The Red Vineyards near Arles, Vincent Van Gogh (1888)

The Parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16)

Generous people typically make excellent friends! Generosity is a quality that we often find especially attractive in people, particularly when we benefit from it, whether that is in terms of gifts we might receive, or the time that people are willing to spend with us. Generous people help us to feel valued and to enjoy life more. So, given how attractive we find the quality of generosity in other people, I am sure that most of us are very comfortable with the idea that we worship a God who is generous. The writer of Psalm 36 says, ‘How precious is your steadfast love, O God!All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house.’ The letter of James says, ‘Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.’ Paul tells the Philippians that God will ‘supply all your needs from his glorious riches.’ It is within God’s nature to be generous, sharing good things with us in the same way that parents are often generous with their children.

However, the Parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard suggests that our valuing of God’s generosity has its limits. Matthew is writing to a mixed congregation that includes both long-time Jewish Christians and others who are new to the community, many of whom were Gentiles. The longstanding members of the congregation, who see themselves as having done the lion’s share of God’s work, are resentful of those who do not seem to be carrying their weight in quite the same way. This conflict is one that remains relevant today: hardworking people inevitably ask what kind of God is it that would offer the same reward to those who have earned it and to those who have not?

Jesus answers this question with the story of workers in the vineyard. Those who have spent all day at work are paid what they are owed. However, when the landowner pays other workers who have done less hours the same amount of money, the all-day workers are outraged. They forget how relieved they were when reinforcements arrived to help. They forget that the extra help meant that everyone

could work less hard. They forget that those who were hired later on in the day also had families to feed. The all-day workers forget that it was what they needed first that was then offered to others. They are so incensed by the landowners’ generosity that they cannot rejoice with those who got paid a full day’s wage for only a few hours. Instead, they end up feeling resentful and aggrieved.

But the landowner does not treat workers differently according to the quality or quantity of work they have done. Instead of being rewarded for their individual merits, they are rewarded by the radical generosity of the one who hired them. What the workers need to recognise is that the opportunity to work in the vineyard is a gift in itself. It is a just God who extends an invitation to everyone to be part of his kingdom, and all are equally deserving (or undeserving) of that invitation. God shows no favouritism. The rewards are the same for all. No one can earn that reward by their own efforts. It is God’s gracious gift, because all good things come from God. The owner of the vineyard makes this point when he insists on his right to act justly. Those called first, who have done the hard labour and who have a strong sense of justice are paid in full, one denarius (enough for one’s daily bread). Those who are called last are subject to the filtering of the landowners’ justice through the lens of his mercy. All are blessed to be called to work in God’s vineyard and all are rewarded because of God’s generosity and grace.

The parable encourages us to imagine a different way of relating to other people that does away with our tendency to label people as worthy or unworthy, winners and losers, insiders or outsiders. Instead, we are invited to recognise how much God has given us, and to rejoice with other people when they, too, are generously blessed by God. So, let’s pray that God would help us to let go of our grudges and grievances, and instead to give thanks at all times and in all circumstances with grateful, joy-filled hearts.

Loving God,we thank you for the world you have given usand all within it that speaks of you. You have blessed us in so much,and we are glad.

We thank you for all that is beautiful;all that causes us to catch our breath in wonderand points to your hand in creation. You have blessed us in so much,and we are glad.

We thank you for the gift of love, given and received,speaking to us of your own great love for us. You have blessed us in so much,

and we are glad.

We thank you for family life,reminding us of the great family of your people to which we belong. You have blessed us in so much,and we are glad.

We thank you for our food, our clothes, our homes;all the comforts we enjoy,and the immeasurable ways you provide for us.You have blessed us in so much,and we are glad.

Loving God, open our eyes to your presence around us,to your love that surrounds us each day,and to your hand that is always at work. You have blessed us in so much,and we are glad.

Speak to us through the ordinary and the special things in life,that through them we may know you more fully and serve you more truly.You have blessed us in so much,and we are glad.

Receive then our praise and thanksgiving,for we offer them to you in the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.