Matthew 20:1-16 NRSVue

¹“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ²After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. ⁵When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. ⁶And 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?’ ⁷They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ ⁸When 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.’ ⁹When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received a denarius. ¹⁰Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, ¹²saying, ‘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.’ ¹³But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. ¹⁵Am 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.”^,

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Reflection on Matthew 20:1-16

Inspiration from 2026-09-20 Daily Prayer

Many of us consider this to be a very unfair story. Why should the individual who works for only one hour be paid the same as the guy who toils all day? Think about that for a while and bring your feelings about the fairness of the payment scheme to the Lord. When you feel ready, you might want to make a prayer of thanks and gratefulness that you are still receiving the call, at whatever age you have now attained – ‘You too go out to the vineyard’.

Further reflection

In justice the fewer hours a person worked, the less pay he should have received but the vineyard knew that what he was offering the workers was minimal and that to give a person less, the family would be left hungry. He went beyond justice, motivated by compassion.

Are there times when I selfishly consider myself more deserving than others?