Someone told me about an old practice where workers would gather in a certain place early in the morning, waiting and hoping someone would come and hire them for the day. Some were looking for construction work; others were willing to do household work or whatever honest work was available. They stood there waiting for someone to give them an opportunity to work.
That scene came back to me when I read today’s Gospel—the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Jesus tells us about people who also stood waiting for work. They are called the vineyard workers.
The landowner goes out and hires workers at different times: at nine o’clock, at noon, and at three in the afternoon. You think that’s already the cut-off time. But no!
The landowner goes out again at five o’clock, just one hour before the workday ends. Even at that late hour, he still finds people standing around, still hoping someone will hire them. They explain, “Because no one has hired us.” So, the landowner sends them into his vineyard. Let us remember this: those workers hired at five o’clock were not lazy. They were standing there because, as they said, “No one has hired us.” They were still waiting for someone to give them an opportunity.
Then comes the problem.
At the end of the day, the landowner gives everyone the same wage. Those who worked the entire day are upset—and we can understand why. They worked for hours under the hot sun, while the others showed up at five o’clock, worked for one hour, and received the same pay!
In our human understanding of fairness, their complaint seems reasonable: “Wait a minute! We worked all day. These people barely had time to get tired!” I am almost certain we would complain too.
From a human perspective, the workers’ complaint was valid. If this were us and we knew in advance that everyone would receive the same amount, some of us might say, “Next time, I’m coming at five!”
But the landowner was looking at something more than that. He was looking at generosity. Jesus is teaching us something about God’s grace. God is just, but God is also extraordinarily generous.
He did not cheat the first workers. He gave them exactly what he had promised. But he chose to be generous to those who came later.
The first workers’ problem began when they looked at what everyone else received. Before that moment, they were satisfied with their wage. But once they started comparing, their satisfaction disappeared.
There is an important lesson here for us. So much unhappiness begins when we compare our lives with others.
Why does that person have more than I do? Why did they get the promotion when I worked twice as hard? Why are they healthier when I’m the one eating salads, and they seem to survive on pizza? And why does God seem to answer their prayers so quickly while I’m still waiting? I go to church, I pray faithfully, I even stay until the final hymn—and still, nothing!
Before long, we start looking at God as if He were keeping a scoreboard: “Lord, I’ve been good. Where are my points?”
True happiness begins when we appreciate our own blessings instead of focusing on how much more others seem to have. When we constantly compare ourselves with others, we can become blind to the blessings we already have.
Some situations in life leave us like those five-o’clock workers. We don’t always see our success early on. Sometimes, we are the workers hired at the last hour. We wait for healing, reconciliation, opportunity, direction, or simply wonder what God is doing in our lives.
This parable reminds us that God has not forgotten us. God never stops seeking us, calling us, and offering us his grace. God does not abandon us.
Even when the day seems almost over, His grace can still reach us, and his call can still give our lives new purpose. Because in God’s vineyard, five o’clock is not too late. As long as God is calling us, we still have time to respond to His grace.