Our Scripture meditation is based on Matthew 20:1-16, the Gospel Lesson for next week, the 17th Sunday after Pentecost. For a meditation on the Epistle Lesson, click HERE.
[1] “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. [2] After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. [3] And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, [4] and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ [5] So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. [6] And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ [7] They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ [8] And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ [9] And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. [10] Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. [11] And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, [12] 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.’ [13] But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? [14] Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. [15] Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ [16] So the last will be first, and the first last.”
Serving as a parish pastor, I don’t think there was a parable more difficult for our youth to comprehend. Yet it was vitally important that they learn the Laborers in the Vineyard.
I think the youth struggled because they had recently completed our church’s three-year junior confirmation process. They had memorized the Ten Commandments and meanings, plus at least one Bible passage for each commandment. There were given a clear sense of right and wrong. They tied this knowledge to an innate sense of fairness.
The Laborers in the Vineyard seemingly is anything but fair. The master of the house pays everyone the same, whether they worked twelve hours or one hour. In this parable the master of the house is God the Father. The workers are people that God is including in His Kingdom. The key is that God the Father exercises grace by calling all the “workers” to faith.
All praise be to God for being unfair. If we received the judgement we deserve for our sin and sinfulness, we would have hope for eternity with the Father. Instead, for Jesus’ sake God the Father is gracious, not wanting any to be eternally lost.
Why teach this parable to youth if some could not comprehend it? Because there would be times in their lives when they would acutely feel the need for God’s grace. Our pastoral staff trusted that God would grant understanding of this parable when the youth really needed it.
Until next week, the Lord bless and guide.
Kevin Wilson 360 