9.24.20 - The Workers in the Vineyard and Atheism Argument #2

Topics: Isaiah - Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew) - Atheism Argument #2

Q: Who is Isaiah?

A: Isaiah served as a prophet to the Southern Kingdom of Judah from about 742 to 700 BC. If you recall, the Book of Isaiah is divided into three sections: First Isaiah (chs 1-39 written by Isaiah during the time of the fall of the Northern Kingdom), Second Isaiah (chs 40-55) written towards the end of the Babylonian Exile (mid 500s BC), and Third Isaiah (56-66) contain post-exilic oracles.

Todays readings are from Second Isaiah.

Isaiah 55:6-9

Seek the LORD while he may be found, call him while he is near.

Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked his thoughts; let him turn to the LORD for mercy; to our God, who is generous in forgiving.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.

As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.

Truly incredible poetic writing that strives (rather impressively) to capture our relationship with God, who is on the one hand closer to us than even our own selves, and yet so beyond us and above our ways.

Matthew 20:1-16

Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard.

Going out about nine o’clock, the landowner saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.’ So they went off.

And he went out again around noon, and around three o’clock, and did likewise.

Going out about five o’clock, the landowner found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’

They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’

When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’

Let’s pause the reading and get caught up…

Q1: Who is the landowner?

A: The landowner is God.

Q2: The vineyard: the Final Judgment/Kingdom, or the Interim Kingdom on Earth?

A: In this case the "vineyard" represents more than the Israelites. In V1, Jesus is talking about the God’s Kingdom that He has come to establish on earth. Therefore, the parable is about the new Israel, the New Covenant Church.

Q3: What was the marketplace?

A: The world.

Q4: What do the wages represent?

A: Salvation.

Q5: Who is the foreman who pays the wages?

A: Jesus Christ paid the wages for our salvation.

Matthew reading cont’d:

When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’

When those who had started about five o’clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage.

And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’

He said to one of them in reply, ‘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, for I have chosen to give to this last one the same as you. Am I not allowed to do as I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge me my generosity?’

So, the last will be first, and the first last.”

Q: How long had the laborers worked, comparatively?

A: Early workers 6AM to 6PM – 12 hours. Latest arrival: 5 PM to 6 PM – 1 hour.

Q: Why did the landowner summon the laborers to be paid, last to first?

A: Apparently so the laborers would see that the late arrivals were getting paid the same as them. This was necessary to make the points of the parable, which were several:

1. The first workers to the vineyard were the last ones to get paid, probably because they were not sufficiently generous of heart (proved by their grumbling responses). In this world, those who work the hardest expect to be first both in pay other fringe benefits (i.e., when to leave). It God’s world, that is not the primary criteria. Love and generosity are. Those who expect to be first will be last. As Isaiah said, Gods ways are not our ways.

2. Most of us, like the workers in the parable, would think that it was unfair to give everyone the same pay, but a) we are talking about salvation and b) God’s generosity trumps justice because… God’s ways are not as our ways.

3. Good works, by themselves, are not the qualifiers for getting to heaven (salvation). The qualification is that God called us to his vineyard and we accepted.

4. It is a common problem among humans to be envious of others who receive more than they should have, or just more than us. However, envy is the opposite of love. If we are trying to practice love, perhaps Jesus’ point is that we should practice being happy for others who do better than us. Yes, yes, it’s difficult; but that is the task before us.

Q: What is the significance of the laborers being hired at different times of the day?

A: Two interpretations, both are valid:

1. These are different times in salvation history, the longest workers being the Jews, and the latest arrivals the gentiles.

2. These are different times in the life of humans that they might come to God. Some early in their lives, some at the 11th hour.

Q: What other super famous parable has a similar message?

A: The Prodigal Son. Remember the older brother who had never left his father (early workers), and the repentant son who returned (the later workers), and then the older son wouldn’t come into the house to celebrate his brother’s return (the grumblers).

Q: Why are most of the money parables found in Matthew?

A: Matthew has by most parables using money or economics in their analogies most likely because Matthew was a tax collector. He knew money.

Q: Elsewhere Jesus speaks of differing rewards in heaven. In today’s parable, everyone receives the same gift of salvation. Does anyone remember how the rewards in heaven will vary?

A: Our different rewards are in each person’s unique experience of heaven. Each person’s experience will be commensurate with his/her openness to God and our degree of generosity and forgiveness when we die. Don't be too alarmed: nobody will likely know what each other’s experience is like and, besides, no two people are on earth are exactly alike now, so how is that different. All that being said, it sure does make you think about your level of generosity and forgiveness, which I think was the point. Also, see Augustine’s quote:

“Whatever may be the individual’s degree of glory, each on will live in it eternally.”

- Augustine, Sermon 87

Atheism Apologetics 2

Second atheist argument: Christianity is incompatible with science, which proves it is out of step with the times and belongs in the dustbin of history with the rest of the fairy tales and pixie dust.

There are six responses or corrections:

1. Christianity gets a bad rap from the media and academia because many are non-believers, and fundamentalist Christians who read the bible literally, even from a science and historical perspective, were easy targets for them to caricature (i.e., world is 6000 years old; dinosaurs on Noah’s ark…).

2. The truth is Catholics have no issue with science. Catholicism teaches that the Bible is not a history or science book; it’s a faith book. For Catholics, science is merely the exploration of God’s beautiful creation; science is a natural extension of man’s gift of reason and our desire to know everything.

3. Many critics will cite the treatment of Galileo as proof of the Church’s opposition to science. However, the facts do not support this.

a) Galileo, a Catholic, did not come up with the heliocentric theory. Copernicus did a generation earlier. At the time, it was a “theory” because it was not proven yet, and most of the scientific community did not support it.

b) Galileo (also a Catholic) arrived on the scene 30 years or so after Copernicus. The majority of astronomers did still not support the Heliocentric theory, mainly because they didn’t have the advanced measuring technology yet to accurately track celestial movement. Nevertheless, Galileo went to the current Pope (Urban VIII, who was a friend of Galileo’s) in 1623 to try and convince him it should be published as fact. Urban told Galileo he could publish his findings as a theory but not fact, until there was more agreement in the scientific community. Galileo decided to published it anyway and, further, mocked his friend, Urban, in the same document. Then came the famous trial where Galileo was told to recant his findings as fact. He didn’t and was put under house arrest.

c) Claims of Galileo’s torture were specious. Galileo had been put under house arrest and given every comfort. Letters by others still exist talking about his first class treatment. Galileo finally did finally recant and was no longer under house arrest, but was never mistreated.

d) Some also claim this story proved the claim of papal infallibility was false. This hardly deserves a comment. Papal infallibility only applies to the application of scripture to faith and morals and needs to follow three criteria: 1) make it clear you are speaking in the official capacity of Peter, 2) speak only on faith and morals, and 3) clearly define the doctrine as one that must be held by all the faithful. None of these conditions were met. Furthermore, Catholics were already being informed before this that they could believe in heliocentrism if they chose.

e) What is seldom mentioned is that the people who were most angry with Galileo and the Heliocentric theory were the Protestants, because they considered the literal interpretation of the bible inviolable. The Catholic Church was open to this new theory, as long as the rest of the scientific community was in agreement.

f) It was probably a good thing Galileo’s theory was withheld because it wasn’t entirely correct anyway. Galileo held that not only was the sun the fixed center of the solar system, but that the sun was also the fixed center of the universe.

4. Catholicism was the primary supporter (including funding) for science and universities during the middle ages. Many scientists are Catholic and the Vatican even has a science department and their own “Vatican Observatory.” Some famous Catholic scientists: Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Pascal, Newton, and Georges Lemaitre (developed the Big Bang theory).

5. Today, one can look up The Society of Catholic Scientists, which members over a thousand notable scientists. Their motto: “Knowledge with devotion, research with wonder.” – St. Bonaventure)

6. The Church’s only caution is for people to remain aware that most ‘facts’ taught by science or in our schools today are actually still theories. Theories are fine as they go, many are excellent, and we are free to believe in them as we like. However, the reason they are technically still called ‘theories’ is because they can change as soon as a better theory comes along. Happens all the time.

Maranatha!

Ron