When I was a kid, I had a collection of Garfield books. You remember him, right? The fat orange cat who eats lasagne and generally disdains his human? Well, at the back of one of those books was a “Garfield Horoscope.” I have never forgotten mine: “A Happy-go-lucky character who reads romantic novels and thinks that life should be fair.” Never in the history of horoscopes has something been so accurate.
I have this persistent belief in fairness. In Justice. I believe that things should always be as fair as possible. So this scripture has always been a challenge to me. I think that’s because I’m looking at fairness through the lens of my own humanity and not through God’s eyes. This scripture turns all of our “usual” ideas of fairness on their head.
“The parable itself is rather straightforward. We have a landowner who needs to bring in the harvest from the vineyard. So, early in the morning, the landowner goes out to where the day laborers have gathered. It’s a sight that can be seen in our own day. Farmers, contractors, and other employers who need largely unskilled laborers will hire for the day, usually, I’m assuming, on a cash basis. So, the landowner hires a crew that is deemed sufficient for the task. They agreed to a wage, which in that region at that time in history was a denarius. He sent them into the vineyard to harvest the crop. Here is where things get interesting because the landowner goes out around nine in the morning and sees more laborers standing there hoping to be hired. So, he hires them, telling them that he’ll pay them what is right. He does this same thing at noon, three, and five. Each time he makes the same agreement. He’ll pay them what is fair. At the end of the day, the landowner instructs his assistants to line people up to be paid, beginning with those hired last. He pays them a denarius. That’s a full day’s wage. He does the same for each hire, including those hired first. The ones hired, let’s say, at six AM.
If you got hired at the end of the day you’re thrilled. You only had to work for an hour or two and you got a full day’s wage. But what about the ones hired first? They worked hard, all day long in the hot sun. Surely, they deserve more in compensation. That only seems just and fair. Yet, the landowner treated them the same way as the ones hired last.” (Cornwall)
So is that fair? Maybe not. But is it just? I believe that this passage is about Justice and not fairness and that is an important distinction.
Fairness is evaluative and comparative. It is a measure in comparison to others. Justice, however, is what is morally required- it is about what someone deserves in response to their humanity.
The treatment of the workers in today's parable is NOT fair. But it is most certainly just. No matter how long someone worked in the vineyard they were given a day's wages. Now technically, this wasn’t UNFAIR to the workers who had worked all day. But once compared to those who only worked a few hours it certainly might feel really unfair. I can imagine the kind of complaints from those who felt that they deserved more for working more. After all,”. Even in first-century Palestine, the concept of equal work for equal pay was an established principle. But here we find the vineyard owner paying the same wage to the laborers, regardless of how much or how little time they worked during the day. Such an uneconomical practice must have taken the crowd by surprise. What lord or owner would make such a foolishly generous offer?”(Squires)
Well, this is where the notion of Justice comes in rather than fairness. Fairness would have paid an hourly wage down to the minute for what someone worked. Justice demands that everyone who showed up for work get paid the agreed-upon amount no matter when they showed up. Justice takes into consideration the differing circumstances of everyone who worked that day- the one who might have been late because of a sick child. The one who couldn’t get there any earlier due to transportation challenges. The one who got stopped by guards or law enforcement of some kind on the way. Every person who makes it to work gets to go home with the amount of money promised for working. This is both generous and just.
But, this is not a news story about an event that definitely happened. This is a parable, and thus we know Jesus has a reason for telling it. This is a description of the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus uses parables to describe what God’s kingdom is like so that those listening might understand who God is. This parable focuses on God’s justice and grace.
In this parable, the landowner represents God, who shows grace and generosity to all people, regardless of their past or how "early" or "late" they come to faith or repentance. God's love is available to everyone, and no one is beyond God’s grace. God doesn’t care if someone believes for just a few minutes of their life or for the entire time. It doesn’t even matter if that belief is professed publicly. God welcomes whoever shows up. Period. This parable isn’t about “who gets into heaven” but rather about the generous acceptance God offers to all.
This parable also challenges the idea that someone can earn their salvation through good works or through length of service. That is a fairness mindset. A justice mindset understands that all who want a relationship with God can have one regardless of who they are, how they love, or the duration of their faith journey.
This all reminds me of a famous quote often attributed to Theodore Roosevelt. He said, “Comparison is the thief of Joy”
At the end of a long day of work, as people received their wages, I imagine that there was a great deal of joy as each worker was handed their coins. The problem wasn’t in the coins. The problem came when people began comparing what they had been paid. Those who worked longer felt like they deserved more money despite having been paid what they had agreed to. The problem was in the comparison.
To be clear, sometimes the comparison of wages is necessary. For example, the current UAW strike is this parable kind of in reverse. It would be as if the workers labored all day, but the landowner decided to keep all of the grapes AND all of the money, paying only what was minimally necessary or nothing at all. In this case, the disparity between the CEOs of these companies and those who do the work is unjust. When companies post billion-dollar profits, but their workers struggle to put food on the table? It’s a justice issue.
But the owner of the vineyard understands all of this. He is a JUST man. He makes sure that everyone is compensated for their labor and that no one is going to be hungry because they work for him. Remember, the landowner speaks of generosity and sustenance. The funds belong to the landowner, who might have paid more for that day's work than necessary simply because he hired workers that he may have needed, simply to make sure they had something to take home. Thus, the landowner asks: “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” (Cornwall).
So while I am indeed a happy-go-lucky character who thinks life should be fair. I am even happier-go-luckier when life is just. When folks are treated with love and dignity and given what they need, even in the face of upsetting what other people might want. And that, I think is what Jesus is getting at in this parable. God’s justice is bigger than fairness and the kingdom of God is just. And in God’s way of thinking we all deserve love, forgiveness, and fulfillment.
So I guess it doesn’t really matter who is first in line or last in line. Because no matter where we fall in the hierarchy of humanity, God’s justice treats us as deserving. And I think I’m okay with that.