The parable of the owner of the vineyard who goes out to call workers at different times of the day was the inspiration for the introduction of John Paul II's post-synodal exhortation "Christifideles laici". There, emphasis was placed on the words "You go to the vineyard too" (20:4) as an imperative for the laity to find their place within the Church's mission. (CL,2). The application of the parable to a document about the life and mission of the lay faithful in the Church assumes an identification between the Lord of the vineyard and the God who calls everyone in every stage of human history to be participants in his work. Gregory the Great (Homily XIX) and John Chrysostom (In Matthaeum 64,3), apply the parable to the different stages of the human life and admonish the faithful to respond to God's invitation at whatever age or level of maturity they are in. Whether old (the first) or very young (the last), the Lord invites them to the holy life.
The parable in Matthew 20:1-16 opens itself to different applications. The Church's liturgy for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A, combines it with Isaiah 55:6-9 which is a call to repentance NOW with the implied admonition not to worry about whether God will accept one or not since His idea of "acceptable" is far above men's grasp
Seek the LORD while he may be found,
call him while he is near.
Let the scoundrel forsake his way,
and the wicked his thoughts;
let him turn to the LORD for mercy;
to our God, who is generous in forgiving.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.
Paired with Matthew 20:1-16 the oracle in Isaiah inspires confidence in the generosity of God and invites those who think in terms of human justice not to begrudge Divine mercy towards those who are "last."
As it stands in Matthew's gospel, the parable in Matthew 20:1-16a is an explanation of the words: "many that are first will be last, and the last first. (Matthew 19:30; cf. 20:16)" and puts it in relation with the previous section on the rich young man and the discourse on renunciation (Matthew 19:16-29). The theme is the reversal of fortunes similar to the one which Mary sings about in the Magnificat
(H)e has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent empty away. (Luke 1:52-53)
This reversal of fortunes takes on a different nuance in Matthew's parable in that here, what is given emphasis are the "first" and the "last", not the "haves" and the "have-nots" of the Magnificat.
The parable can be divided into two main parts. After the brief introduction in 20:1a, there is the section where the "Lord" of the vineyard goes out at 6 AM, 9 AM, 12 NN, 3 PM and 5 PM to hire workers for his vineyard (20:1b-7), and then the part where at the end of the day (6 PM) the workers are given their wage and the ensuing argument between those who came first and the vineyard owner (20:8-15). Finally, the concluding statement in 20:16a which creates a sort of frame with 19:30 about the first becoming last, and the last becoming first.
The opening line makes the parable of the vineyard owner a parable of the kingdom, samples of which the reader of Matthew's gospel until this point has read (see Matthew 13:1-53). The first part shows the owner of the vineyard going out to early in the morning (about 6 AM) to hire day laborers. A day's wage is a denarion, enough to feed a large peasant family for a day. We find the owner in vv. 1a-2 calling men for hire, fixing the day's wage with them and sending them to his vineyard. At about 9AM, he goes out again for more hired hands. He does not fix the wage with them but tells them it is going to be fair (v. 4). This would be understandable since the men hired will be doing three hours less of a day's work. The owner goes out again at twelve noon and three in the afternoon to hire workers (v. 5) and finally, just one hour before the working day's end, he again calls in the unemployed (vv. 5-7). The conversation that the owner has with these batch of laborers leaves us to understand that these latter have not found employers for the past hours, and may as well be considered the rejects of the day. The owner repeats to them what he has said the other groups: "Go to my vineyard too" (vv. 4.7) In a culture where the dignity of work is held high, idle hands can be cause for shame. The men were not lazy, just deemed unfit by previous employers. The generosity of the owner of the vineyard stands out here, for just one hour before closing time, he still gives those men the possibility of bringing home something for their families.
The second part of the story begins with the owner calling his kapatas and instructing him to pay the laborers beginning from those hired last (v.
. Those who were hired at 5 PM received the full day's wage (9), something that raised the expectations of those who came earlier (10a). To the latter's dismay, however, they received the same amount (10b); in disappointment, they begin to murmur against the owner of the vineyard (11).
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.' (Matthew (RSV) 20)
The word "murmur" is the same one used in the stories of Israel's sojourn in the desert as an expression of their lack of faith and outright rebellion to Yahweh and Moses. The complaint of the workers who came first is reasonable, in the same way as the complaint of the son who stayed home in Luke's parable of the generous father (Luke 15, especially, vv. 29-30) is reasonable. But what is "reasonable" for men may not be valid before a generous and merciful God (see Isaiah 55:8-9). God has his own "reasonability" too. The murmurring of those who were hired first provoked an answer from the owner ("Lord") of the vineyard. The answer can be summarized as follows: (a) they have received what was just since the wage they received was agreed upon; (b) they have no right to question what he does with his money; and lastly, (c) they should not be angry if he is generous. As far as justice is concerned, the owner of the vineyard has done his part for those who came first; he does not have to answer to anyone if he is generous to those who came last.
The parable of the owner of the vineyard is evocative; it invites reactions from those who identify themselves with those who came to work first. The parable never mentions the reaction of those who came last, but since those who came first began to expect that they might get something large, we are led to assume that they would have heard it from those who were paid first. How did they hear about it? Was it because of the joy of those who came last for something received that went beyond their own expectation? The parable leaves this out. The center of the parable is after all the owner of the vineyard himself who calls in people -- even those who have been rejected by others -- to his vineyard. His justice is also his generosity. Whether "first" or "last" does not matter to him. At the end of the day, what matters is that one has worked for Him so as to receive the wage fixed by Him. And if we look at Matthew 19:28-29, the wage doesn't look bad.
