Workers in the Vineyard

By Angela Eicher -

In Matthew 20:1-16, Jesus likens the Kingdom of heaven to a landowner who hires

laborers to go out into his vineyard. He hires them at various times of day; all for a just

wage. At the end of the day, he calls the last he hired in first for their wage and then

backward on up to the first he hired. They all receive the same day wage even though

those hired at dawn are called back last and worked many more hours than those who

were hired late in the day and are called back first.

Those who worked longest are upset that they received the same pay as those who

only worked a few hours. They feel they have been treated unfairly, but the land owner

points out three things: they have received the just daily wage to which they agreed, it

is not their concern what he does with his own money, and they should not be jealous of

his generosity.

As Christians, we are the workers in God’s vineyard, the Kingdom of heaven. This is so

incredible!! I don’t know how we forget it. But sometimes, since we're human, we forget

who we work for and what wage we have accepted. We work for the almighty, eternal,

infinitely generous, merciful, and loving true God. Praise God!!! In His love and mercy,

He has called us to work for Him for the best just wage ever, eternal life. This “just”

wage was made just and available to us only through the death and resurrection of His

Son Jesus Christ, who sacrificed Himself for us and purchased this for us. Otherwise

the wage of eternal life we are now able to accept could never be “ just” because we,

as sinful humans, could never merit it. To be “just”, the wage of eternal life requires a full

and perfect sacrifice. Thank you, Jesus, for opening this opportunity for eternal life to us through your perfect and complete self-sacrifice of love!

We accept this “wage made just by God” because we love God as first He loved us. Animated and secured by this love, we obey God by working in His vineyard. This work,

whether it be physical labor, intercessory prayer, sacrificing of our income, teaching,

mentoring, painting, singing,… can never merit the just wage we receive but

demonstrates our acceptance of it.

Our work in the vineyard is a light burden. We don’t have to make grand decisions, predict results, or stipulate how much work we will do based on our predictions. We don’t have to worry about what others think or say, if they like our work or hate our work, if they agree or disagree with us. We are already receiving the absolute best just wage ever, nothing more and nothing less. We work in His Vineyard, we do what He tells us, we plant His seeds, and we water them with the love He has already bestowed on us. He alone is Master of the vineyard and He takes care of all His laborers and all the details of His vineyard.

Angela Eicher is a Co-Proponent of the Colorado Life Initiative, devout Catholic, seminary graduate, and teaches Catechism to youth at her church. She is a wife, mother, and Doctor of Physical Therapy who enjoys camping and spending time with her family. She helped with Prop 115 and leads an annual community Walk for Life with a program of speakers and exhibitors to show the many services available in Northeast Colorado.