Back when I was in high school, one of the many holiday jobs I had at different times was working as a strawberry picker. I tell you it was hard work: hard on the backs of your thighs as you’re bending over all day, picking strawberries from plants down on the ground. At the end of each day, we got paid according to how much we picked. We were allowed to eat some along the way. It just meant we got paid less. Now there was one woman there, I don’t remember her name, but she was amazing. She could go at about twice my speed, and she never seemed to stop. As for me, I went a bit slower, I had to stop to stretch occasionally, and occasionally I’d sample a strawberry. So although I didn’t earn as much as others, It gave me some pocket money during the holidays, and we’d start at sun up and finish around eleven, so I still had time to go hang out with my mates. I couldn’t complain. But it would never have occurred to me that there’d be a situation where I could get paid the same amount as that woman even though she worked so much harder and faster than me. I couldn’t possibly imagine a scenario where I could have rocked up at morning tea time and just worked the last hour or so and still gotten paid the same as her.
And yet, that’s what this parable of Jesus (Matthew 20:1-16) is all about. In this parable, the landowner keeps on picking workers up during the course of the day. There’s some who have been there from sun up to sun down, and they end up getting paid the same amount as those who’ve only just rocked up for that last hour or so. Jesus tells this blatantly unfair story that goes against everything that we’ve been taught is just and fair. If you work hard, you should be paid accordingly. If someone isn’t pulling their weight or isn’t doing what needs doing, then they shouldn’t be rewarded for that, should they? But what’s worse is that Jesus says that this is what the kingdom of heaven is like. Jesus comes along and says that the kingdom of heaven is like this vineyard where everyone gets the same wage, no matter how hard or how long they’ve worked.
Now there’s a few things to take notice of in this. The first is that the reason why some workers have spent most of the day not working is because no one has hired them. In our own society, there are almost always more people unemployed than vacant jobs available. In fact, economists say that the ideal for economic growth is an unemployment rate of between 3.5 and 4.5 per cent. Our economy is geared toward having people out of work. And yet, so often those who are unemployed are described as lazy dole bludgers who aren’t interested in getting work. Even back then, Jesus recognises that there are people who want a job, who want to work, but who can’t get any work.
With that in mind, have a look at what the landowner says to those workers who he collects later in the day: “You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.” Not what you deserve according to how much you do or how long you work, but what is right.
Now I have to confess that there’s a couple of different ways to understand this story. I grew up being taught that this story was about how everyone who becomes a Christian gets into heaven, no matter when in life it happens. That’s certainly one way of interpreting this story. But now when I read about Jesus describing the kingdom of heaven, I get the sense that he’s not usually talking about the afterlife. More and more, I get the sense that Jesus’ vision of the kingdom is a vision of how this world should be in the here and now.
So what does it mean to pay someone what is right? Or to put it another way, how much is a worker worth? There would be some who would say that a worker is worth their value to the company. The manager or the CEO should get paid the most because the company would struggle to function without them. There would be some who would say that a worker is worth the value of their work: that what a worker can produce should determine their value. The person in the factory who is most productive should get paid the most, because they’re the ones bringing in the most money for the company.
But in this parable, I believe Jesus is saying that every worker is worthy of having a decent day’s wage, not because of what they can produce or how important they are, but simply because everyone should have enough to live on, enough to meet their basic needs. Or to put it another way, no one should live in poverty simply because they can’t get work or because they aren’t a highly productive worker or because their job isn’t considered important. Everyone should be able to meet their basic needs.
Let’s now turn to the other story for today (Exodus 16:2-21) of the Israelites in the wilderness. The story starts with them being hungry and they start grumbling. Now there are times in these Exodus stories when the Israelites are grumbling and God gets quite annoyed at them. This is not one of those times. The people are hungry, and God hears that, and God responds to that. God doesn’t condemn people for grumbling, especially about basic human needs. God hears their cries and God responds.
The other thing in this story that I want to draw our attention to is the system God puts in place. There is enough for everyone to have enough but it doesn’t keep. In other words, each day, everyone can have enough for that day, but there is no profit in storing up extra. There’s nothing to be gained by trying to get ahead, to become a manna merchant, to try and have more than you need in order to make a profit. In this story from Exodus, there is enough for everyone but God discourages the people from trying to take more than they need.
It feels to me that that’s the common thread weaving through these two stories. In each story, every worker gets enough to meet their basic needs, but those who work harder and longer to try to get ahead of the game are almost admonished for wanting to get more than what they need to meet their needs. I think part of what Jesus is saying is that there is enough in this world for everyone to have the basics, but it doesn’t work when some people strive for more than what they need.
A lot of churches around the world use September as a time to focus on creation. Here in the south, it’s especially appropriate as we experience all that spring has to offer. So with a focus on creation, we take note of the damage done throughout the world when greed and profit drive our way of life. We have seen the damage done to creation when our rocks and trees and oceans are seen purely as resources and commodities to be plundered and sold for profit. Recently, it was found that in South America, the Nestle company was draining some natural water reservoirs to bottle that water and then selling that bottled water to the locals who were forced to buy it because their natural water sources had been drained. This is just one example of what happens when someone decides to monopolise what should be available for all.
There is sufficient in our world to meet the basic needs of all. There is enough food presently for everyone in the world to be fed. There are enough houses for everyone to have a place to live. There is enough for everyone to be fed and housed, for the sick and infirm to be cared for, while still also caring for future generations.
Now this runs counter to everything we’re taught. We’re taught from day one to try to get ahead, to be financially secure in case of disaster, to put aside for a rainy day, to build up the nest egg. But these stories call on us to change that focus. Rather than striving to get ahead, these stories call on us to ensure that everyone has enough, that no one goes without. They call on us to value people, full stop: not to value them because they’re hard workers or because they’ve been with us a long time or because they’re important to the general running of things. In these stories, we are reminded that everyone deserves basic human rights, that everyone is to be valued, no matter what.
I have to confess that not saving up for that rainy day, not building up the nest egg, not trying to get ahead financially just feels wrong. It doesn’t just feel wrong; it feels irresponsible. And yet, I believe this is the ideal that God wants for us. When Jesus talks about the kingdom of heaven, he offers a vision of what the world could be, where everyone gets enough to meet their basic needs. Not because of what they deserve but because it’s right. Remember what the landowner says to the workers: I’ll pay you what is right.
I think what Jesus is saying through this parable, and what God is saying through this Exodus story, is that, in God’s eyes, everyone is worthy; everyone is deserving of the basics, that our priority shouldn’t be about making sure that we’ve gotten ahead in life, but that everyone is able to flourish. It is a major change of mindset. It runs completely counter to our capitalist society. And yet, I know I want a world where no one lives in poverty, where everyone has enough.
The question is, how badly do I want that?
Amen.