Matthew 20:2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
The debate about capitalism (individuals control economics) versus socialism (government controls economics) is raging here in this country. A very small and vocal minority is pushing very hard against capitalism, especially at the federal level. There seems to be a myopia with the history of socialism around the globe and over time.
Here in the West, we are more used to having control over our economic futures, and this is very hard to give up. We like begin able to choose and allow the free market to control our spending. Even though there have been government forces pushing and pulling on the economy for years, the rate of increased involvement is troubling to me.
Our text is at the beginning of one of Jesus’ parables. This parable in particular says a lot about economics, even though economics isn’t the thrust of the parable. The economics become the vehicle for the message, just what parables are supposed to accomplish.
The message of this parable is summed up in the last verse, verse sixteen of this chapter. “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” In context the first are the religious leaders of Jesus’ day and the last are the tax collectors and sinners who are following Jesus. You see, Jesus doesn’t reach out to those we would expect. He goes for the least important in influential in society.
That socialist would read our verse and immediately complain that the owner of the vineyard only offered to pay a denarius, what we would call minimum wage. It was the amount that a worker would normally be paid for a day’s wages. The socialist would look at the wealth of the owner and say he doesn’t deserve that wealth and that it should be distributed to the workers through higher wages, what we would call a living wage.
But the generosity of the landowner isn’t seen until he begins to give much more than the laborers deserve. He give a full day’s wage to the one who works only one hour of the day. Sounds like some of the proposals being floated about a basic income for everyone, doesn’t it! Everyone, no matter how much they work, or how difficult or dangerous that work is, should be guaranteed an income sufficient to meet their basic needs.
But this generous landowner freely gives an abundance, providing for all what they need for the day. So if this were a lesson on economics we could draw the conclusion that capitalism frees the wealthy to be generous with their money, meeting the needs of all. In the modern context we might say that the Walmart dynasty could freely choose to increase the wage of their employees, sacrificing some of their own wealth.
But this parable is not about economics. It is about the upside down Kingdom. It doesn’t work on the same principles as we would expect. The last responders to the message of grace and hope get the same reward as those who have served longer. The Gentile converts of Jesus day receive grace, just like the Jews who have served for generations.
The Kingdom is about our response to Jesus call on our lives. The real wage is not the money we receive, but in the service itself. What we gain by serving for a long time is intimacy we have with our Creator, a thing no wage could capture.
It is never too late in life to respond to Jesus, and when we do, we receive the same gift of grace and mercy that those who responded before us do. We all receive eternal life, the greatest gift of all. No wage compares to that gift.
The Arnold Journey 