of business, we can think of corporate values such as social responsibility and laws that defend the rights of all stakeholders in any enterprise. This is understood in the field of business law and ethics. But the parable in Matthew's gospel calls our attention not to what is unjust in the dealing of the vineyard-owner to the first group laborers, but to what the vineyard-owner values most: his generosity and how he exercises it with his money. Could Jesus be revealing to those who hear this parable a God whose omnipotence and omniscience in "His business" is not for us to question? Perhaps.
But this parable also suggests a God who gives importance to His judgment based on "ownership" and His generous character. It reveals a God who can surprise us with ways we do not understand because of our common but limited human knowledge and systems of dealing in the world.
The truth Jesus wants to reveal is also the truth many classic spiritual writers and theologians have always written about who our God is: Yes, He is as close to us as Jesus was to His apostles, but He still remains to be a mystery. His ways are beyond all worldly standards. It is only by the gift of faith and common reason that we learn who He is for us personally, and how He is generous to us at times when we need His generosity the most.
Scripture quote:
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts." (Isaiah 55)
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