GOP Gospel: The Labourers

[tealin]

Day 31 of my Lent project. For background, please read this.

A reading from the Gospel according to the GOP:

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the labourers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the market-place; and he said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o'clock, he did the same. And about five o'clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, 'Why are you standing here idle all day?' They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard.' When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the labourers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.' When those hired about five o'clock came, each of them received their due proportion of the wage according to the proportion of the day they had worked, and so on with the other labourers, until the ones who had worked all day got the full agreed usual daily wage. For so it is with God, who will apportion to each the reward they are due for the work they put in, so as to encourage industry and faithfulness and discourage sloth. For indeed, why should someone who worked one hour get the same reward as one who has borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat? Those who work hard will rise to the top, and those who do not will fall; this is the Lord's justice."

Matthew 20:1-16

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the labourers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the market-place; and he said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o'clock, he did the same. And about five o'clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, 'Why are you standing here idle all day?' They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard.' When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the labourers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.' When those hired about five o'clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying '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.' But he replied to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?' So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

Comments

YUP. THIS ONE.

[brainwane]

John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats was once asked for his favorite parable and he named the Labourers in the Vineyard. That got me to look it up, because I think I hadn't heard of it before -- I grew up in the US and reading/watching/etc. English-language media, so of course I learned a lot of Christian parables along the way, but I think not this one. Like the discussion of the wheat and the weeds, it's one I find more sticky, one that needs more grappling. And when I talk with friends about the laborers in the vineyard they so often think about it from a framing of labor justice, of unions and unfair pay, and it's not about that...

I talked about this with a theologian who mentioned that this, like the Prodigal Son, is an instance of the Bible suggesting that -- when we have a chance -- we should choose to act in love even if that is counter to some notion of "deserving" and some understandings of justice.

And that's a difficult thing to reckon.