Twenty-fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time Franciscan Gospel Reflection 2023

Franciscan Friar Fr. Paul Gallagher reflects on the Gospel text for the Twenty-fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time. How is your experience of someone looking for employment different from what is being described in this parable?

The content is edited by Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity Sister Anne Marie Lom and Joe Thiel. The excerpts from the Sunday readings are prepared by Joe Thiel. To read or download the complete pdf with excerpts for your prayer, please click here Franciscan Gospel Reflection September 24 2023. Excerpts are from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner. Photo: Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Matthew 20:1-16

Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.’ So they went off. And he went out again around noon, and around three o’clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o’clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’ When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’ When those who had started about five o’clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’ He said to one of them in reply, ‘My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?’ Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Background:

Last Sunday the Gospel was the familiar but difficult parable of the servant who had been forgiven a great debt but refused to forgive his fellow servant (Matthew 18:21-35). In selecting the Gospel text for this Sunday, the Church passed over the 19th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel and selected the parable that begins the 20th chapter.

In order to appreciate how Matthew is unfolding his Gospel, it might be helpful to describe in brief the material that he included in the 19th chapter. The chapter begins by reporting that Jesus departed from Galilee and entered Judea. Great crowds followed him, and he healed many. The Pharisees, in order to test him, asked if it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife. Jesus’ response challenged the accepted practice of the day. Then Matthew records an occasion when children were brought to Jesus for a blessing. The disciples rebuked Jesus, but he rejected their criticism. Next, a man approached Jesus asking what must be done to possess eternal life. Jesus told him to keep the commandments, but, if he wanted to be perfect, he should sell everything and give the proceeds to the poor. This led the disciples to ask, “Who can be saved?” Peter then asked what they would receive for having left everything to follow him. Jesus’ response indicated, “Everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more and will inherit eternal life. Many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” (Matthew 19:29-30)

While the 20th chapter begins by stating that Jesus addressed the parable to the disciples, Matthew has placed it in the context of Peter’s questions about what they can expect to receive for having left everything to become his followers.

The Gospel text for today twice contains a reference to the last being first and the first being last. At the end of the parable, the owner summons the foreman and tells him, “Give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.” (Matthew 20:8) This theme appears again in the last verse of the text, and it is familiar to the other Gospels. In Mark, Jesus instructs the twelve: “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:35) Later, when the rich young man comes to Jesus asking what he needs to do to enter eternal life, Jesus tells the disciples that, although it is impossible for humans, entering eternal life is not impossible for God. “But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first.” (Mark 10:31) Luke also records Jesus teaching this same message. When asked by someone in a crowd about how man will be saved, Jesus likens the Reign of God to a master of a house who locked the door and others came and called from the outside to be admitted. But the Reign of God will be filled with those who come from the farthest ends of the world. “For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” (Luke 13:30) Because this theme is found in all three synoptic Gospels, it is likely that it was an important part of Jesus’ own teaching and significant for the early Christian community.

As Jesus told the parable that is today’s Gospel text, it probably functioned as way to respond to those who objected to Jesus because he seemed to focus his ministry and attention on the crowds and those who did not keep the religious traditions. Many of these were the day laborers of his day. Not attached to any family as servants or even slaves, their families were daily dependent on them finding work if they were to eat that day. Jesus’ parable reflects a God whose compassion and generosity are without limits and not reserved for those who are the chosen or the obedient. The parable represents a God who went out and sought workers and treated them as one would treat a family member; they received a full portion for their labor. Such an image of God was very different from a God who expected ritual purity or had chosen people.

For the first Christians who retold this parable the meaning shifted, as they saw themselves responding to the invitation to go into the vineyard even when it meant being rejected by family and community. However, some of them did not persevere. Being first in the Kingdom of God lost its appeal next to the hardship of rejection. It was a daily struggle to maintain a way of life that was counter to the cultural tradition where the people thought of themselves as chosen people. The early Christians connected particularly with the conclusion of the parable.

Consider the context, as this parable of Jesus is written and incorporated into the Gospel. It takes on new meaning because, in general, the Jews were not accepting the message of the Gospel. The idea that “the first will be last and the last will be first” took on further significance. At this stage of development, the Jewish and Gentile Christians both found meaning in the conclusion of the parable. But they would see themselves as those were to receive the same reward and be equal in the eyes of God.   

Today we are fortunate to be able to have the insight into the dynamic way God is speaking through the teaching of Jesus, and through this parable. Biblical scholars help us appreciate how God is present in the scriptures, calling each generation into an authentic relationship with our God. 

Reflection Questions:

1. How is your experience of someone looking for employment different from what is being described in this parable?
2. How would your life be different if you had to daily look for employment for that day?
3. What do you think it was like to be a laborer waiting all day to be hired, and not be hired as the day comes to an end?
4. The workers object to what the owner did, because he has made those hired later in the day equal to those hired at the beginning of the day. Do you have a need to feel that you are special, and significant in the eyes of another, and to God? Have you ever talked to God about those feelings and that need?
5. At the end of the parable, the question is asked of those who are disappointed, are they envious. Are you aware of times when you have been envious of others? How does envy affect you and how you feel about yourself?
6. Can you take some time to talk to God about when you experience God as being generous, and about your own generosity? You also may want to talk with God about some other issue that arose within you from this parable.