for the day, and sent them to his vineyard. The owner went out at midday and again at three
in the afternoon, and he did the same. Finally he went out at the last working hour—it was the
eleventh— and he saw others standing there.
The master said: ‘Go and work in my vineyard.’ When evening came, the owner of the
vineyard said to his manager: ‘Call the workers and pay them their wage, beginning
with the last and ending with the first.’ Those who had come to work at the eleventh hour
turned up and were given a denarius each. When it was the turn of the first, they thought
they would receive more. But they, too, received a denarius each.
“They said: ‘These last hardly worked an hour, yet you have treated them the same as us
who have endured the day’s burden and heat.’ The owner said to one of them: ‘Friend, I
have not been unjust to you. Did we not agree on a denarius a day? Why are you envious
when I am kind?’ “So will it be: the last will be first, the first will be last.”
Reflect
Today’s Gospel makes me very uncomfortable. Despite years of hearing it at Mass and
reading and studying it on my own, I still find myself wanting to shout along with the
early workers: “It’s not fair!” Why shouldn’t those who worked hardest be paid more?
Why are the workers hired late getting such undeserved bounty?
It helps to put yourself in the place of the last workers hired. How must they have felt,
standing in the marketplace all day in the hot sun, watching as the younger and more
ablebodied workers were hired. Four times the owner came looking for workers and
four times they were passed by. As the day drew to a close, the fear must have become
overwhelming. No work meant no money for food. These workers would go home to
hungry families with nothing to show for the day. Then, on his fifth visit, the owner finally
offers them work. Even a small payment might mean a bit of food for the night. But
a full day’s wage! The owner’s generosity was life-saving. Looking at the story through
the eyes of the least ones changes everything.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2023
