The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

September 20, 2026 – Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time  - Matthew 20:1-16

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Today’s gospel is one of the most challenging ones in the whole Bible. And to further complicate matters, it is attributed to Jesus himself. In brief, the gospel for this Sunday describes various groups of workers being hired to work in a landowner’s vineyard. Some are hired early in the day. Then midday an additional group joins the workforce. And finally, close to quitting time, a few more are hired to finish the day’s work. Must have been a good size vineyard.

As was the custom back then, the owner of the vineyard gathered all the workers, and after thanking them for their good work, gave each worker the wages that all had agreed on. That’s when it gets messy. Each worker had agreed to work for the same amount (let’s just say it was $20), but as the narration makes clear, those who worked a full eight-hour shift (a guess) were confused and they complained. They felt that should get more than the late day workers.

And to make matters even more challenging, Jesus concludes this parable by stating the last shall be first and the first shall be last. So how are we to understand this? I offer three ways we might understand this parable.

First, the landowner (God) treats all of us equally. Implying that God does not have favorites. He loves all equally. That in itself would describe God as different from most all of us. We humans generally rate just about everything as good, better or best. Or first, second and so forth. We arrange our organizations in hierarchical order. Even the church does this. But with God it seems different.

Second, focusing on ourselves, we should accept what God gives each of us and accept that as appropriate. Don’t be envious of others who seem to have more. Don’t complain about the achievements of others. In fact, give thanks to God for each day’s blessings. Whatever they are, large or small. I recall an old saying that went something like this: Be happy in getting what you receive and not just in receiving what you want.  

Third, don’t focus on what you earn for your work, but let work itself be your primary reward. Today’s parable of the workers who all received the same earnings no matter how long they worked is clearly different from so many values of today’s “make as much as you can” culture. Or its “strive to be number one” goal. Maybe there is a better way to value our work and our disparate lives.    

David M. Thomas, PhD