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Table of Contents
Focus Text: Matthew 20:1-16
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And 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?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ When 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.’ When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘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.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Matthew 20:1-16
Overview
Focus Text: Matthew 20:1-16
When 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.’ When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage.
Pastoral Reflection by Barbara Zelter, Former Program Associate, NC Council of Churches
In Jesus’ economics, the one represented here by the generous landowner, all workers received the pay they needed in order to survive, even if it seemed unfair to those who had worked all day. Sabbath economics is Jesus economics. As Ched Myers notes, Sabbath economics is about the grace of receiving what the Creator (employer) gives and the responsibility not to take more than is needed. Wide gaps between rich and poor are not part of God’s plan, and God’s people are called to be part of God’s generosity so that all have enough on which to live.
Key Fact
4% of North Carolinians (1,607,249 people) lived in poverty and struggled to make ends meet in 2015. Among the state’s 100 counties, the poverty rate ranged from 9.7% to 30.6%.
Related Texts
And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to your property and every one of you to your family… The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; with me you are but aliens and tenants. Throughout the land that you hold, you shall provide for the redemption of the land.
Leviticus 25:10, 23-24
You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy laborers, whether other Israelites or aliens who reside in your land in one of your towns. You shall pay them their wages daily before sunset, because they are poor and their livelihood depends on them; otherwise they might cry to the LORD against you, and you would incur guilt.
Deuteronomy 24:14-15
Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor.
Proverbs 22:9
All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
Acts 2:44-47
For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. And in this matter… it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. As it is written, “The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.”
2 Corinthians 8:9-10, 14-15
As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.
1 Timothy 6:17-19
Other Lectionary Texts
- Exodus 16:2-15
- Jonah 3:10-4:11
- Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45
- Psalm 145:1-8
- Philippians 1:21-30
Scriptural Commentary on Matthew 20:1-16
The “Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard” – a parable unique to Matthew – has always fired the imagination of interpreters. John Chrysostom, the 4th century theologian and preacher, puts it this way: “What then is to be understood from these words? From other parables also it is possible to see the same point. The son who was righteous is shown to have suffered from this same fault when he saw his prodigal brother enjoying great honor, even more than himself…. In the kingdom of heaven there is no one who justifies himself or blames others in this way; perish the thought!” Another way to summarize this parable is to say that it is most concerned with overturning society’s notions of just rewards, that we get what we deserve. In other words, it highlights God’s extravagant generosity, a sovereign “graciousness that is not based on what is earned” (Raymond Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament, p. 195).
In Jesus’ day, it was not uncommon for day laborers to stand at the city gates and marketplaces, looking for a day’s work and a day’s wage. Then, as now, sometimes unscrupulous employers would hire a laborer for a day and then refuse to pay him until later – an unfair practice that that threatened to send the “working poor” into debt and starvation. In today’s parable, though, the unexpected “problem” does not arise because the employer disregarded the teachings of the Torah (see Lev. 19:13, Deut. 24:14-15); rather, the employer went above and beyond what the law required – paying some of his workers a day’s wage for less than a day’s work. It is the degree of the employer’s generosity and extravagance that strikes Jesus’ audience as scandalous.
The parable, which is masterfully told, has been strategically placed in Matthew so that no one would miss its significance. In chapter 19, the “rich young ruler” asks Jesus what he must do to have eternal life. And Jesus responds with an answer that should make every middle-class Christian shudder. Of course, the young man goes away grieving, “for he had many possessions.” It seems as though the young man had labored all day like some of the workers in Jesus’ parable, keeping the commands of Torah while at the same time amassing possessions and wealth. He had done nothing wrong. And yet he still missed the point, that God’s generosity surpasses that which we can earn. It is precisely because of God’s generosity that such a person can be free to give up his or her worldly possessions.
This incident is followed by a conversation between Jesus and his disciples. Peter tries to one-up the young man, and says to Jesus: “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Peter’s rash assertion belies that he too has missed the point, for apparently God is not in the business of keeping score! Jesus tells his disciples that in this kingdom, in this economics, “many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” It is in this context that he then relates the story of the workers in the vineyard.
You would think that the disciples would have gotten the point, but amazingly right after this parable, the mother of the sons of Zebedee asks Jesus for her two sons to sit at his right and left hand in his kingdom. It’s another example of the all-too-human desire to somehow earn the gifts we seek from God. Jesus, of course, will have none of it.
Signs of God’s abundant, radically-reorienting generosity are scattered like seeds throughout Matthew. The Sermon on the Mount (5-7), the Parable of the Sower (13:3-9), the Parable of the Unforgiving Slave (18:23-35), today’s passage, and many others all show how the kingdom of heaven is characterized by a different economics than our earthly societies, in which the rich get richer and in which “God” only helps those who help themselves. The kingdom of heaven is not a rat-race; rather, it is Sabbath abundance.
By Chris Liu-Beers, Program Associate, NC Council of Churches
Pastoral Reflection on Matthew 20:1-16
How the employees howled! At least the ones who had worked all day. Because those slackers who had only worked for an hour received the same daily wage as the ones who had been there since early in the day, and they had worked through the noonday heat!
The employees would howl today too. Imagine if you worked all day, every day, and someone else working at the same job for only one hour per day received the same salary. But in Jesus’ day, workers needed their daily wage in order to survive. Several biblical teachings reprimanded those employers who failed to pay the daily wage at the end of the day. (See Lev. 19:13, Deut. 24:14-15, James 5:4.)
In Jesus’ economics, the one represented here by the generous landowner, all workers received the pay they needed in order to survive, even if it seemed unfair to those who had worked all day. Sabbath economics is Jesus economics. As Ched Myers notes, Sabbath economics is about the grace of receiving what the Creator (employer) gives and the responsibility not to take more than is needed. Wide gaps between rich and poor are not part of God’s plan, and God’s people are called to be part of God’s generosity so that all have enough on which to live.
What might this mean for us? The practice of Sabbath economics means at least these things:
First, it means thinking theologically. We must take seriously the manna story in Exodus, which said that the people should take just enough of the gift for the day, that hoarding stuff would make it all rot. We must also take seriously the Jubilee story of Leviticus, that wealth gaps should be regularly and intentionally undone by returning to the poor and the indebted what had been taken from them. And we must take seriously the central message of Jesus, that there is enough in the beloved community (the kingdom) for all. This vision of plenty is illustrated in the gospel stories of the multitudes who threw in their family portions to make a feast that fed thousands with loaves and fishes (the only miracle described by all four gospels; see Matt. 14:13-22; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-15).
Second, it means looking at our own money and faith habits. The “Sabbath Economics Household Covenant” encourages us to review our habits around assets (surplus capital), debt (negative capital), giving, the environment, consumption patterns, solidarity with those who are marginalized, and, most radically of all, how we adhere to the commandment to honor the Sabbath, giving ourselves rest and reflection and renewal.
Third, it means looking at congregational and denominational resources. Does your congregation have a savings account, some money held in reserve? Might those assets be held in an institution which works with those for whom it is difficult to get help from major financial institutions? (The Self-Help Credit Union in Durham is nationally known for helping people of modest means to buy homes and start businesses.) Or might your congregational or denominational funds be better invested in something like Oikocredit, which supports poor entrepreneurs in the global South, who need small amounts of credit in order to become self-supporting rather than dependent on foreign aid?
When I heard of these venues for “moving money for social change,” I switched my accounts to Self-Help and Oikocredit. What a blessing to know that our average financial assets might be directed toward our values and ministry, in ways that might yield results greater than all our charitable donations and activist efforts combined! Leaders of the Episcopal Church and the United Methodist Church in North Carolina are already engaged in this conversation about the transfer of assets for a gospel vision of the common good.
As Christians, many of us have for too long followed only the path of mercy and charity, while ignoring justice—the structural and systemic transfer of wealth and power so that none have too much, and all have enough. In doing so, we ignore much of the jubilee vision that Jesus claimed as he stepped into public ministry: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord” (Luke 4:18-19). Sabbath economics offers fresh ways to understand our relations with the Bible and our money. And it is expressed in the generosity of the employer who pays the wage that people need to survive. May it infuse how we read the Bible, how we practice our faith, and how we invest our money.
By Barbara Zelter, Former Program Associate, NC Council of Churches
Worship Aids about Sabbath Economics
Responsive Reading
As we enjoy our abundance of wealth,
we pray for all who are hungry.
May they be freed from unnecessary lack of sustenance.
Hear your people’s plea.
As we celebrate the joys of creation
We pray for the people who are denied their share.
May the earth and everything in it
be for the benefit of all human beings.
Hear your people’s plea.
As we benefit from cheap farm labor,
we pray for the producers and workers
who are deprived of their just reward.
May all created goods flow freely and abundantly for all.
Hear your people’s plea.
(adapted from “For the Benefit of All,” by Tony Singleton, at www.cafod.org.uk/resources/worship/trade)
Prayer of Confession
Gracious God, you have given us riches in abundance. We confess that by sin, selfishness, and neglect, we have made a world of suffering and sorrow, of waste and exploitation. We confess that too often we only stand by as others bear the weight of affliction – that we hoard your gifts, rather than share your wholeness and plenty. Lord of abundance, in your mercy, open our hearts and hands, for all we have belongs to you. Amen.
(adapted from “Confessions,” at www.portsmouth.anglican.org/fileadmin/images/bishop/liturgy/ecology_texts.rtf)
God’s Abundant Goodness
Generous Savior, who daily feeds us bread from heaven,
You have given us bread to eat not of our own making –
Your own self and Your own creation.
What is it that You so richly provide for us
and ask nothing in return but that we share Your bread with others?
Yet, we grab Your bounty for ourselves alone.
We lay hold of silver and gold,
amassing riches beyond our need.
We buy lands and mark them off as if our own.
We hide away Your provision for a day that may never come.
Like children, we become angry when You ask us to share.
We fear that we may find ourselves without.
We complain when we cannot have more and more.
Generous Spirit, change our hearts so that
we not let Your bounty rot in our hands.
Cause us to remember Your holy promises.
In the Old Testament and New, You have taught us that
You can spread a table in the wilderness —
manna from heaven and water from a rock,
food for thousands from a few broken loaves and fishes.
You provide our daily bread in abundance.
All can eat and be satisfied
if we do not take too much.
Give us the spirit of “Sabbath economics” and
cause us to remember that Your bread is ours for sharing.
Generous God, let the many, not just the few, celebrate your abundant goodness.
(By B. J. Morton)
Everlasting Riches
Living God, call to us,
For our altars are draped with cloth of gold
And silver ornaments adorn our worship.*
Creator God, awaken us,
For our hearts are cloaked with cloth of gold
And silver coins adorn our dreams.
Loving God, forgive us
For we trade our lives for cloth of gold
And silver coins that buy our silence.
Lord, open our hearts wide to your wisdom
And our lives to your compassion*
As we walk towards the everlasting riches
Of your kingdom.
(© Linda Jones/CAFOD — used with permission. *Line adapted)
For the Right Use of God’s Gifts
Almighty God, whose loving hand has given us all that we possess: Grant us grace that we may honor you with our substance, and, remembering the account which we must one day give, may be faithful stewards of your bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(The Book of Common Prayer, p. 827)
Suggested Hymns about Sabbath Economics
Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove
African Methodist Episcopal 191
African Methodist Episcopal Zion 160
Chalice Hymnal (Disciples of Christ) 248
New Century Hymnal (UCC) 281
Presbyterian Hymnal 126
The Hymnal 1982 (Episcopal) 510
For the Healing of the Nations
Chalice Hymnal (Disciples of Christ) 668
Gather Comprehensive (Catholic) 719
Moravian Book of Worship 685
New Century Hymnal (UCC) 576
United Methodist Hymnal 428
I Don’t Know About Tomorrow
African Methodist Episcopal 446
Christian Methodist Episcopal 202
Let Your Heart Be Broken
Baptist Hymnal 611
Moravian Book of Worship 582
O For a World
Chalice Hymnal (Disciples of Christ) 683
New Century Hymnal (UCC) 575
Presbyterian Hymnal 386
Son of God, Eternal Savior
Lutheran Worship 394
Moravian Book of Worship 648
New Century Hymnal (UCC) 542
We Give Thee but Thine Own
African Methodist Episcopal Zion 520
Baptist Hymnal 609
Chalice Hymnal (Disciples of Christ) 382
Christian Methodist Episcopal 535
Lutheran Worship 405
Moravian Book of Worship 657
Presbyterian Hymnal 428
Quotes about Sabbath Economics
Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received – only what you have given: a full heart, enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice, and courage.
St. Francis of Assisi
Let no one attempt with small gifts of charity to exempt himself from the great duties imposed by justice. The guaranteeing of basic justice for all is not an optional expression of largesse but an inescapable duty for the whole of society.
Catholic Social Teaching — Economic Justice for All, #120
The causes that lie behind much sickness and human suffering are short-sightedness and greed. Health for all can be achieved only through the organized demand by people for greater equality in terms of land, water, services, and basic rights.
Dr. David Werner
No one may claim the name of Christian and be comfortable in the face of hunger, homelessness, insecurity, and injustice found in this country and the world.
Catholic Social Teaching — Economic Justice for All, #27
The world is like an uneven load.
On one side, many people and little food.
On the other side, lots of food and few people.
An uneven load is dangerous. It is apt to tip over at any moment.
Brazilian Proverb
Nature provides a free lunch, but only if we control our appetites.
William Ruckelshaus
Vignette about Sabbath Economics
Self-Help: Creating Ownership and Economic Opportunity Across NC
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: What is Self-Help?
A: Self-Help is a community development financial institution (CDFI), and is one of the largest CDFIs in the United States. Since its founding in 1980, Self-Help has provided $4.5 billion in financing to 45,000 homeowners, small business owners, and other nonprofits nationwide. Headquartered in Durham, Self-Help operates branch offices in seven North Carolina cities, as well as one office in Washington, D.C., that conduct mortgage and small business lending. Self-Help also operates three full-service credit unions in eastern North Carolina to provide consumer loan products and services to mostly rural manufacturing communities.
Q: What is Self-Help’s mission?
A: Self-Help’s mission is to create and protect ownership and economic opportunity for minorities, women, rural residents, and low-wealth families and communities.
Q: Is Self-Help a bank?
A: Self-Help is not a bank. Self-Help is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community development financial institution that includes a credit union. Self-Help Credit Union raises market-rate deposits from members to make commercial and home loans to members. Its members include nonprofit and religious organizations and other socially responsible individuals and institutions.
Q: What is available at Self-Help?
A: Self-Help offers deposit accounts and small business and mortgage lending services through Self-Help Credit Union. Self-Help also offers commercial and residential real estate development through its community development corporation. Deposit accounts include savings, money market, CD, and indi- vidual retirement accounts. Self-Help’s lending includes loans for small business development and home purchases. Self-Help’s community development corporation builds and sells affordable housing to first-time homebuyers and develops and leases commercial property to encourage downtown revitalization in cities across North Carolina.
From Self-Help, “Frequently Asked Questions,” www.self-help.org/about-us/frequently-asked-questions
Contacts & Resources for Sabbath Economics
www.jubilee-economics.org
Jubilee Economics Ministries (JEM) works to advance the understanding and practice of jubilee economics. Central to JEM is the change we make in our lives as we align with sustainable economic practices on Earth, our home. From this change emerge practices and themes of an economics that is sufficient for everyone in our planetary household.
www.nccouncilofchurches.org/tag/economic-justice
The North Carolina Council of Churches seeks to raise awareness about economic injustice in North Carolina and needed changes through education–guidebooks, fact sheets, workshops and events; increasing the progressive faith presence for equity in our state; uniting people of faith and grassroots groups for advocacy to achieve specific economic justice policies in North Carolina.
www.sabbatheconomics.org
The Sabbath Economics Collaborative is a new national collaborative network that seeks to facilitate cooperation among faith-based people and organizations committed to economic justice and to serve as a resource to congregations and movements involved in the struggle for sustainable economics and poverty reduction.
www.bcm-net.org
Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries (BCM) is an ecumenical experiment in discipleship and mutual aid. BCM is an organizational vehicle that promotes gospel practices of mutual aid, reconciliation, Sabbath economics, nonviolence, and social justice. Its umbrella structure facilitates capacity-building among people of faith committed to the work of peace and justice organizing, church renewal, and holistic discipleship.
www.belovedcommunitycenter.org
The Beloved Community Center of Greensboro, Inc. (BCC) fosters a spirit of com- munity based on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision of a “Beloved Community.” BCC works toward social and eco- nomic relations that affirm and realize the equality, dignity, worth, and potential of every person. One of Dr. King’s dreams was a partnership between faith organizations, the community, working people, and organized labor.
www.sojo.net
Sojourners magazine has published two key articles on Sabbath economics written by Ched Myers– “God Speed the Year of Jubilee! The Biblical Vision of Sabbath Economics” in Sojourners, May-June 1998, found at www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj9805&article=980520 and “Jesus’ New Economy of Grace: The Biblical Vision of Sabbath Economics” in Sojourners, July-August 1998, found at www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj9807&article=980724.
www.pcusa.org/enough
Enough for Everyone is a series of partnerships between the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and other local and international organizations designed to engage Christians on four main topics: fair trade, sweat- shops, debt and credit, and energy efficiency. Their resources offer practical ways for churches to help disentangle themselves from the grasp of over-consumption and materialism.
www.ncjustice.org
The North Carolina Justice Center is North Carolina’s leading private, nonprofit anti-poverty organization. Its mission is to reduce and eliminate poverty in North Carolina by helping to ensure that every North Carolina household gains access to the resources, services, and fair treatment that it needs in order to enjoy economic security.
www.faithandmoneynetwork.org
The Faith and Money Network helps people deepen their faith and explore their relationship to money from biblical, psychological, and sociological perspectives. The national organization publishes a newsletter, offers weekend retreats, and leads trips to developing nations.
Facts and Reflection about Sabbath Economics
- The average income of the bottom 99% of North Carolinians is $42,162 while the top 1% make an average of $745,686. The top 1% in North Carolina make 17.7 times more than the bottom 99% and take home 14.9% of all North Carolina income.
- North Carolina ranks as #34 of the 50 states in income inequality, based on the ratio of top 1% to bottom 99% income.
- 4% of North Carolinians (1,607,249 people) lived in poverty and struggled to make ends meet in 2015. Among the state’s 100 counties, the poverty rate ranged from 9.7% to 30.6%
- 4% of children in the state (528,760 children) lived in poverty in 2015
- The poverty rate varies by race: 27.1% of African Americans, 28.8% of American Indians, and 33.2% of Latinos in the state lived in poverty compared to 13.5% of Asian Americans and 11.8% of whites on average from 2011 to 2015
- The state’s hourly median wage of $15.91 equaled in 2016.
- 6% of renters in the state spent 30% or more of their income towards rent— meaning their rent was unaffordable—on average from 2011-2015. 1
- The two-bedroom housing wage in the state was $15.32 in 2016, which far exceeds the state’s minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. This means that a person earning the minimum wage would have to work 85 hours per week to afford a modest twobedroom unit at fair market rent
- “One in five families do not earn enough to afford the basic needs of everyday life, let alone plan for their future or ensure their children can do better. In North Carolina, a family of two adults and two children must earn $53,968 a year in order to afford housing, food, child care, health care, transportation, taxes, and other necessities, according to the NC Budget & Tax Center’s 2016 Living Income Standard (LIS) – more than double the federal poverty threshold for a family of four.”
- “When workers aren’t paid what it takes to meet their basic needs, they make decisions that undercut the strength of the economy, well-being of families and vitality of communities. When work doesn’t pay, workers take on multiple jobs, cut back on savings, fail to build their assets to weather economic downturns, turn to public programs to make up the difference in their household budget and reduce their investments in their own future productivity.”
- “The average cost in North Carolina for an infant in a child care center is more than $9,200 a year; for an infant and a four-year-old, it’s nearly $16,900. A family at the poverty line with an infant and toddler in child care would have to spend 69 percent of its income on child care, if paying the state average cost. Without a subsidy, low-income families have no choice but to make cheaper and often less reliable arrangements.
Sources
- Economic Policy Institute, “The Unequal States of America: North Carolina,” http://www.epi.org/multimedia/unequal-states-of-america/#/North%20Carolina.
- Ibid.
- North Carolina Justice Center and the Budget and Tax Center, “Economic Snapshot: North Carolina,” http://www.ncjustice.org/sites/default/files/North_Carolina_2017%20STATE%20Quickfacts.pdf
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- North Carolina Justice Center and the Budget and Tax Center, “Living Income Standard 2016,” http://www.ncjustice.org/?q=budget-and-tax/living-income-standard-2016-1-5-families-can%E2%80%99t-afford-basics-north-carolina
- Ibid.
- North Carolina Justice Center and the Coalition on Human Needs, “The High Cost of Being Poor in North Carolina,” http://www.ncjustice.org/sites/default/files/High%20Cost%20of%20being%20poor%20-Report%2010_27_16.pdf