We All Receive the Same

 

Based on Matthew 20:1-16

             Have you ever heard of the 80/20 rule? It is shorthand for a common experience in all kinds of organizations. The rule is that 20% of the people in a group do 80% of the work. That’s not scientifically accurate. But I think we would agree that in many organizations, especially if you are one of those 20% who put in the work, that this feels right. It seems like only a handful of people do the work and everyone else is along for the ride. There are reasons for this. Some people are naturally more active and need to stay busy. Some are more dedicated to the cause. Some have more time or have the skills needed to do the work. We shouldn’t assume that everyone else in the organization don’t care or are lazy. I think most people are spread out too thin and are doing the best they can. But, whatever the reasons, it does seem like most of the work of an organization falls on a small number of people.

            In this parable that we heard today, the landowner of the vineyard was not going to settle for the 80/20 rule. He was bound and determined to get as many people as possible in his vineyard and doing the work that needed doing that day. He wouldn’t settle for the early risers who gathered at the marketplace at the crack of dawn to be hired for the day. He kept going back all through the day to see who else was standing around waiting to get hired. The landowner wanted all available to come work for him. He didn’t want anyone standing around waiting to get hired. Even near the end of the day, and there were still some folks that had not been hired, this landowner would take them on, even if that meant they would be doing nothing more than standing around at the vineyard, this landowner wanted them.

            A basic rule of justice is equal pay for equal work. Another basic rule is that a person should be paid an honest wage for an honest day’s work. In those days, an honest wage for a day laborer was one denarius. When the landowner hired those workers at the beginning of the work day for one denarius, that was a fair wage. One denarius was just enough to feed a typical family for that day. We could call it these days a minimum living wage. It was just enough to keep the laborer’s family out of poverty. It was a fair and honest wage.

            What does not seem fair in this story is that those who only worked one hour got paid the same as those who worked all day. We would assume that those who worked would get paid based on the hours they worked. If you worked half a day, you should expect to be paid half a denarius, for example. For those hired at the eleventh hour, it is fair for them to be grateful to receive whatever little bit they got. I don’t know what the unit of money that would be. Certainly, nobody expected the workers last hired to get paid a full day’s wage. But if that is how it is going to be, we can understand why those who worked all day would expect to get paid more. That only seems right. So, they grumble about it. We probably would too.

            I think we would agree that the landowner is generous. He is generous in two ways. First, he is generous because he paid those workers who were only there for one hour a full day’s wage. Second, he kept going back to hire more workers. We don’t know exactly what all those workers were doing. Was it harvest time? Did the landowner really need all those workers? Maybe they all had something to do. But I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them were standing around waiting for something to do. The point is that this landowner would take anyone available and he paid each one of them a denarius. That is generous. But those who were hired on first may not have seen that generosity. They were probably thinking to themselves, “if this landowner is so generous with his money, how about giving us a bit extra?” It just doesn’t seem right that everyone gets paid the same. Remember that basic rule of justice, equal pay for equal work?

            It’s true. In this story, the landowner does not follow the rule of equal pay for equal work. But that doesn’t mean that the landowner was not a good man or was unjust. Look at it this way. Day laborers depended on getting hired and getting paid a denarius to feed their families and make ends meet. If someone isn’t hired, then the family will go without. They didn’t have food stamps back then. The landowner knows this. Every time he would go back to the marketplace and look around, he would see people waiting to be hired who had a responsibility to care for their families. He took it upon himself to hire them on so that they would have the dignity of earning their denarius and be able to provide for their families. That is just. And what about those who stood around all day and never got hired? We can imagine they were not hired because they did not appear to be able to do the work that was required. Maybe they had some kind of disability. Maybe they were too old…or too young. Whatever the reason, these people who had been passed over all day long also had families to care for. It was right and just that the landowner hired them as well. And, again, he gave them the dignity of earning that denarius. He didn’t just give them a denarius and send them on their way. He said, “You also go into the vineyard.” Even if it meant they would be standing around, they would be at the job site. They were included. This right here is what I believe is a big part of why Jesus told this story. Everyone is invited. Everyone is wanted. Everyone belongs.

            The temptation here is to take this parable and use it as a blueprint for how to run a just economy. Those who advocate for a living wage, or looking to the government as the employee of last resort to make sure that everyone has the dignity of work, would point to this parable as justification for their economic policy. But this parable is not intended to be about economics. Jesus told this story to describe the kingdom of God. This story is about the goodness of God and about the eternal life that God offers to all.

            Some of us grew up in the church. We can’t remember when we didn’t know about Jesus. We consider ourselves to have been Christians our whole lives. Others of us accepted that call to follow Jesus later in our lives. Maybe it was in high school or college, or a bit later in life. Some of us don’t give our lives to Jesus until we are well into our senior years. It is not unheard of for people in their 70s and 80s to get baptized. Maybe you have heard stories of death bed confessions. When a person is lying there contemplating the reality of death and confronting head on their demise, they decide they need to get right with God and they ask God to forgive them as they accept the promise of resurrection. That promise of resurrection, of salvation from the power of sin and death, that is what we receive as believers in Jesus Christ. Everyone receives eternal life, whether you put your faith in Jesus when you were 3 or 93, it makes no difference. The gift is the same for everybody. For some that is a word of comfort and for others that’s a warning against being presumptuous of God’s grace.

            Peter seemed to need that warning. Bless his heart. He was always opening his mouth that gave Jesus an opportunity to teach a lesson about faith and humility. Just before this parable, Jesus had been in conversation with a man who was eager to know what he needed to do to have eternal life. He was doing all the right things. So, Jesus said all he had to do was sell all his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor and then follow him. That was this man’s limit. He had a lot of wealth. The cost was too much. He couldn’t do all the things to achieve salvation on his own strength. He walked away. Peter had to point out to everyone that he and the disciples did that. “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Oh, Peter. That sounds like those eager day laborers who were out there first thing in the morning so they could get hired and earn that money. They were all in. Jesus told this parable to let Peter know that he and the rest of the disciples will receive much more than they sacrificed and will inherit eternal life. But so will that man who hung on the cross next to Jesus, who asked, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And Jesus said, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” The one who comes to Jesus just before their last breath will receive eternal life just the same as Peter and the rest, who bore the burden of the day and the scorching heat of being a follower of Jesus in this old world.

            Some of us hear the invitation from God early in our lives to work for God, to give ourselves to God as a follower of Jesus. Others of us hear and respond to that call later in life. Some of us near the end of our lives. And some of us never respond in this life. What then? No one knows. But we do know that God is merciful. We do know that Jesus died for everyone, not just for some. The point I’m making is this: be careful about presuming you can earn extra benefits from God. We joke sometimes when someone in the church goes above and beyond and we will say, “Martha, you just earned another star in your crown.” That’s kind of bad theology. Those who dedicate their lives to Jesus and struggle with their discipleship their whole lives ought not to anticipate earning more of whatever or be placed on some higher level in heaven above those people who barely showed up for church. Let’s just do the work. We have responded to God’s invitation to live our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. We are working in the vineyard. It is our task to bear the burden and the scorching heat of these times. But we do this work with confidence, knowing that at the end of our day, when the sun sets on our lives, we will hear the master call each of us forward to receive our eternal reward. And what we will receive in the life to come will be more than enough.