The Laborers in the Vineyard
Thursday, June 11, 2026
In The Divine Exchange course, Cynthia Bourgeault explores the parable of the laborers in the vineyard:
The parable of the laborers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1–16) is a beautiful and much misunderstood story. There was a vineyard owner who wanted people working in his vineyard to get his crops harvested. He went out and contracted with laborers at sunrise for the usual daily wage. He went out again at nine and at noon. At three in the afternoon, he saw a bunch of guys hanging around and asked, “Why aren’t you working, for God’s sake?” and they responded, “Because nobody asked us.” He says, “Well, you go into the vineyard as well.” Finally, when it came time to settle accounts, he gave everybody the same amount of money.
This just drives the egoic consciousness nuts! It’s not fair, everybody screeches, and it won’t be, as long as we’re using the egoic mind that operates out of separation and scarcity. It’s going to tell us that the ones that got there first got a bum deal. This parable only “works” when we understand that it’s not about the vineyard owner getting his crops harvested. The vineyard, as it tends to be throughout Jesus’s teaching, is a symbol of the relational field, the dynamic interactiveness of the kingdom of God.
Whatever reason we may project onto the vineyard owner for bringing people in, what he actually states is that he’s bringing people in because he can’t stand to see them isolated and just sitting around on their own: “You too go into the vineyard.” The real fruit of this day is not a bunch of grapes getting harvested. It is human beings working together, doing something that’s dignified. You can imagine the songs, the work, and all the things that happen when you’re participating and engaged jointly in an activity. The idea of paying them the same simply invites people to put their attention on what the real proportions are. When “more and less” are introduced into the equation at the end of the parable, we’re just scattering our attention.
The bottom line is that everybody has enough. The ones that came in early thought the usual daily wage was fair. That’s taken care of. The real fruit being generated, just like grapes turn into wine, was the work together. In these circumstances, it’s fermented and transformed into some fragrance of human interactivity and abundance that doesn’t exist otherwise.
Reading this parable against the backdrop of a relational field rather than individual competition, entirely different elements jump out. Without that relational field, you simply can’t see where Jesus is going. Trying to understand it with your mind, you’ll never get it because your mind will keep coming back to “more and less” and “it’s not fair.” It’s not until you begin from the fullness of love, and the order and coherence that arise from it, that you can recognize what’s being said and how radical it is.
We get the invitation to go into the vineyard, but it’s only in stepping up, saying yes, and trusting the relational field that we’re going to actually be participants in the kingdom of God.
Reference:
Adapted from Cynthia Bourgeault, “Exchange in the Teachings of Jesus” in The Divine Exchange: Living in Sacred Rhythm (Center for Action and Contemplation, 2026). Enroll now to explore Christian wisdom traditions in this self-paced online course.
Ray’s Thoughts:
Luke 23: 39-43
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[b]”
43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
What’s fair about this? This criminal has likely done whatever he wants his entire life without regard for his immortal soul, or any semblance of focus on being “good”? He likely has left a swath of relational carnage in his wake while pursuing his path of pathological narcissistic hedonism. He clearly did not play by the “rules” and is on the cross as a consequence. So why does he get a get out of hell free card?
Could it be that he is invited by Jesus because for the first time in his miserable earthly existence he has been touched by the message to his heart, not to his head or “gut” or groin?
The “coherence of the fullness of Jesus’ love”, as Cynthia shares in the writing above, adjusts our lense to help us understand the heart relationship is the thing and it is never too late to awaken…
