Matthew 20:1-16

I grew up in a family that valued education and hard work. These were the measures of success and happiness: a college degree that led to a high paying career and advancement. I dutifully followed that recipe and became an electrical engineer, moving to Silicon Valley to launch my career. 

Given my upbringing, can you imagine my response the first time I read this passage from the Gospel of Matthew? “What? How unfair! Of course the laborers who worked hard all day earned and deserved more than the workers who only worked a few hours in the cool of the day. That is how life works, right?” 

I believed that by working harder than others, I earned the wages, achievement, and praise I sought and deserved. But Jesus is warning us in the passage how that attitude can lead to a sense of entitlement, where we can easily become judgmental and compare ourselves more favorably than others.

I recall the moment I realized that I had no part in the family, location, or abilities that I was born with. More importantly, neither did anyone else. I was born into a loving family that lived in a peaceful part of the world, where all my needs were met. But I could have just as easily been born into more challenging circumstances. I realized there was so much to me that I didn’t earn.

I understand this passage as the timeless question of faith versus works. Jesus is teaching us we do not have to earn God’s love and mercy. We are all given these gifts equally when we desire to be in relationship with God. As Peter says in Acts 10:34, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from everyone who fears him and does what is right.”

Yet God is also asking us to “work in his vineyard” instead of “standing around all day long doing nothing”. I believe God is asking us to use the gifts he has given us to do our work and His work humbly, without comparing ourselves to others and thinking we are either superior or inferior.

Prayer: Merciful God, open the eyes of my heart to see You more clearly. Help me to work in your vineyard with a grateful heart. Thank you for your constant presence. Amen.

Prompt: Where do I see myself in this story of the vineyard? How is this story inviting me to see a new perspective or way of being?