September 24, 2023 -Twenty-fifth sunday in ordinary time – Year A

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The text below is the transcription of the video commentary by Fr Fernando Armellini

A good Sunday to all.

When we receive a job offer, we carefully inform ourselves about the type of service required and how it will be performed before signing the contract. We clarify all the details and finally come to the crucial question: How much will I be paid? It is the salary issue that those who put themselves at the service of God also require. Jesus wants to implant his kingdom in the world, and he needs people to work on this project, and he needs many workers.

Jesus says it in the Gospel when he invites his disciples to ask the Father in heaven to send laborers into his harvest, and the laborer wants to know how much he will take home at the end of the day. This will be the theme of the Gospel passage that we will hear today: How much does God pay his workers? The one who asked the question was Peter. We have the story of a young man blessed by fortune who grew up well and led a blameless life.

This young man asked Jesus: 'Besides the commandments I have always kept, what good thing must I do to obtain eternal life?' And Jesus answered him, 'If you want to enter the kingdom of God, if you want to belong to the new humanity, put all that you have at the disposal of the poor, then come and follow me.' Hearing this, the young man did not feel like accepting and preferred to keep all his possessions and went away sad.

It is in this context that Peter asked, also in the name of the other disciples, the question that was pressing on him, and he said to Jesus, 'We have not behaved like that young man who went away; we have left everything, and we have followed you; what reward shall we have?' It is good that Peter asked this question because it interests us, too. Jesus' answer was immediate: 'You who have followed me will receive 100 times more in this life and as an inheritance eternal life.’ Jesus says to them, 'Your life in this world will be 100 times more beautiful, and God will give you his own life, the life of the Eternal, which is untouched by biological death.’

This is the salary. It would be foolish not to sign the contract if the employer is of his word. This is the context in which, to clarify the salary question, Jesus narrates a parable. Let us listen:

"The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. He closed a deal with them at a denarius a day and sent them into his vineyard."

The scene with which the parable begins is very realistic; it is the grape harvest time, and the vinedressers are very worried because the grapes are ripe; they must be picked and crushed quickly. It is important to choose the right day because Israel is in danger of the first rain that comes at the end of September.

In Hebrew, the rain of each season has its name, and the rain at the end of September is the first. It is called יוֹרֶה - 'Yoreh' and is greatly feared by the vinedressers because if it falls on ripe grapes, it causes the wine to lose value. That's why the owners of extensive vineyards must organize the work when it's time for harvesting and, above all, they need to find workers to send to their fields.

And in fact, Jesus's first character in the parable is one of these owners. You see him coming, worried; he's been on his feet since at least four o'clock in the morning because he has prepared baskets and ladders so that when the workers arrive later, they go straight to work. At dawn, he comes to the village square to take the day's workers to his vineyard. You can sense his concern because he had not sent the employee; he went personally to solve all the problems immediately, and when he arrived at the square, he directly reached an agreement with these day laborers, the second personage.

Who were these day laborers? They were people who did not have a fixed job, and when harvest time came, they knew it was an opportunity they should not miss because they could take advantage of the request of the winegrowers to pinch a few cents more. Imagine, for example, that the sky began to cloud a little that morning; the hurry of the winegrowers was increasing, and the day laborers could ask for a little more. This first group is hired immediately at 6 a.m.

Let's note that these people want to work and are committed; they're not lazy and get out of bed late. I'm sure they've already been waiting for someone to pick them up during the day. Everyone is in a hurry, especially a winemaker, who, with a few words, immediately agrees on the price of what to give at the end of the day—one denarius for 12 hours of work, starting at 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. Let us note that these are people of the first hour; they are very committed people, willing, and everybody leaves happy with the agreement, both the boss and the workers.

Before identifying these characters, we want to capture the biblical symbolism of the vineyard, the vine, and the wine because even in the New Testament, Jesus has frequent recourse to these symbolisms, and we must have them present to grasp the message that the New Testament and Jesus wants to communicate to us.

Let's start with wine. What is the symbolism of wine? We observe its importance in the Old Testament; there are as many as nine terms, nine words, to say 'wine,' and the most common word is ייין - 'yayin.' This word appears 140 times in the Old Testament. Then there are the other eight words for wine. If the Bible talks so much about wine, it is important. The symbolic meaning of wine comes from the fact that while water is indispensable for life, wine is not.

It's unnecessary; it's a plus; you can live without wine, and, precisely, from this fact derives the symbolism of wine. It indicates gratuitousness, joy, the extra, the feast, and love. The most important feast at the time of Jesus in Israel was the Feast of Tents, which lasted one week. It was celebrated after the grape harvest when the people began to taste the new wine, and it was the feast when people danced and sang. In the Bible, drunkenness is condemned; for example, the wise Sirach recommends, 'Do not try to be strong with wine.' And the prophet Hosea says, 'Take heed to the wine and the new wine, for they take away the senses.’

They were referring, of course, to the abuse of wine, but wine drunk in moderation is a symbol of joy, of celebration. We noticed that when people get together, they talk, but when drinking their glass of wine, they rejoice, and even those who did not speak at least greet each other. This is the symbolic meaning of wine. Psalm 104 says that wine 'gladdens the heart of man.' In the book of Sirach, chapter 40 says that wine and music gladden the heart. In chapter 31, it says, 'What kind of life is it of him who has no wine?' This is the symbolic meaning of wine; let's keep it in mind.

The vineyard. The vineyard in Hebrew is said כֶּרֶם 'kérem.' See how often this term appears in the Old Testament, 97 times. Vine is said to be 'גפן' - 'gefen' and appears 55 times; therefore, vine and vineyard are very important. The vine is one of the symbols of the people of Israel because the vine gives the grape, and the good grapes give the wine, therefore, joy. Israel is the Lord's vineyard because Israel provides the Lord with pleasure with her prayers, sacrifices, and burnt offerings; with the observance of the Torah, Israel is a vineyard that gives joy to her God. In fact, in the ulam, at the entrance of the sanctuary, in the temple of Jerusalem, at the time of Jesus, there was a golden climbing vine on the walls; they were votive offerings that were given and indicated the holy, incorruptible works that Israel offered to their God. You can appreciate this symbolism's importance in Israel since we find it in the Old and New Testaments. Let us keep it in mind and let us also keep in mind what the prophet Isaiah says in the famous Song of the Vineyard, in chapter 5, when he says, 'Israel, you have not given the Lord good grapes, but sour, inedible grapes.'

Now, let's identify the owner. It is easy... it is God; he is the one who is concerned and hastily seeks laborers for his vineyard. And let's immediately give a name to this vineyard that the Lord wants to produce grapes, to produce wine, that has joy. This vineyard is the kingdom of God; it is the new humanity that God wants to establish in this world. To work in the vineyard means, therefore, to commit oneself to this project of God. The construction of a new world; with our effort, each collaborates to create joy for all.

God wants that all his sons and daughters be happy; nothing more than that. God wants this and only this. The vineyard, therefore, is this new world. God seeks workers for his vineyard. We have covered the Gospel with a veil of sadness, but there is only joy in the Gospel. And we understand, therefore, the haste of the owner; God wants this new world to be realized immediately without wasting time.

Let us identify then who are these laborers who set themselves to work in the vineyard of the Lord, therefore, for the kingdom of God from the first hour. Who are these people? They are the Christians who, from their infancy, enter into the service of the kingdom of God; they are the committed Christians who give their lives to the project of the Gospel; they grow in the constant commitment to build the kingdom of God. Therefore, they are very dedicated people who work hard in the community and spend many Saturday afternoons in the parish, in the chapel; they are the catechists who prepare the liturgies and the hymns. They know very well what is the pay that they will receive. They are aware that they have agreed with the employer about the payment. 'A denarius' is what they have decided upon; it is that pay which we have heard Jesus promise Peter: A hundredfold, a life of success, and the gift of the life of the Eternal.

Now, Jesus introduces in the parable four other departures of the landowner who goes in search of laborers; he wants many to commit themselves to his vineyard. Let us listen:

“And he went out again in the middle of the morning, saw others in the marketplace who had no work, and said to them, ‘You also go into my vineyard. and I will pay you what is due.’ And they went away. He went out again at noon and did the same in the middle of the afternoon. In the evening, he went out, found others who had no work, and said to them: ‘What are you doing here idle all day without working?’ They answer him: ‘Nobody has hired us.’ And he saith unto them, ‘Go ye also into my vineyard.’”

The landowner went out four more times in search of laborers, and since the landowner is God, Jesus wants to underline that he wants workers to come to establish his kingdom in the world as soon as possible; he is in a hurry. In the Gospel, we often find the reference to haste; for example, when Jesus sends his disciples out to proclaim the Gospel because the Gospel is the one that creates the new world and establishes the kingdom of God, Jesus tells his disciples not to greet anyone on the way, not to waste time.

In the Gospel according to Mark, in chapter one, if you read it in Greek, you find 11 times the adverb, εὐθὺς - 'eusús,' which means 'immediately.' Jesus enters the Synagogue and immediately goes to Peter's house in haste; there is no time to lose. The kingdom of God must be established as soon as possible in the world. In Luke chapter 19, Jesus says to Zacchaeus, 'Come down at once,' 'lose no time, you must enter immediately into the feast of the kingdom of God.'

Then, four other groups enter this vineyard; who are they and whom do they represent? They are certainly less committed people; first of all, they indicate those people who accept to enter the construction of the kingdom of God in the vineyard of the Lord at different moments of their lives. Someone was introduced, perhaps by the bridegroom or by the bride when young, begins to participate in meetings, in the life of the community and gets engaged; someone else, when they have already formed a family, a mature person, maybe it is the wife who convinces him, the wife that perhaps is a catechist, that is to say, that she is one of the first hours. Some others have entered retirement, and others are well advanced in age and maybe also regret not having committed earlier; there's only one hour left. Someone may tell them, 'It's too late to make up your mind,' but the employer doesn't; he welcomes everyone, he accepts them if they do something, 'go and work in my vineyard.'

It is these people that these workers represent. And those in the last hour are even scolded by the landowner, 'What are you doing here doing nothing... all day in the square?' The problem is about pay. Let's remember that with the day laborers of the first hour, the landowner agreed on a certain amount of money, and they all left happy; to the others, the landowner said that they would receive whatever was fair, and it is not specified how much. It will be precisely this justice that will be discussed at the end because we will be confronted with two righteousness, the employer's and our own. The landowner also said to those of the last hour: 'Go and do what you can.'

So far, nothing strange; everything has been going on very smoothly. Now comes the time to pay for the work done. If we were in charge, let us now try to pay these workers fairly, from the first hour to the last. The employer is satisfied because the work has been done well, all the grapes have already been picked; they are already crushed, and the vats are full of must, so the boss is happy.

What does he do? He starts with the ones in the last hour; they would deserve a tenth of the money. He looks at them smiling and says, 'Look, next time, come a little earlier, but it's all right; you've worked, so I'll give you half a denarius and go home.’ And when the ones of the first hour arrive, the landowner waits until the rest have all gone, and then, to those of the first hour, he says, 'Sit down first and eat something. and taste the sweet must,’ and then he encourages them to make merry a little before they go home; and when they are about to leave, he gives them two denarii each. This is the right way to give pay.

Let's listen now to how Jesus continues the parable and what pay the landowner who represents God gives. Let us listen:

"And when it was evening, the vineyard owner said to the foreman, ‘Gather the laborers together and pay them their wages, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’ They passed by those of the evening and received their wages. When they first came, they expected to receive more, but they, too, received the same pay. And when they received it, they complained against the landowner: ‘These last have labored one hour, and you have paid them the same as us, who have endured the day's fatigue and heat.’"

The evening came, and all the laborers returned from the vineyard. The landowner is a just man; he knew the disposition of Deuteronomy, where the Lord says, 'You shalt not exploit the poor and needy hireling; thou shall give him his wages before the sunset because he must see that wage, he must enjoy it because he is weary, he has labored; woe to you if you exploit the poor needy, he will cry to me, and great will be your sin.’ The landowner tells the foreman to begin to give the pay; he makes them line up and tells him to start with the last and provide them with a denarius.

It is easy to imagine the scene; those in the first hour can no longer stand up because they are tired; they have worked 12 hours, and when they see the foreman handing out a denarius to those who have worked only one hour, their hearts are filled with joy, 'How lucky we have been to work for this employer, who first, pays before sunset, and then the pay he gives... who knows what those of us who have worked for 12 hours will receive?' But when the foreman pays to those of the first hour, he also gives them a denarius. They thought they would receive more, and at this moment, they feel mocked, 'We thought he was good. Instead, this landowner is a provocateur. Now we realize why he started paying from the last one.’ And they say, 'Then we've been taken for fools. Why did we make such an effort? Why did we get up early and run to the square? The lucky ones have been the idlers.'

And indeed, as they collected the money, they murmured. The Greek verb is 'ἐγόγγυζον' - 'egoguison,' which does not mean to murmur but rather that they objected strongly to the landowner's behavior. They said to him, 'These last have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us' (so says the Greek text); you made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the day and the heat.’

We note that the only ones who protest are those of the first hour, the good, the committed, and so the lesson is directed to them. Who are they today who are angry at this strange justice, which is God's justice, who gives to all the same pay? They are not those who come to the last hour; they are the devout Christians, those who have kept all the commandments since childhood and perhaps have made great efforts—those who can boast of having accumulated many merits by doing many good deeds.

Formerly, a spirituality of the merits was taught, which recommended doing good works to accumulate merits in paradise; you will then enjoy eternity. But this spirituality is the same as that of the Pharisees, which Jesus came to challenge because it starts from a false image of God.

The God of Jesus of Nazareth, the heavenly Father you are called to resemble, is gratuitous love. This love made to accumulate merit is still selfishness; you do good, but you still think of yourself; you are outside the proposal of love created by Jesus of Nazareth. Let us observe that this is precisely why the most fervent Christians find it difficult to accept the gratuitousness of God.

Let us identify the error committed by these people, who are good and who desperately try to defend our justice, which is not that of God, of gratuitousness. We see the error; those who reason this way do not understand that the Gospel is not a burden. Jesus says in the Gospel, 'Take my yoke upon you for it is light.' It is a mistranslation, 'χρηστὸς' - 'chrestós' in Greek means a yoke that fits very well; gratuitous love is well suited to our nature; we are not made for our righteousness but for the righteousness of God, which is gratuitousness.

We were programmed to be sons and daughters of this God who loves freely. If we reason with our righteousness, we are not children of God. It is fortunate to have found the Gospel; it is not a burden, a work, a set of duties which one would gladly do without; it is a treasure, and those who have encountered Christ have been blessed.

We should say, 'How wonderful to have met the Lord in the dawn of my life; how fortunate I was to be born in a family that educated me to accept the proposal of man made by Jesus of Nazareth; I have received the hundred-fold in my life thanks to having participated from a very young age in the vineyard of the Lord, in the construction of the kingdom of God, of the new world... I was fortunate to have a grandmother and a grandfather who told me about Jesus of Nazareth, who gave me this great gift. I am happy to have lived this way; a committed life, by the way, which also implied sacrifice, but a beautiful life. If I had not known the Gospel, if I had not known the landowner of the vineyard since childhood, I, too, would have remained in the square loitering all my life without knowing what I was doing in this world. 'Instead, I have received a hundredfold; I have built a beautiful life.'

Here, these Christians are invited to see the good fortune they have had, and when they meet people who have known the landowner of the vineyard in their youth, they see that they have already lost some years of joy, and those who have known Christ in the middle of their life, at noon, and those who have known Christ in their middle age or even in their old age, when they may have spent their life searching for joy in the square without finding it... When we see these people coming at any hour, what does the Christian of the first hour say? 'How nice it is that now you come; you can also lend us a hand; even if it's only for an hour, you can still do a lot.' And maybe somebody will also say, 'What a pity I'm late.’

What to answer these people? Don't worry; now, the new day begins for you; now, the new day starts for everyone. And now comes the brutal answer of the landowner, who is God and wants us to assimilate his righteousness:

"And he answered one of them: Friend, I am not being unjust; had we not concluded a deal for a denarius? Then take what's yours and go, for I want to give the last the same as you. Or may I not dispose of my goods as I please? Why do you take it amiss that I am generous? Thus, the last shall be first, and the first shall be last."

The words that Jesus addresses to the workers of the first hour, those who are committed, those who have worked their whole life, are hard. They are the Christians we priests can always count on when we need them in the parish. Why does Jesus use this strong expression? 'Take what is yours and go.'

Jesus wants to free these Christians who are slaves of the spirituality of merits because these people cannot be happy; they do not allow themselves to be involved in the gratuitousness of the love of the Father in heaven; they do not reproduce this gratuitous love of their Father. They wallow in their selfishness, and that's why they feel unhappy in the community of brothers afterward. And people notice that when you do good, you are still a selfish person who thinks only of yourself; you are a mean Christian, incapable of rejoicing wherever you go and seeing some good.

And Jesus says, 'Your eye is evil because I am good.' This is the correct translation: 'עין הרע ' - 'ayin rah' is a Hebrew expression employed here by Jesus which reads, 'You have an eye that sees wrongly; you do not see and do not know how to recognize the goodness of God.' The parable ends with this self-presentation of God: 'I am good - gratuitous love, and if you are a son and want to be a son of this Father, you should rejoice wherever you see happy people even if, unfortunately, they have realized too late that joy resides in gratuitous love.

I wish you all a good Sunday and a good week.