Overcoming the evil eye

Matthew 20:1-16

(Here: 8-16)

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. 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.’

In this week's gospel, Jesus tells the disciples a parable or story. He tells them about a landowner that has a vineyard--a piece of land that grows grapes. And this landowner goes out into the marketplace to find some people to do the work. When he gets there, he finds some waiting for work, so he cuts a deal with them. He says if you work for me today, I will give you the normal day's wage--the going rate. They agree and the laborers head off to work.

Well, then a little while later, the landowner, looking for more workers, heads back into the marketplace. He finds more laborers hanging out, so he says to them "if you work in my vineyard, I'll pay you what you are owed." And they think that's a pretty good deal, so they go in, too. Then, with about an hour's time left before the end of the day, the landowner finds one last group of laborers hanging out in the marketplace. He asks them why they're just sitting around. And they say "nobody's hired us yet." So the landowner says "go inside; I've work for you."

All this takes place before the excerpt above. In this story, the landowner brings in a total of five different groups one early in the morning, one at 9:00, one at noon, one at 3:00, and one at 5:00. When the day ends at 6:00 pm, he flips around the expectations by suggesting that the crew that has only been there for one hour goes first, then the 3 hour crew, the 6 hour crew, the 9 hour crew, and the all day crew go last.

The landowner shows mercy on the last crew, justice to the middle crew, and fulfils the agreement with the earliest crew--giving each group what they were promised. The group that had been there all day think this isn't fair because they think they deserve more.

What do you think? Do people that work longer deserve more? What of mercy for those that weren't picked to go in at work at 7:00 am?

What experiences do you have with times you have put in a lot of effort and someone else gets the same? Have you ever been in a group in which you worked really hard and "carried" your team? How did you feel about your teammates? What do you think Jesus is trying to say about this?

According to the author, John Shea, a more direct translation of Jesus's question above ("Or are you envious because I am generous?") is "Is your eye evil because I am good?" That has something of a ring to it, doesn't it? Actually, what it suggests is the dichotomy between the emotion that laborer feels and the expressed emotion of the landowner. You can see that because of the use of evil and good; that the emotion expressed by the laborer is evil, while the landowner is going what is good.

Jesus seems to be telling us to alter our expectations. That we shouldn't compare ourselves in the ways that we do: how many presents we get at Christmas, what kind of affection we get from loved ones, how well someone else does in sports/drama/schoolwork, etc.. That we should be charitable and merciful as God is.

In what ways might you find the means of being merciful? Would it help to try out what they're going through (either figuratively or literally)? Have you ever tried to spend extended time doing tasks as if you were blind or forgoing dinner because many people will go to bed without eating today? What does that experience do to the way you feel you are treated?

What do you think this will do for the way you experience the blessings of your life?