September 20, 2020, Is 55:6-9 Phil 1:20-24.27 Mt 20:1-16
Mahigit na 6 na buwan na tayong nasa lockdown. Kaya 6 na buwan na rin tayong nag-o-online mass. Salamat sa pakikiisa sa ating online mass tuwing alas 10 dito sa TV Maria. Siguro napansin na ninyo na sa mga homily ko sinisikap ko na iugat ang mensahe sa Salita ng Diyos na matatagpuan sa first reading at sa Gospel, ang kung minsan sa second reading din. I also try to point out the relevance of the readings to our present social issues and not only to our personal lives. We are following the Gospel of Matthew this year. The first reading, which comes from the Old Testament is chosen in view of the Gospel passage. The two are connected to each other. The second reading on the other hand has its own semi-continuous reading taken from the letters of Paul. In the past few months we have been following the letter to the Romans and now we start from the letter to the Philippians. The second readings are not intended to connect with the Gospel. Para mas ma-appreciate ninyo ang message I suggest that you read the readings before mass so you have an idea what you are to hear.
Let us pay special attention to the word of God so that we may know the ways of the Lord. This is not easy because as we are told in the first reading: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. Kung paano ang langit higit na mataas sa lupa, ang daa’t isip ko’y hindi maaabot ng inyong akala.” Because of this, many times we need to adjust and change our natural way of understanding in order to know and accept God’s message. Hindi sana natin i-aadjust ang mensahe ng Diyos sa ating pananaw. Babaguhin natin ang ating pananaw ayon sa mensahe ng Diyos. This is why the Word of God invites us to conversion. It is our way that should change, and not the message of the Lord.
Kitang-kita itong pagkakaiba ng pananaw natin sa paraan ng Diyos sa ating gospel reading today. Para sa marami parang unjust ang Diyos. Bakit naman pinareho niya ang sweldo ng nagtrabaho ng buong araw sa nagtrabaho ng isang oras lang. Unfair! Bago natin talakayin ito, mabuting ipaalam sa atin na noong panahon ni Jesus ang isang araw na trabaho ay hindi 8 hours kundi 12 hours – from sunrise to sundown. Ang sahod sa isang araw ay isang denaryo. That is the day’s wage. Noong pinadala ng may-ari ng ubasan ang mga manggagawa noong alas 6 ng umaga, nagkasundo na sila sa sweldo na isang denaryo. Kaya tama ang sinabi niya sa mga ito noong mag-reklamo sila, “kaibigan, hindi naman kayo dinaya. Hindi ba nagkasundo tayo ng isang denaryo?” Pero ganoon ka-generous ang may-ari ng ubasan. Nagpadala pa siya ng ibang manggagawa nang alas 9, alas 12, alas 3 at pati ng alas 5 ng hapon. So many people were jobless. It is not because they were lazy. Noong tinanong niya sila: “Bakit kayo tatayu-tayo dito ng buong maghapon?” ang nakalulungkot na sagot nila ay: “Wala pong magbigay sa amin ng trabaho.” Hindi ba ito ang kalagayan ng maraming tao ngayon? Marami ay nakatengga – walang trabaho dahil sa wala namang magpatrabaho. In the vineyard of the Lord, however, there is always work, and he is generous in constantly sending workers to his vineyard.
I admire many owners of businesses who keep their businesses open in spite of the hard times, not so much for them but for the sake of their workers. To sustain the workers in their work is to give life and hope to them and to their families. So they burn midnight candles thinking how to keep their businesses going – for the sake of their workers!
I also admire and praise the companies who gave salaries to their workers for several months even if they could not work because of the pandemic. These companies reflect the generosity of the owner of the vineyard. He did not just pay the workers for their work, he paid them because they are their workers.
Dito magkaiba ang pananaw ng Diyos sa usual na pananaw ng mga may ari o mga managers ng mga business o pagawaan. Ang binabayaran nila ay ang trabaho ng manggagawa nila. “Ito lang ang nagawa mo, iyan lang ang matatanggap mo.” Halatang-halata ito sa mga arrangements na ang bayad ay by the number of pieces produced. 80 pieces ang nagawa mo, babayaran kita ayon sa halaga ng 80 pieces. Trabaho ang binabayaran. O kaya, nagtrabaho ka ng 6 oras, anim na oras lang ang sahod mo. Pero pwede ba nating tingnan that we pay not the work but the worker? Hindi trabaho ang binabayaran natin kundi ang manggagawa. Ibig sabihin hindi trabaho, hindi iyong ginawa niya ang binabayaran, kundi ang taong gumawa ang binabayaran! We pay not the work but the worker!
In our Philippine constitution the just wage is not simply the minimum wage but the living wage. The living wage is the amount of salary that a worker and his family can decently live by in a day. Sa Pilipinas ang ating minimum wage sa Metro Manila ay 537 pesos pero ayon sa mga pagsasaliksik, ang living wage – the amount that can decently support a family of 5 in a day is 1,022 pesos. Hindi pa tayo sumusunod sa Constitution!
Bakit naman pumasok tayo sa usapin ng sweldo? Kasi sa ebanghelyo, iba ang pananaw ng may-ari ng ubasan kaysa nakasanayan nating pananaw. And isang denaryo ay ang sahod sa isang araw, ang sahod na makakasuporta sa manggagawa ng isang araw. Kahit na nagtrabaho siya ng 6 o 3 o isang oras, kailangan ng manggagawa nang mabuhay ng isang araw. Kaya minabuti ng may ari na bigyan silang lahat ng tig-iisang denaryo, kahit na ilang oras lang sila nagtrabaho. Ang binayaran niya ay hindi ang oras ng trabaho kundi ang nagtrabaho, ang taong manggagawa. Can we adopt this way of looking at work? We do not calculate the salary just according to the amount of work done, but we pay the wage to support a human person, a brother and sister who works. Hindi ba ganyan nangyayari sa ating pamilya? Hindi lang natin pinapakain ang nagtratrabaho sa bahay. Pati si baby na hindi nagtratrabaho, si lola na mahina na ay nakikibahagi rin sa resources ng family. In the family, each receives according to each one’s need and each gives according to one’s capacity. In the Church in Jerusalem this was the way of life of the early Christians. We are told: “There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need.” (Acts 4:34-35 NAB)
Siyempre nagreklamo ang mga nagtrabaho ng buong araw. Palagay ba ninyo magrereklamo sila kung wala ng ibang manggagawa na dumating na magtrabaho. Hindi! Iyan naman kasi ang kasunduan. Nagreklamo sila kasi nasilip nila na ang mga nahuli ay isang denaryo din ang tinanggap. Ang pagrereklamo nila ay bunga ng pagkainggit! Naiinggit sila kasi mapagbigay ang may-ari sa iba. Envy is a very dangerous sin. It blinds us to goodness. It is actually a form of selfishness.
We can get many insights from this parable of Jesus. First, there is a lot of work in the vineyard of the Lord. Ang iba ay bata pa, tinawag na ng Diyos. Ang iba ay nasa kalagitnaan na ng kanilang buhay. Ang iba ay sa bandang huli na, tulad ng magnanakaw na pinako sa krus sa tabi ni Jesus. Late na niya nakilala ni Jesus at siya pa ang unang nakapasok sa Paraiso. Talagang naging totoo sa kaniya ang sinabi ni Jesus: “the last will be first, the first will be last.” Makikita din natin ang generosity ng Panginoon. Tapat siya sa kanyang pangako. Ibinibigay niya ang nararapat pero mapagbigay siya sa iba. Let us not be envious. Let us allow God to be God. We are not shortchanged because others are favored. God also gives to us what is due to us and even more. Huwag lang tayo maging mapanghambing. In our highly competitive world, there are lots of hurts because we tend to compare – positions, money, possessions, favors. So we are never satisfied, and so we are never happy and contented.
But in another level it is also good to examine our view on salaries and wages. It is not just a strict tit-for-tat. A more humane way of looking at work is that it is a way to care for each other as human beings. We do not just pay the work or the hours of work. We pay the worker, who is a human person. Let us not just be contented to give the minimum wage. We strive to give the living wage, which is found in our Philippine Constitution. Corollary to this, let us not view labor as an expense. If it is viewed as an expense, we cut it down – thus the ways and means being used to bring down the expense of labor, like contractualization. Can we not see labor as an asset, as capital, as a resource? Is a human person an expense or a resource? We cut down on an expense but we build up a resource. Aaayyy. Malaki pang pagbabago ang dapat magbago sa ating pananaw. “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor my ways your ways, says the Lord.”
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