But That’s Not Fair!
Posted on Sep 19, 2023 by Shari Van Baale
[Jesus said to the disciples:] “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. … When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. 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.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘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?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
— Matthew 20:1-16
Can you imagine working all day in the hot sun and someone else barely worked but got the same amount in pay? This is exactly what happens in the Gospel for this Sunday.
I can just hear them whining, “But that’s not fair!” The landowner decides to give everyone the same amount, no matter if they worked all day or just a short time.
Whether you have followed Jesus your whole life or accept him in your dying breath, everyone who follows him will be rewarded in heaven. As workingpreacher.org says, “God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness are God’s to give away as God sees fit.”
The parable ends with the often quoted, “the last will be first, and the first will be last.” This happens quite literally here, as those who were hired last were paid first. I am sure this also upset those who had been there all day, watching those who just got there get paid while they had worked all day and had to wait for those who came after them to receive their wages.
As workingpreacher.org says, “We are all equal recipients of God’s gifts. … we are often covetous and jealous when God’s gifts of forgiveness and life are given to others in equal measure.”
We all enter heaven on an equal plane. No matter how long we followed God, how much money or things we had, or how many good deeds we did, God loves us all the same and we are all equal in His eyes.
Shari Van Baale
Salem Communications Coordinator