“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
“About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went.
“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
“But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Matthew 20:1-16
“The virtue of detachment helps us to stay at Jesus’ side as He goes forward on His mission at a fast and steady pace. It is not possible for us to keep up with Him if we have too much baggage. We cannot be left behind on account of a few material possessions that are not worth our excessive concern for them. At times, Jesus issues a personal call at an early age. At others, one’s vocation becomes clear in the course of one’s mature years, when we have only a short distance to go before we arrive in His presence. Such variety in the time the Lord chooses to call each of us is shown in the parable concerning the laborers who go out to work at different times of the day. Whichever our own case may be, we are called to respond with the joy the evangelists express when they recall the circumstances of their own definitive vocation. Jesus is the same now as then: He is the one who invites us to accompany Him on our way.”
Francis Fernandez in In Conversation with God: Meditations for Each Day of the Year, volume 7 (London: Scepter, 1993) 266-267.
Today’s Scripture brings a parable in view.
We discover the generosity of the landowner. And we also see the importance of responsiveness whether He calls us at a young age, in adulthood, or in our later years. He invites us to accompany Him.
As I attend ETS, IBR, and SBL, I see emerging scholars like my son-in-law or a doctoral student I am advising, adults that I have known for decades, and more mature workers whose lives have shaped mine.
Each one has a story. Some have labored long for the Lord and others are newer to the journey. Being here and delivering a paper, reminds me to just play my part as a worker.
That’s where the comments from Fernandez fit nicely. He challenges us to jettison any baggage that may hinder our ability to serve Him.
Can you imagine going to work in God’s field and carrying a suitcase or a large sack loaded with all your worldly wealth with you? You would never do that, right?
The key to unlocking this parable linked to having possessions as baggage is in the wage promised by the generous landowner. It implies that Jesus will take care of our daily needs.
He promises a denarius. It’s a day’s wages and all a person needs to live today.
This prompts two questions. Firstly, how long have you been working for the Lord? Have you found Him to faithfully care for your needs? If so, imitate His generosity with your own.
And secondly, what do you have? Do you have too much in your baggage? If so, put it to work, again through generosity, and yet, keep laboring. He will make sure you have a denarius a day.
Please pause. Picture all your worldly wealth in a suitcase that you have to carry to labor in the field for Him every day. If it seems heavy, then you have much to store up in heaven.
You can do this. He’s got you and a denarius for your daily service.