In the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, Jesus offers us a chance to look at our relationships completely differently: with generosity.
the restorative love of Jesus in action
Proper 20A | Matthew 20:1-16
This parable may be the most fascinating of Jesus’s teachings. And most people can’t stand it. It triggers something deep inside of us. Something we might not even know is there.
Maybe we should look into that.
The structure of the story is pretty simple:
There is a landowner who hires people to work for him. He goes out several times and picks up workers throughout the day. When the day is done, he pays them a day’s wage. And he does it in LIFO order—Last In First Out.
When the first people to work finally get their pay, they are surprised to find they are paid the same wage as the people who arrived last. So they speak up.
The landowner reminds them that each settled for a day’s wage. So they each got it.
The landowner also responds to what he perceives is the tension by inviting them to look outside of their own perspective and into his. He asks them why they would begrudge his generosity. Why are they free to condemn and he isn’t free to redeem?
Fascinating, right?
So how do we respond to it?
The full text may be found here.
For a limited time, you may find the audio here.