This parable has long been called The Laborers in the Vineyard. But it would be better to call it The Parable of the Landowner. He is the key figure here, and as in so many of the sayings of Jesus, it borders on the absurd. No landowner would do what this one does, just like in the parable of the sower you have a farmer who just throws the seed wherever, not seeming to care where it goes. This landowner doesn’t follow any customary business practices….
Read MoreAttempts at equality among people often fall far short. In Orwell’s Animal Farm, the Communist system is summed up in one of the “Seven Commandments”: “All are equal, but some are more equal than others.”
Men treat each other unequally. But the Word of God tells us that we are all equal in this respect: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We are all equally mortal. And we all stand before God as sinners.
But we prefer inequality. That’s what today’s Gospel reading reveals.
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