Midweek Faith Lift
October 30, 2019
The Parable of the Vineyard It’s Not Fair!
Rev. Deb Hill-Davis
This is a good one, so let’s just jump right in!
Matthew 20:1-16
The Laborers in the Vineyard
20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; 4 and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. 5 When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. 6 And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ 8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ 9 When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. 10 Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. 11 And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘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.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 14 Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” (NRSV)
When I first heard this parable, my first thought was, that’s not fair! What is the point of this one and how do we make spiritual sense of it. Last week we planted weeds and wheat together and now we work in the vineyard and everyone gets paid the same, no matter how long they work! Humph! If these parables are meant to confuse me, to make me think and look at things differently, well then I’d say they are right on track, because on the surface, this one makes no more sense than the Wheat and the Weeds! I cannot imagine any Union shop steward agreeing to this kind of pay scale. The characters in the parable are reacting just like the typical union boss and members. And you can only imagine the talk in the teacher’s lounge if this were to happen at a school! Oh my! OY!!
Ok, so our first spiritual clue is the opening line: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like….” We’ve heard that one before, so our alert system tell us that this is about consciousness, our consciousness and the true nature of our Christ Consciousness. So we have to look a bit deeper. Metaphysically let’s get to the vineyard because that is where this is happening. The Vineyard represents, according to The Revealing Word:
The fruit of the vine is a symbol of life. Jesus said, “I am the vine.” The vineyard represents manifest man or humanity, which was planted in perfection and perfection is its destiny.
So metaphysically, when we come into the vineyard, we are coming into our full potential, our full humanity to realize the full manifestation of our Christ-life, the perfect realization of our Divine/Human potential. This vineyard is a place in consciousness for realizing our full worth and value as humans and our “perfected” true life in our Divinity or Christ Consciousness. In other words, there is a lot going on here!
So why does Jesus tell the story in the way that he does, with these workers trickling in at different times of the day? Well, the truth is that not everyone gets there, to the Vineyard, at the same time or in the same way. And that is ok! When you look at the story, there are those who show up right away, early in the morning, the eager beavers, right? They are ready to work and they get right at it. Well, I have never really been a 6:00 AM in the morning person so left to my own devices, that would not be me! I am more like the 5:00 o’clock person, or the 3:00 PM guy, or noon at best! And I would be astonished that I got the same compensation as the one who showed up at 6:00 AM. I would feel guilty about that! But that is not the message here! NO GUILT NEEDED!
Now all of these folks are standing about, idling in the marketplace. In other words, they are hanging out, just checking out what is going on in the center of town, checking out what is going on in the center of consciousness, not doing, just being. No one that the landowner calls to work is engaged in anything of note. What that says to me is that the call to spiritually awaken comes when I least expect it, not necessarily when I am seeking it or working for it. And the call requires me to do some work in harvesting my Christ consciousness. I cannot realize it without some effort and going into that place of possibility of the full realization of my Divine/Human nature. Nor is anyone in dire circumstances in this story either. They are all just hanging out, idling in the marketplace ready to go into the vineyard when someone calls them.
That is the key here…they are ready to say yes when called! And they recognize the call to come, to awaken and they do it! Without second-guessing, without hesitation! I had to have the cosmic 2x4 before I would say yes, which was much more painful! The message here, from Jesus, is that it really doesn’t have to be painful to awaken to your true nature, you just need to say yes when you are called to make a change. The fact that folks are being called all day long reflects the true nature of change: Continuously Having A New Growth Experience!
The ultimate message here is when and how I come to a full realization of my Christ consciousness and my Human/Divine nature is my own unique journey. It has nothing to do with when or how you wake up and realize the fullness of your own Human/Divine nature. Which is the main point of the Landowner saying at the end of the day to each of them, “Why are you complaining?” The point is that this fullness of life is not doled out according to what is fair, in our human understanding, so get over it already. Jesus is saying to them, life is not fair, but that doesn’t keep you from having your spiritual awakening! You have it whenever you have it!
If we are all the characters in this story, then what this tells us is that there are some issues where we get it right away, early in the day. And then there are those blessed growth opportunities where we don’t get it until much later, and that is okay, too. What Jesus is telling us is to not have a lack consciousness about anything. When you are ready, Spirit is there, love is there and you will receive all of your good no matter when, no matter what. And what you receive has nothing to do with being “deserving” of it. That is also the profound message of this parable. All you have to do is say yes, go into the vineyard and work in the consciousness of your Good-ness, your “God-ness” and you will receive.
That is the final message of the Landowner, “There is more than enough for everyone who comes into their Christ-Consciousness.” The Universe is generous, there is more than enough for all who come into the Vineyard, no matter when you get there. You do not earn spiritual awakening by the amount of work you do or by any other means. You show up, you say yes and in the labor of your human life you realize your true Divine nature and you change. Friends, it is our humanity and our human experiences that truly teach us about our Divine nature and prompt us to change. No one can do it for you and no one can take your good from you. It is yours to claim and everyone is welcome. Likewise, you can’t do it for someone else nor can you have your good at their expense. The landowner just kept looking for folks who seemed to not be engaged in anything else, hanging out in the place of possibility and non-attachment. When he called them and they said yes, they received, no matter when.
The most powerful message for me in this parable is that of inclusivity. Everyone who comes into the vineyard receives the same thing! That is an incredibly powerful spiritual message when we get caught up in our human judgments of who is deserving or the lack consciousness that says we don’t deserve what Spirit is offering us, or worries that we won’t get our fair share. It became a powerful message when I was in school and one of my teachers shared that he would not be comfortable officiating a gay wedding. I had no idea that this was an issue in Unity circles, but it was back in 2012. I have two LGBTQ children who grew up in Unity. It never occurred to me that the local Unity minister might not be willing to perform their wedding ceremony! That was almost a deal-breaker for me!
As I sat with that possibility, it was this parable that came to mind and heart! Everyone who is willing is invited into the vineyard, no exceptions. The only condition for invitation seemed to be that those invited were not pre-occupied with something else, which would claim their attention and energy. The net outcome for all those who said yes is that they received the same thing. My take on that is that Jesus is telling us that this spiritual awakening is for everyone and likewise, the power of love is for everyone, no exceptions. The bonds of love that are sanctified in marriage are for everyone, no exception. His only observation is that the last, or least of these shall be first and the first shall be last, no explanation needed or required. May it be so!
Blessings on the Path,
Rev. Deb