Matt 20- The Parable of the Vineyard Workers and the Dangers of Envy
In our Gospel reading today Jesus tells a parable about a landowner who hires people to work in his vineyard. Young men who had no other work would wait at a particular location, hoping to be hired for the day. This is still something that happens regularly around the world. They would usually work hard because they would hope to be hired again and maybe even get a regular job. If they weren’t hired by noon the young men would usually head home, but they would have to meet their families with the fact that they hadn't earned anything for that day, which might mean not eating anything that day.
In the parable, the landowner went in the morning and hired people to work his land for the usual daily wage- a denarius. He would know how many people he needed, so it's strange that he keeps returning to hire more. The vineyard owner went again at noon, and then 3:00 in the afternoon and then again at 5:00. Quitting time was around 6:00 or 7:00, as the sun was starting to set.
There are two things we might be able to assume about the men who are still waiting after noon: One, that they're desperate for work. Two, that no one seems to want to hire them. These are the leftovers. Do you remember being in school and team captains would take turns picking people for their team? Were you ever picked last for the team and you knew that you were not their first, second, third, or fourth selection?
Each time the vineyard owner went out, he hired more people- Even though he probably didn’t need them. And he doesn’t tell them how much they will be paid, he just says that they will be paid what is right. Only the first group hired is told that they will get the normal daily wage of a denarius.
At the end of the day the landowner lines the workers up to pay them their wages. He begins paying the workers and starts with those who only worked an hour, which is an odd order. To their surprise he pays them a full day’s wage- a denarius. They worked, so they maintained their dignity (This wasn’t just a handout), and they would be able to return to their families with a full day’s wage. It's also interesting that they were paid first, so maybe their dignity was spared by not having seen that those who worked longer than them were paid more (if they received their payment and left before seeing what the others were paid.) This was an act of a compassionate man who cares about these unemployed men and their families.
Those who worked all day start getting excited because they start assuming that they will get more than they were promised. But when it comes to be their turn, they get paid the same as the workers who only worked an hour. Then we read,
“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.”
They grumble because the landowner made them equal to those ‘nobodies’ that no one wanted to hire.
One of the seven deadly sins is envy. Envy is about your comparison to another person. It is the emotional pain that you feel at another person's good fortune, and a desire to diminish their success. Envy is all about comparison and rivalry. Envy is characterized by feelings of resentment, bitterness, and hostility towards those who possess something we don't think they deserve. Envy doesn't want the thing the other person has, they just don't want the other person to have it. Envy makes us feel like the other person having what they have diminishes our self-worth. Them having what they have causes us pain.
There is an old Jewish story about two men, one is envious and the other is greedy. They both stand before a king. The king says he will give to the other twice what each asks. If one asks for a house the other will get two houses. The greedy man doesn’t want to go first because he wants to ask for everything (which can’t be doubled). The Envious man thinks, but he can’t stand the thought of the other man having twice the amount, so he finally turns to the king and says, “pluck out one of my eyes.” This is the difference between envy and greed.
Those who were hired first were paid a denarius, which is what was agreed to. If they weren't aware of any other workers, they would joyously return home with their wages. Their problem is that the payment given to those who were hired after them was equal to theirs and they didn't like being considered equal to them. They did more work. They were hired first, which means they were probably usually hired first. Even among these unemployed men there was a kind of hierarchy. In their minds they were better than those who were hired after them. Being paid the same as those who were hired after them made them feel that they were on the same level as those others, and they were used to feeling higher than them.
The vineyard owner replied to those who were grumbling,
One of the seven deadly sins is envy. Envy is about your comparison to another person. It is the emotional pain that you feel at another person's good fortune, and a desire to diminish their success. Envy is all about comparison and rivalry. Envy is characterized by feelings of resentment, bitterness, and hostility towards those who possess something we don't think they deserve. Envy doesn't want the thing the other person has, they just don't want the other person to have it. Envy makes us feel like the other person having what they have diminishes our self-worth. Them having what they have causes us pain.
There is an old Jewish story about two men, one is envious and the other is greedy. They both stand before a king. The king says he will give to the other twice what each asks. If one asks for a house the other will get two houses. The greedy man doesn’t want to go first because he wants to ask for everything (which can’t be doubled). The Envious man thinks, but he can’t stand the thought of the other man having twice the amount, so he finally turns to the king and says, “pluck out one of my eyes.” This is the difference between envy and greed.
Those who were hired first were paid a denarius, which is what was agreed to. If they weren't aware of any other workers, they would joyously return home with their wages. Their problem is that the payment given to those who were hired after them was equal to theirs and they didn't like being considered equal to them. They did more work. They were hired first, which means they were probably usually hired first. Even among these unemployed men there was a kind of hierarchy. In their minds they were better than those who were hired after them. Being paid the same as those who were hired after them made them feel that they were on the same level as those others, and they were used to feeling higher than them.
The vineyard owner replied to those who were grumbling,
“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?'”
Only the first group was promised a wage, and they received what was agreed upon. A normal day’s wage. There was no injustice done to them. It was the landowner’s generosity that offended them.
Those who only worked an hour didn’t have any work all day and they likely still had a family to feed. The generosity of the landowner helped them with what they needed for that day. The first group that was hired agreed to work for the usual day’s wage. He did them no wrong, but he wanted to be generous to those who had a hard time finding work and who probably had children to feed back home. Even among the poor and unemployed, those who are hired last had a harder time than the other poor. … Those who grumbled were paid what was agreed upon. Their complaint what that the landowner overpaid those who were hired after them.
We see this kind of situation come up over and over in the gospel. Jesus tells another parable about a Father and two sons (Luke 15). The younger son dishonors his father by asking for the inheritance he would get when his father dies. He then takes his money off to another country and parties it away. Eventually the money runs out, and he finds himself on the verge of starving. Repentant, he goes back to his father and is received with open arms. The older son who stayed behind and worked with his father is indignant. He stayed and did what was right, his younger brother who wasted the family inheritance on partying is received back with open arms and a party. It’s not fair. … Like the landowner, the father’s generosity is seen as being unfair. The older brother is comparing himself to the younger brother. He doesn't like that he has been restored to the family in the way he was.
Over and over again Jesus tells us that we will be shocked (even scandalized) by the generosity and mercy of God. Jesus often gave his attention to the marginalized- those who were on the outside edges of the community, rather than to the Pharisees who gave their time to learning the law and trying to live it.
Perhaps this was the feeling between long‑time disciples and new converts, especially between Christian Jews and Christian Gentiles. The Jewish people were God’s chosen people, shaped over generations through covenant, prophets, poets, priests, and philosophers. They had lived with Scripture, followed God faithfully, and waited for the Messiah. Suddenly these non‑Jewish Gentiles wanted to join, but they lacked that shared history. Gentile Romans even belonged to the very empire oppressing them. It would be tempting, then, for Jewish Christians to treat Gentile Christians as second‑class, as if they didn’t deserve as much because their ancestors hadn’t been working in God’s fields for as long.
God’s generosity is so great that people will be offended by it. If all the workers were paid secretly, there would have been no grumbling. It’s just that the workers who were hired first saw what the others were getting paid. They were comparing themselves to the others, rather than focusing on their arrangement with the landowner.
Ultimately, their grumbling shows a lack of compassion. They could have rejoiced at the generosity of the landowner, but they chose to grumble. They are fixated on fairness. Money equals hours worked. Does fairness mean that those worker’s children should go without food? Do they care nothing about the workers who no one wanted to hire? Perhaps some of the workers who were hired later had some form of disability that made it harder for them to work. Is that fair? The landowner showed compassion and generosity to those who were unwanted, and that generosity was offensive.
This is perhaps a warning those of us who give our lives to serve the Church. God may very well be out in the market looking for the unwanted and the ignored. And we may be shocked, and even scandalized, by the love and generosity God shows to them. AMEN
Those who only worked an hour didn’t have any work all day and they likely still had a family to feed. The generosity of the landowner helped them with what they needed for that day. The first group that was hired agreed to work for the usual day’s wage. He did them no wrong, but he wanted to be generous to those who had a hard time finding work and who probably had children to feed back home. Even among the poor and unemployed, those who are hired last had a harder time than the other poor. … Those who grumbled were paid what was agreed upon. Their complaint what that the landowner overpaid those who were hired after them.
We see this kind of situation come up over and over in the gospel. Jesus tells another parable about a Father and two sons (Luke 15). The younger son dishonors his father by asking for the inheritance he would get when his father dies. He then takes his money off to another country and parties it away. Eventually the money runs out, and he finds himself on the verge of starving. Repentant, he goes back to his father and is received with open arms. The older son who stayed behind and worked with his father is indignant. He stayed and did what was right, his younger brother who wasted the family inheritance on partying is received back with open arms and a party. It’s not fair. … Like the landowner, the father’s generosity is seen as being unfair. The older brother is comparing himself to the younger brother. He doesn't like that he has been restored to the family in the way he was.
Over and over again Jesus tells us that we will be shocked (even scandalized) by the generosity and mercy of God. Jesus often gave his attention to the marginalized- those who were on the outside edges of the community, rather than to the Pharisees who gave their time to learning the law and trying to live it.
Perhaps this was the feeling between long‑time disciples and new converts, especially between Christian Jews and Christian Gentiles. The Jewish people were God’s chosen people, shaped over generations through covenant, prophets, poets, priests, and philosophers. They had lived with Scripture, followed God faithfully, and waited for the Messiah. Suddenly these non‑Jewish Gentiles wanted to join, but they lacked that shared history. Gentile Romans even belonged to the very empire oppressing them. It would be tempting, then, for Jewish Christians to treat Gentile Christians as second‑class, as if they didn’t deserve as much because their ancestors hadn’t been working in God’s fields for as long.
God’s generosity is so great that people will be offended by it. If all the workers were paid secretly, there would have been no grumbling. It’s just that the workers who were hired first saw what the others were getting paid. They were comparing themselves to the others, rather than focusing on their arrangement with the landowner.
Ultimately, their grumbling shows a lack of compassion. They could have rejoiced at the generosity of the landowner, but they chose to grumble. They are fixated on fairness. Money equals hours worked. Does fairness mean that those worker’s children should go without food? Do they care nothing about the workers who no one wanted to hire? Perhaps some of the workers who were hired later had some form of disability that made it harder for them to work. Is that fair? The landowner showed compassion and generosity to those who were unwanted, and that generosity was offensive.
This is perhaps a warning those of us who give our lives to serve the Church. God may very well be out in the market looking for the unwanted and the ignored. And we may be shocked, and even scandalized, by the love and generosity God shows to them. AMEN
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