14 May 2024
Bailey renames the old parable about the workers in the vineyard to the Parable of the Compassionate Employer (Matthew 20:1-16). The focus of the story is not the workers, but the fellow who owns the vineyard. It is the standard ABCDCBA:
1. The vineyard owner hires laborers (agreement)
2. He keeps hiring and promising just wages throughout the day
3. The eleventh hour
4. Wages are paid
5. The eleventh hour hires paid first
6. Some complain about the justice
7. The agreement has been kept
The seventh stanza itself is in the same format:
1. I do justice
2. You agreed
3. You have what belongs to you
4. I am free to choose (charitable)
5. What belongs to me
6. Your eye evil?
7. I am just
Even today in Israel, the job market includes casual laborers who gather at some location and wait for businessmen to drive by in vans, stopping to pick up a certain number for whatever project they have that day. It is a desperate situation for the workers -- this I know, having worked at day labor in my youth.
In the parable, the standard wage at that time was established for a very long time. The value of the coin offered (denarius) was defined as a day's wage for common labor. The laborers would common crowd around anyone approaching to hire, a very competitive market. However, this fellow keeps hiring everyone he finds, going back repeatedly. This is not typical at all. Is the workload so great that he keeps grabbing everyone he can find? It's for sure, those late to the game don't haggle over wages, willing to trust him for the privilege of not facing the shame of unemployment.
Most western readers miss the point here: This man is looking out for his community, giving a livelihood to as many as possible. They are his neighbors. The workday is twelve hours -- 6AM to 6PM. As late as 5PM he hires a bunch more. Notice that to simply offer them charity would be humiliating. He puts them to work so they can hold their heads up in public.
We have a few surprises. If the owner has a steward, why didn't he send that man to fetch the workers? The specific wording of his instructions means they will all get the same wage. Also, he surprises everyone by calling them in reverse order, paying the last group first. This guarantees that everyone else will see what he is doing. No one is underpaid, but quite a few are overpaid.
The all-day workers complain. The owner addresses them neutrally. He points out that he kept their agreement. Then, the story simply stops, without any of the expected ending narrative. Yes, we can imagine how this man's generosity can be abused, but Jesus doesn't go there. His point has been made. The owner is trying to school everyone as to his character.
Jesus pointedly associates the whiners to Pharisees. They have been arduously keeping the law for centuries and Jesus comes along, welcoming any stray sinner. From Simeon in the Temple to the Thief on the Cross, everyone can get in the door. But more to the point, the whiners represent those who seek to dictate terms to God.
Finally, we note that Jesus was the Messiah, the King of All Creation, yet He went to the lost among His nation in person.
Comments
Dan D.
This is one of my favorite parables and I reflect upon it often, to not be a whiner in the Kingdom. Much like "remember the elder brother" in the parable of Luke 15:11. Your analasis at the end nailed it: we don't dictate terms to God. We should just be grateful we were invited to the banquet at all.
Jay DiNitto
To quote some elders of mine: "You get what you get, and you don't get upset!"
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