Once upon a time Jesus told a story about a man who owned a vineyard. At harvest time he wanted to get some day laborers to come pick the grapes. Early one morning he hired a bunch of them at the usual pay rate, a denarius per day, and sent them into the vineyard to get to work (Matthew 20:1-2). He found more laborers at 9 am, more at noon, some at 3 pm, and even a few stragglers at 5 pm (20:3-7).

When the harvest was all in, he had his manager line everyone up to get their pay (20:8). Those who had come in at 5 pm received a denarius: a full day’s pay! Those who started at sunrise thought this was great: if the vineyard owner was going to pay the latecomers a denarius, they were sure he was going to pay them a lot more, since they worked a lot longer. But they also received a denarius (20:9-10).

That made them quite upset. They grumbled, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat” (20:11-12). And haven’t many of us felt from time to time that Jesus owed us a lot more than we were getting? It has felt like we have worked hard and deserve to get more than some others we might mention, right? And it’s not fair that we were not being more richly rewarded?

I’ve been there. But I guess mostly I’ve identified with the latecomers: I’m pretty much astonished that I’m included at all. I could see how the vineyard owner might have just shrugged and said it wasn’t worth the bother to try to get something done with those stragglers. Yet here we are, drawn in off the street at the last minute, part of making the harvest happen even as the sun was setting at the end of the day: and miraculously holding a full reward.

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And why is it, Lord, that you bothered to include us at all? You might so easily have passed by and left us out in the gathering darkness. Yet in your love you have called us and blessed us: and so we respond in deep thanksgiving. Blessed be your name, forever!

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