Immediate Word

In this week’s lectionary gospel passage, Jesus tells a parable that at first glance seems antithetical to modern sensibilities. A vineyard owner is hiring day laborers to work in his fields, and early in the day he hires several workers at the usual going daily rate. Later in the day, the owner sees additional workers still standing at their gathering place, hoping for even a small job, and he tells them to go to the vineyard as well. Yet at the end of the day, the workers who labored for only a few hours receive a full day’s earnings.