THE TEXT BELOW IS THE TRANSCRIPTION OF THE VIDEO COMMENTARY BY FR. FERNANDO ARMELLINI

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A good Sunday to all. 

When we receive a job offer, we carefully research the type of service required and how it will be performed before signing the contract. We clarify all the details and finally answer the crucial question: How much will I be paid? This is the salary issue that those who put themselves at the service of God also require. Jesus wants to establish his kingdom in the world, and he needs people to work on this project. 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 a laborer asks how much he will take home at the end of the day. This will be the theme of the Gospel passage 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?’ 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 want to accept it and preferred to keep all his possessions, so he went away sad. 

It is in this context that Peter, also in the name of the other disciples, asked 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 as well. 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 keeps his word. This is the context in which Jesus, to clarify the salary question, tells 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 agreed with them on a denarius a day and sent them into his vineyard. 

The scene in which the parable begins is very realistic; it is 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 at risk of the first rain at the end of September. 

In Hebrew, each season’s rain has its own name, and the rain at the end of September is the first. It is called יוֹרֶה – ‘Yoreh’ and is greatly feared by vinedressers because if it falls on ripe grapes, it causes the wine to lose value. That’s why owners of extensive vineyards must organize the work when it’s time to harvest, 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, having prepared baskets and ladders so that when the workers arrive later, they can 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 an employee; he went personally to solve all the problems immediately, and when he arrived at the square, he directly reached an agreement with the day laborers, the second personage. 

Who were these day laborers? They were people without 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 winegrowers’ request to ask for a few cents more. Imagine, for example, that the sky began to cloud a little that morning; the winegrowers’ hurry was increasing, and the day laborers could ask for a little more. This first group was hired immediately at 6 a.m. 

Let’s note that these people want to work and are committed; they’re not lazy and don’t 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 the winemaker, who, with a few words, immediately agrees on the price to pay at the end of the day—one denarius for 12 hours of work, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Let us note that these are people of the first hour; they are very committed and 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 frequently draws on these symbols, and we must keep them in view to grasp the message that the New Testament and Jesus want 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 for ‘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 in Israel at the time of Jesus was the Feast of Tabernacles, which lasted one week. It was celebrated after the grape harvest, when people tasted the new wine, and it was the time when they 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, of course, referring to the abuse of wine, but wine drunk in moderation is a symbol of joy and celebration. We noticed that when people get together, they talk, but when they drink a 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, it says that wine and music gladden the heart. Chapter 31 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. In Hebrew, the word for vineyard is כֶּרֶם ‘kérem.’ It appears 97 times in the Old Testament. Vine is ‘גפן’ – ‘gefen’ and occurs 55 times; therefore, vine and vineyard are very important. The vine is one of the symbols of the people of Israel because it produces grapes, and good grapes yield wine, which brings joy. Israel is the Lord’s vineyard because Israel gives the Lord pleasure through her prayers, sacrifices, and burnt offerings; through 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; these were votive offerings that indicated the holy, incorruptible works that Israel offered to their God. You can appreciate the importance of this symbolism in Israel, as it appears in both 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 cares and urgently seeks laborers for his vineyard. And let’s immediately give a name to this vineyard that the Lord wants to produce grapes and wine that bring 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, therefore, means 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 all his sons and daughters to 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, yet there is only joy in the Gospel. Therefore, we understand the owner’s haste; God wants this new world realized immediately, without wasting time. 

Let us then identify who these laborers are who set themselves to work in the vineyard of the Lord, 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 a 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 chapel; they are the catechists who prepare the liturgies and hymns. They know very well what pay 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, in the parable, Jesus introduces 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 answered him: ‘Nobody has hired us.’ And he said to them, ‘Go also into my vineyard.’ 

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

In the Gospel of Mark, chapter one, if you read it in Greek, you find the adverb εὐθὺς (‘eusús’) 11 times, meaning ‘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 include those who accept to enter the construction of the kingdom of God in the vineyard of the Lord at different moments of their lives. Someone is introduced, perhaps by the bridegroom or the bride when young, begins to participate in meetings and in the life of the community, and gets engaged; someone else, when already a mature person with a family, maybe it is the wife who convinces him, the wife who perhaps is a catechist, that is to say, 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 and 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 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 forms of 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 very smoothly. Now it is time to pay for the work done. If we were in charge, let us 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 been picked, they have already been crushed, and the vats are full of must, so the boss is happy. 

What does he do? He starts with those who worked the last hour; they 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 those 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. When they are about to leave, he gives them two denarii each. This is the right way to pay. 

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

And when evening came, 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 who had come in the evening and paid them. 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 paying; 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 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 those in 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 indicates 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 and the committed, so the lesson is directed to them. Who are they today who are angry at this strange justice, which is God’s justice, that gives all the same pay? They are not those who come at 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 through many good deeds. 

Formerly, a spirituality of the merits was taught, which recommended doing good works to accumulate merits in paradise so you would 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, aimed at accumulating 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 created to be sons and daughters of this God who loves freely. If we rely on our righteousness, we are not children of God. It is fortunate to have found the Gospel; it is not a burden, a work, or a set of duties 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 at the dawn of my life; how fortunate I was to be born into a family that taught me to accept the proposal of man made by Jesus of Nazareth; I have received a hundredfold in my life thanks to participating from a very young age in the vineyard of the Lord, in the construction of the kingdom of God, the new world… I was fortunate to have a grandmother and a grandfather who told me about Jesus of Nazareth and gave me this great gift. I am happy to have lived this way, a committed life that 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 recognize the good fortune they have had. When they meet people who knew the landowner of the vineyard in their youth, they see that those people have already lost some years of joy. And those who knew Christ in the middle of their life, at noon, and those who knew Christ in their middle age or even in their old age, when they may have spent their lives 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 you come now; 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 should be said to 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 from the landowner, who is God and wants us to assimilate his righteousness: 

And he answered one of them: Friend, I am not being unjust; did we not agree on 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 Jesus addresses to the workers of the first hour, those who are committed, those who have worked their whole lives, 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 enslaved to the spirituality of merit because they cannot be happy; they do not allow themselves to be involved in the Father’s gratuitous love 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 used here by Jesus, which means, ‘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.