en en en en en en en en en es en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en es en en en en en en en en en en ru en en en en en en en fr en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en ro en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en es en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en fr en en fr en en en en en nl en en en en en en en en en en en en en de en sv en en de en en en en en de en en it en en en en en en en en en en en en
This text deals with hiring, unemployment, work contracts and salaries -- issues related to the economy and social morality.
But it would be a mistake to read it according to these categories and according to our own context. The story would encourage favoritism and laziness! It is, rather, a parable about the Kingdom.
It is often called, "The Workers of the Eleventh Hour." But the main character is actually the one who owns the vineyard.
We could therefore call it, "The vineyard owner in search of workers."
Indeed, his determination is remarkable. He goes out five times, from six o'clock in the morning till five o'clock in the evening, and even speaks to people idly standing around who ask him nothing.
The parable does not say why. No doubt, this is the harvest season? Is it above all the desire to call for work?
The parable is preceded by the unsuccessful appeal of the rich young man and a dialogue with the Twelve where Peter asks, moreover, the question of reward. This context gives us a reading guide: in the Kingdom there is hiring! But for what salary?
Another key is found in the images used -- vine, harvest and reward. They are all a part of biblical symbolism.
The vine is the people of Israel or the land. The grape harvest, like any harvest, evokes eschatological judgment.
By framing the parable with the sentence about the first and the last, Matthew guides us in this direction.
Because of the context in which he is writing, he sees those who are the first to be called as the Jews who bore the weight of the Torah. Those who are last to be called are the Gentiles, who enter the Kingdom without merit.
At the Hour of Judgment there will be no difference.
In any case, this parable rubs us the wrong way, and this should make us think and pray.
Quite naturally, thanks to the suspense introduced by the order in which the workers are paid, we identify with those who were hired first and expect they will be treated differently.
Their reaction seems quite justified. So we should not be afraid to grumble as they do. When we are too "self-righteous" or too polite to say to God, "It's not fair!", we risk missing the message. For Jesus is once again deliberately provocative.
The parable reminds us of the Prodigal Son (whose main character, as here, is actually the God figure).
Here, too, there is another character who expresses an understandable sense of injustice: the eldest son who has worked not only all day but for years.
When we put ourselves in his place, identifying with his resentment, we can hear the father's words: "My child, everything that is mine is yours," and his invitation to welcome his brother.
What is the message to be heard here? Would it be: "My friend"?
Jesus said to his disciples in another context, "I no longer call you servants, but friends."
Would it be: "I want to give", or "I am good"? Would it be: "Is your eye evil"?....
This question reminds us of God's question to Cain, who was angry at the favor shown to his brother: "God asked Cain, 'Why are you angry and downcast?'" (Gn 4,6)
The late Jesuit scripture scholar Paul Beauchamp noted that envy "makes us suffer from property if it belongs to another and savor property if we deprive others of it".
"This is why it leads both to desire the property and to destroy it, because the true property is always shared," he said (Psalms Night and Day, Marquette Univ. Press, 2015).
What "property" does Jesus refer to when, into the mouth of the owner, he puts the question: "Have I no right to do what I like with my own property?"
Bénédicte Rollin is a member of the Assumption Sisters in Vilnius (Lithuania).
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