Dramatic actors want to understand the motivation of their character. Is their character driven by anger, lust, jealousy, hate, vengeance, suspicion, or some other negative emotion? Or is their character motivated by love, compassion, kindness, mercy, empathy, gratitude, or some other heartwarming sentiment.

 

Knowing the motivation of the character they have been cast to portray helps actors to properly bring that character to life.

 

In this Sunday’s Gospel (Matthew 20:1-16a), Jesus tells a parable about a landowner who goes to the local marketplace at dawn to hire workers for his vineyard. After agreeing to pay them the usual daily wage, he sends them to work on his land.

 

Then at 9 am, the landowner returns to the marketplace and finds other men seeking work. He sends this group to his vineyard, assuring them he will pay them “what is just.”

 

The landowner returns at noon and then at 3 pm and finds more men standing idle in the marketplace. The landowner promises them a just wage, and they go to his vineyard. Finally, at 5 pm, the landowner goes back to the marketplace and discovers men still looking for work. He hires them, even though there is only one hour left in the workday.

 

It is obvious, that the men gathering in the marketplace were motivated by their need to support themselves and their families. It was also apparent that the marketplace was the right place to be if you were looking for work.

 

But what motivated the landowner to keep hiring people throughout the day? Was he a poor businessman who could not estimate how many employees he actually needed?

 

Or perhaps he was just a generous man who wanted to put money into the pockets of as many people as possible that day. However, the workers hired in the early part of the day, who received the same amount of money as the men hired at 5 pm, would hardly agree that landowner was generous or fair. A generous man, in their estimation, would have given them additional money for working far more hours in the hot sun.

 

Perhaps, the owner of the vineyard acted as he did because he was motivated by compassion. He was concerned for the welfare of the men who were looking for work. He knew that unless they earned the usual daily wage, they would be unable to provide their families with the basic food and necessities needed to survive.

 

It was compassion that motivated the landowner to keep returning and hiring.

 

The parable reminds us of the compassion of God. The Lord comes into the lives of people at different times, sometimes early in life, sometimes in middle age, and sometimes when the “day” is almost over. The Lord continually comes to invite people to work in his vineyard, to be part of his Church, and to hasten the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven by living according to his will.

 

At the end of the day, the Lord will reward all those who accept his invitation with the same “daily wage.” He will reward them with everlasting life, joy, and peace in the Kingdom of Heaven.

 

Our God, like the vineyard owner, is motivated by compassion. That is why he sent his Son, and that is why he continually comes into the “marketplace” we call life, calling people to work in his “vineyard.”

 

© 2026 Rev. Thomas Iwanowski