Matthew 20
One fundamental assumption of the economy is that the man’s desire and want are unlimited while the natural resources are limited. This assumption can explain many economic phenomena. Agriculture developed because simply gathering food from nature could not support the population. Trade developed because natural resources were not equally distributed in different places. All kinds of economic competitions are an undeniable reality because everyone cannot have to his heart’s content. This situation of the man is well described at the end of Adam and Eve’s story in the Book of Genesis. When they were exiled from the Garden of Eden, the ground no longer gave food as it used to give abundantly. The man had to labour and sweat in toil to eat. And, then, a brother killed his brother out of envy – implying fierce competition among men. Shut out of the paradise, the man finds himself in constant need and incessant competition. It’s all because we cannot find enough of anything.
This unfortunate situation made it necessary for the man to look for justice. If everyone could go out and find enough at all the times, we don’t have to worry about what is my due or what is your due. Because everything on earth is limited, the man had to devise a way to distribute the limited resources people can agree with.
The parable Jesus gives in this Sunday’s gospel shows a sense of economic justice in the time of Jesus. It seems most people even in ancient times believed the resources should be distributed according to one’s labour and effort, not by certain favour or luck. This is what the labourer in the parable expected. They didn’t ask for something extraordinary. They simply expected due justice. However, what the landowner of the vineyard did was incomprehensible to them. They all received the same daily wage! This makes the parable very interesting.
What Jesus wanted to demonstrate to his disciples was not the human economy. As he speaks at the beginning of the parable, he was teaching about the kingdom of heaven. The greatest principle in the economy of salvation we often forget is this: God’s mercy and his goodness are boundless. God the Father never runs out of his mercy. Nothing can exhaust the abundance of his goodness. God does not save good things against evil people. He gives good things to the bad people as well as to the good ones as the Sun gives light not only to good wheat but also to bad weeds. God gives good things even to sinners so that they might have an opportunity to turn away from their evil ways. When a sinner repents his sins close to the end of his life, God gives the same salvation to him as he gives to a life-long saint. No one has to compete against anyone. As long as he entrusts his life to God, he receives more than enough.
The road to salvation is narrow and difficult as Jesus tells us. Some of us have to walk longer. For some others, the walk may be shorter. But let us not forget these: all are invited; all have opportunities; God gives good things even when we sin; His mercy is boundless; everyone is given hope for salvation. Then, now, let us go to his vineyard.
