Proper20A Lectionary

The following, adapted from http://www.hrc.org/scripture - an online commentary worth checking out - is excerpted:
Matthew 20:1-16 addresses the question of reward. The workers in the parable, day laborers, were among the poorest people in the ancient world. The story begins with a landowner hiring a group of laborers to work in his vineyard for "the usual daily wage" (verse 2). He then hires four additional groups of workers, agreeing to pay them nothing in particular. At the end of the day, the landowner has all the workers paid the same amount, the usual daily wage. Matthew 20:10 says, "Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received the usual daily wage." They grumbled. Such an act violated their sense of fairness. Of course, those who work harder should get paid more. This is just commonsense reasoning.
Yet, the landowner reminds them that they received exactly what they agreed to — the usual daily wage (verse 13). The problem is not really the wage, but the landowner's generosity. He asks, "Are you envious because I am generous?" (verse 15). Frankly, they are. Although they had agreed to work for the usual daily wage, once they saw others who had not worked as long or as hard as they had, the wage suddenly became insufficient. In an all-too-human way, the workers want to impose their own standard of equitable distribution on the landowner.
Of course, we could make an easy identification of [certain groups] with those who began to work later in the day. In many ways, this would be understandable. The struggle for civil rights by people of color and women has its roots in the early history of the United States. [Others' struggles were] formally initiated much later. We should be sensitive to the complaints of African Americans, as well as others, who feel like their labors have paved the way for us without receiving a greater payment for their efforts. Instead of making this a contest of who has worked longer, we maintain that we share the struggle against... ...patriarchy, racial prejudice, social marginalization and exclusion. In truth, if it had not been for the suffragist (later feminist) and civil rights movements, the opportunity for a movement among [other groups] may never have happened.
...This parable is so powerful because it defies human logic and stands the notion of what is fair on its head. It reminds us that we cannot create God in our own image, nor can we be the judges of God's generosity. It reminds us that the work of inclusion is not a matter of who has worked longer because we all receive the reward — payment and reward are the same word in Greek — for which we are co-workers.
How can we promote the various movements for social justice as part of a singular movement of God?
Since this parable is about the operations of the "kingdom of heaven," the story highlights how human beings attempt to make inclusion in the community their decision rather than God's decision. The landowner is not seeking to disadvantage the first group of workers. No worker in this parable receives less than needed. Rather the landowner wants to care for those who did not have the opportunity to earn an entire day's pay. Unfortunately, the parable highlights our inability at times to see beyond our own personal concerns.
Any act of inclusion is going to disgruntle some who believe they are deserving of more. The most famous example in the United States may be the failed push for Affirmative Action. This week's parable, distinctive to Matthew's gospel, highlights the idea that God operates in a radically generous and inclusive manner. The church, God's community, is to be a place where this generosity and inclusion are lived out.
How does inclusion challenge us, even when we claim it is the very thing we desire?
Prayerfully Out in Scripture Amazing, giving and good God, no matter the troubles, no matter the tests, keep up close to you. Help us choose you. You give us breath, hope and life. Make us grateful and generous. Make us partners in your work of compassion, inclusion and justice: Amen