It helps to know the historical context of Ancient Israel and the Ancient Mediterranean world to help us better understand Sacred Scripture and to apply it to our modern world. I have been to the country of Spain seven different times. Spain is a part of the Mediterranean culture, just like Israel. When one goes to a restaurant for lunch or dinner in that part of the world, a bottle of wine is served with the meal rather than a glass of water. Wine is a big part of the culture there. In the days of Jesus, without refrigeration and without a good water purification system, wine was the safest thing to drink. Thus, the grape harvest was important in Israel; it took place at the end of September, followed by a rainy season. If the harvest wasn’t gathered quickly, it could be ruined. The vineyard owners welcomed all workers to help with the harvest, even if they could give just an hour or two. The laborers would meet in the market place, waiting for work. Jesus’ parable today is about divine justice, in which God is compared to the landowner who hires laborers to work in his vineyard. Those who worked the full day were promised the expected wage, but those who worked a part of the day, for as little as an hour, were promised to be paid “what is just” by the owner. Those who worked the entire day felt unjustly treated compared to those who worked a short time. However, the owner told them that they were not the victim of an injustice.
What can we take away from this parable? We cannot think about this parable just in terms of earthly values. What God gives us is not the same as a pay check that we receive from a job. What God gives us is a gift. God does not give us a reward. Rather, he give us grace offered from his love and mercy.
How can we think of God’s love and mercy for us in the context of our earthly values? Let’s think about the love and devotion many of us have for our sports teams. The 3 big universities in Mississippi - Southern Mississippi, Ole Miss and State - all have huge sports fans. And amongst sport teams, a lot people here in Mississippi like the Braves or the Cardinals in Baseball and the Cowboys, Saints, or Packers in Football. One of the inmates recently told me that he loves football season since he is a huge Saints fan. He said that following the football season really helps him pass the time in prison. I can just imagine that. The love we have for our sports teams means we still cheer them on whether we win or lose. I am a Cubs fan - I certainly know that. Just a couple of weeks ago, it looked like we would make the playoffs. Now, it doesn’t look that way at all. As fans, we can forgive bad losses or mistakes, even though it is so painful to see our teams lose. But the love we have for our sports teams, the sense of belonging we feel with the other fans, that is nothing like the love God has for us, nothing like the love, mercy, and forgiveness God has for us. Nothing - there is no comparison.
I want to say one other thing about God’s mercy and social justice before I close. Unfortunately, social justice has become a politicized term. We label people in society in a world that is very divided. We want to label people either a Republican or a Democrat, a liberal or a conservative, a traditionalist or a reformer. We also label people in the Church, don’t we? We are either a conservative, traditional Catholic, or a liberal Catholic who wants to modernize everything. These labels divide us. Most often, those labels are not productive at all. We as disciples of Christ are to make up the one Body of Christ here on earth, to follow the values of God’s kingdom and the message of Christ’s Gospel. Journeying together as the Body of Christ can push us or challenge or make us uncomfortable or make us think. We sometimes wrestle with our faith. Sometimes we ponder it in our hearts. But we are here together on a journey. We are not here to divide. We are here to bring the justice and values of the Gospel to the world.
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