The Gospel of Matthew
The Good Householder: Mt 19,30-20,16
Jesus continues to speak to his disciples and the story begins with "for".
"Householder" may seem out of place in a vineyard which is why this is often translated "landowner". "Householder" though is the Greek word which may have had echoes for early Christians who often met in houses (1 Tim 3,15). Perhaps we could say that God is more a householder than a landowner.
The first scene of the parable is set in the marketplace (verses 1-7) where the householder goes to look for workers.
The second scene is set in the vineyard itself (verses 8-15) when the workers come to the owner to collect their wages. A denarius would have been a standard labourer's daily wage.
In the first verse, the kingdom of heaven is likened to the householder and we can understand the householder here representing God. It is on his actions that we must focus in this story.
The vineyard is one of the classic OT symbols for the people of Israel as we hear in the song of chapter 5 of Isaiah.
The other three OT references all concern the conditions of work behind this story.
The Roman times in verses 3-4 would be the 3rd, 6th and 9th hour of a 12 hour day.
In verse 4 the 3rd hour workers are promised what is just. This compares with the early workers of verse 2 who are promised their denarius.
The eleventh hour in verse 6 clearly highlights that there is only one hour to go before the working day ends.
When the householder asks these remaining workers why they are idle, they reply that they have not been hired. It pushes the story too far to wonder where they were during previous visits by the householder. But they too will have families to feed.
The story is now set for the resolution in the second scene.
The Payment: 20,8-16
In verse 8, the word usually translated "owner" is literally "lord". While the translations may be correct, "lord" as with "householder" will raise echoes in the Christian mind.
Payment then proceeds in verses 8 to 10.
The early workers grumble and don't call the owner by any title in verse 11. He in reply calls them "Friend" and points out that they have had what was agreed. In verse 13, though not always clear in the translations (but see RNJB), the householder says he is not being unjust to the workers. We recall that in verse 4 he said he would pay the workers what is just.
Therefore in Verse 14 and the first part of verse 15, the householder says the payment is his choice and he is free to choose.
Verse 15 gives us the key to the whole story. The householder is good. Being good refers to his nature, "generosity" which has taken over English translations refers rather to what he does. This story is telling us about the nature of our God, the householder or lord (verse 8) of the vineyard. His very nature is to be good. That means he acts justly, he fulfils his agreement with the early workers. He can also act with mercy or generosity as he then does with the late arrivals. God is free to choose and God is good.
This story is a parable. Although we read the householder as God and the vineyard is a symbol of Israel, it must be a story which calls for a response from us.
In 19,17, replying to the someone who asks about the good, Jesus said there is one alone who is good. Matthew with this parable is showing what this means. God is good, and his goodness means he is a God who is just or right and also a God who is love and mercy. Ps 136,1 makes the connection.
Although it may not be strong enough to be a frame, it must be significant that this whole section 19,16-20,16 is bounded by the note that God as good. We can see this parable which is unique to Matthew as a follow up to Peter's question "What about us?" in 19,27. If the first answer of Jesus was about the final reward (19,29), then the parable brings out something about the way to gain that reward.
A useful summary of all this comes from my Italian missal:
The problem is above all the following: What must I do to obtain eternal life? (19,16). It is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. (19,23). Who then can be saved? (19,25) This is impossible for men but for God everything is possible. (19,26) Salvation is the work of God, who calls all men in the situation in which they find themselves and at the hour they allow themselves to be found. Salvation is always a gift of his goodness (20,15b). Those who, called at an early hour, grumble like the dawn workers (20,1.12), those like the brother of the prodigal (Lk 15,25-32), like Jonah for the saving of the Ninevites (Jonah 3,14-4,1) or those who lay claim to rights because they have left everything (19,27), will find themselves placed in the last place (19,30; 20,16) because of their attitude.
Return to the main page.
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Chapter 55 of Isaiah concludes the so-called "Book of the Consolation of Israel", chapters 40 to 55. These chapters form an encouragement to the people of Israel to leave Babylon and return to and refound the community in Jerusalem.
Chapter 55 is therefore about God's purposes and God's plan. It is a magnificent affirmation of the need to trust God and let his plan come to fruition. Its importance to the Church is not surprising.
The four verses provided for this Sunday illustrate the Gospel by pointing out that God's ways are not our ways. God is good, God is free to choose.
That note of God is good is found in the responsorial psalm (from Ps 145). As quite frequently in the psalms (Ps 100,5 or Ps 136,1), God's goodness is linked to his mercy and compassion (Ps 145,7-9).
With that in mind, we are ready to return to the main page to continue our read with the second part of the chapter and the approach to Jerusalem.