The Parable of the workers in the vineyard

The of the workers in the vineyard shows us very aptly that in the kingdom of heaven there is a different law than here on earth. This is also confirmed by the words of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah “” As the heavens are lifted up above the earth, so are my ways high from your ways, and my thoughts from your thoughts “(Isa. 55: 9). (cf. KKC, 1996) God is righteous, and only he can consider and respect all the facts, and this is what the parable mentioned above is telling us.

“The kingdom of heaven resembles a farmer who came out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard …” (Mt 20: 1). At dawn he hired them and spoke to them on a daily basis. He hired the workers at nine o’clock, and did likewise at 12 o’clock and even 3 o’clock, even on the eve of 5 o’clock. the landlord commanded the trustee to pay the wage “from the last to the first” (Mt 20: 8).

The first ones expected to get the most, and the others less and less, according to hours worked. How surprised they were when everyone got the same. They envied each other, arguing with each other, and squinting at the landlord that he was unfair. However, the economist explains that he has not wronged anyone. The first gave what he dealt with. He gave the others out of his goodness. The wage was fair and did not become unfair because he gave others what they owned and something else. So he replied correctly to the first of them, “I want to give this last as much as you can. Or am I not allowed to do what I want with my own? Do you look at me because I’m good?” (Mt 20: 14-15).

It is true that God will reward once according to His deeds. However, the degree of reward depends not only on the size of the work, but also on the inner grace, love and purity of the intention with which this or that deed takes place. This just adds moral value to God. It escapes the human eye. But God sees every fold of the heart. It is for this reason that “they will be the last and the first to be the last” (Mt 20: 16). Jesus also showed how God rewards. We must admit that his actions seem strange to us. God offers an eternal reward to those who have been striving for it all their lives, and to those who came to work in his vineyard only in the early evening, at the end of their lives.

The Last Judgment by J. Anouilh expresses this truth to us as follows: The elected stand before the gate of paradise are impatient until they let them go. They praise their merits and are sure that they already have seats reserved. Only suddenly a message runs between them: “It seems that God will forgive others as well.” Here everyone will be amazed and outraged. They protest, mourn their exertions and renunciation. They will explode in a curse against God, and at that moment they are damned. From the parable of the prodigal son, we know that the older son is offended by his father’s behavior when he forgives his younger son. The older son may have been in a state of mercy. He never transgressed the fathers command, but was infertile to love.

His apology: “I have been serving you for so many years …” (Lk 15, 29), should he be entitled to the first place in the family? The father, however, begs the elder son, acknowledges his loyalty, but here is a reason for joy. It can be assumed that the elder son’s heart softened over such a father’s love. Father’s tenderness completely disarmed him. Only God can make such a gesture of grace, joy and generous love. Therefore, let us not criticize God for this, but let us look forward to it. For if he were to reward us according to righteousness and not according to his goodness, who of us would succeed? This generous love also invites us to forgive our culprits and to forgive all of us.
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