Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope
The parable Jesus tells us today has long been my favorite of all his parables! I love it because it’s kind of like watching an episode of the tv show The Office. You laugh at the situations and interactions, while at the same time squirming a bit because you recognize yourself and your own tendencies in the characters. This parable is one that also makes us squirm. At some level we certainly find ourselves identifying with the laborers hired at dawn who essentially cry, “that’s not fair!” In this story, our Lord paints a clear and compelling picture of his Kingdom – a Kingdom characterized by paradox and striking reversal of our earthly norms and human tendencies. Jesus came to turn the order of things upside down, and that upending of the pyramid is evident in today’s account.
I have two sons, now ages 23 and 25 years old. When they were children, I refereed many skirmishes over things deemed unfair. If you’re a parent, you’ve likely had similar experiences when one child cries out, “that’s not fair – he got more than me!” When dividing food, for example a single piece of cake, I would invite one boy to cut the piece in half and then the other boy to choose his slice. The boy with the knife was oh so very careful to divide the cake as exactly as possible, knowing that if one piece wound up being bigger, he would likely end up with the smaller. The generosity that Jesus lifts up as our ideal was not typically present in these boyhood encounters!
My dad was a man of justice and fairness. He imparted those virtues to me in both overt and subtle ways. I have recognized how strong these foundational core values are within me due to Dad’s formative influence. Nothing angered my dad more than an unjust or unfair situation. Nothing inspired a more impassioned response from him. As I look back over my shoulder, I can see that sometimes justice and fairness become synonymous, and we confuse them. These concepts are not the same, and I think Jesus presses us to differentiate them and to transform our understanding of justice.
As I prayed today’s Gospel in preparation for writing, the verse that jumped out at me this time is this one: “Going out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing in the marketplace, and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.’” What is just would be whatever is morally right, equitable, truthful, proper, or lawful. We would expect the landowner to act justly in his dealings with his hired laborers, to do the right thing. We get bent out of shape when we perceive things as unfair, and I believe this tendency within us humans is stronger than we think. The laborers hired at dawn find it extremely unfair that those hired at five o’clock receive the same wage. Whatever the established wage was in Israel at the time – that’s what each person should receive, multiplied by the number of hours worked, right? That would be “just” according to equitable labor practices, but it’s the unfairness of the situation that gets under our skin. It’s not fair that someone gets more than his share. It’s just not fair.
Jesus wants to transform our understanding of justice and push us out of our fairness mode into a more radical form of discipleship. Our Lord desires to expand our understanding of justice to include radical generosity. The landowner says to those hired at dawn, “My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go.” He paid them their just wage, according to the standards of justice. Then he says, “What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?” Jesus blows the lid off our understanding of justice to expand it far beyond what is merely equitable. Radical generosity lies at the heart of the Gospel message and must become a component of our justice. Generosity not just with money but with all that we have or ever will have, all of our internal and external possessions.
As you pray today’s Gospel, notice words or phrases that elicit a visceral reaction within you. Where do you sense your “buttons being pushed”? Which group of laborers do you personally identify with and why? If you were the landowner, how would you pay your laborers? Pray to know more the Lord’s radical generosity toward you and ask him to transform you by his love to become more radically generous.
-Elizabeth Wourms