Today’s gospel reading is that challenging parable about what we earn, if we are in paid employment [Matthew 20:1-16]. It also reveals a message about how we deal with the things we do in life, not least our voluntary roles and responsibilities in our churches and more widely.
At the risk of losing all the theological nuances, my synopsis of the parable is that it deals with piece work in an unorthodox way. Piece work means being paid for work done, not for time spent. In the parable, the employer seems to cut across both definitions; he does not pay by the hour nor by the amount of grapes picked or vines pruned; he pays workers simply for turning up and doing a bit. Here is comfort for Christians who come to faith at different times of life, in the implicit assurance that all are welcomed.
Now go back to what we do. In our paid work we are likely to be remunerated by the hour even if that translates to an annual salary. In voluntary work we commit to a job and often discover later that it takes more time than we expected.
I have recently learned of someone in one of those salaried jobs that tends never to stop. I know the feeling! He is delighted having mastered the art of managing it without being stressed. Vocational jobs often turn out to be like that, a way of life rather than a compartmentalised, clock watching routine.
I am blurring lines, frustratingly but deliberately. Jesus’s character, the employer blurs the lines. He pays adequately. Some see the lack discrimination as unfair while others see it as generous. The point is not about what is done but what is received and the burning question is whether it is adequate.
We all have recipes for managing life, our personal formulae for coping. For me, my best decision was to dispense with compartments. Do what has to be done every day, never let anyone down, never over promise but having promised, do not row back. I know, I am lucky to be blessed with good health but the point about not over promising takes account of that.
We all have limitations and must understand them. Who knows why some people came later to the vineyard than others; they knew and the employer knew; peers did not need to know. AS Saint Paul put it, we are all given different gifts to use to bear fruit for God – The vineyard owner says you worry about yours and leave mine to me.
A Prayer
God, vineyard owner supreme, it really is hard to make the best of my life for you without looking over my shoulder all the time; help me to be grateful for my gifts, happy with my reward from you and to let go of the temptation to criticise others. And forgive me when I fail in this high ideal, for Jesus sake. Amen.