Sunday Gospel Comment
Alberic Jacovone OSB
YEAR A TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY - 18.9.05 Is 55,6-9; Phil 1,20-24.27; Mt 20,1-16 Why
are we so darned jealous? Is
it really not fair?: In
his Gospel, Matthew is determined to challenge: leaders, good Christians &
all. Today’s parable is: ‘workers in the vineyard’; we have 6 more
parables from now to the end of the liturgical year, to challenge us to work for
God & his Kingdom, the Church, and let go of any other preoccupation. The
reason for these parables is that in the early Church, there were all sorts of
jealousies between those who were followers of Jesus from the earliest days of
his ministry, death & resurrection (mainly Jews who had suffered great
persecution!) and those who came to believe later on (mainly pagans, who were
called ‘Gentiles’).... Now for us today, the sad reality is that jealousy
has never stopped plaguing the Church. Just look at the many petty clashes among
people & Church groups in opposition with each other. To us the words of
today’s story are addressed: ‘Why be envious, because I am generous?’ The
key insight of the story is found in the question that the owner addresses to
the workers: ‘Why have you been here all day doing nothing? and in the quick
reply from the workers: ‘Because no one hired us’. (Quia nemo nos conduxit!).
These words are the key to understand the story. Did you know that in
Greco-Roman times, as even today in Africa & elsewhere- casual labourers
waited day after day in the town square in the hope of someone hiring them. Now
imagine a long queue of labourers, and owners coming to pick quickly up on their
carriages or trucks, the strongest in the queue. And never giving a thought for
those who were left there disappointed all day, for days, under the sun’s
burning heat. So, under that burning heat were those who worked all day & those who
hopelessly waited. A
lesson for all: with religious, ethical, political, multicultural implications: The
words ‘no one hired us’ does not imply laziness, ignorance or unwillingness
to get up & work, but a difference of opportunity totally beyond the
workers’ willingness or ability. There will always be in Society & Church,
a disparity of resources & opportunities. But this must not be accepted
blindly. On the contrary there must be a constant effort to notice & attend
to all inequalities at starting point & at all levels of ability. Jesus’
new teaching is this: When it comes to God’s work & God’s reward, here
& hereafter, let’s be in constant & humble search & let’s be
prepared for surprises. Our human way of dealing with justice, our worldly way
of judging & valuing one another will be overturned, because only God knows
the inner worth & state of mind of each of us as we are called. The point of
the parable: as we live in the Church, let’s acknowledge how blessed we are.
At the same time let’s never presume to have an exclusive claim on God’s
will. We have no right to measure out jealously our expected worth & reward
against that of any fellow worker (above or below us) in God’s vineyard.
Typically, Matthew reminds us that God is immensely generous with all his
creatures and with us all. As such God goes out till the end of time, calling us
to work in the Church & promising a full-day’s wage. At times God is particularly generous to some, without being unjust to
the rest. God’s ways are mysterious: he is free, beyond questioning but still
unbelievably generous to all In the Church, there is absolutely no point in
being jealous, since there will be always plenty for all. In his vineyard God
will request different things of different people. The parable has particular
significance for in our multicultural society & Church: we have no right to
claim only for us, no right to exclude others. Indeed we must uphold each other. ______________________________________ |
