Communism or Communalism

In today's Gospel Reading Jesus gives an interesting teaching on distribution of wealth. He tells a parable about a landowner who hires laborers periodically throughout the day to work in his vineyard. When pay time comes at the end of the day, the landowner pays the first workers the same amount as the last (previously agreed upon). Well, this doesn't sit well with the first workers who were working longer and felt they were unfairly compensated.

What made their compensation unfair? It is the amount they agreed upon, after all. The landowner even challenges the complaining laborers that he is "free to do as [he] wish[es] with [his] own money?" Then Jesus reveals the motives of each of the characters in the story. The landowner is being generous and the laborer is being envious of the other workers. The landowner is acting out of a good heart that wants to bless others, while the laborer is acting out of selfishness and wants to bless himself.

I have heard many times people claim that Jesus' early followers practiced communism. Okay, so what does this have to do with the parable? Well, communism as it has come to be practiced in our day and age reflects much of the motives of the laborers rather than the landowner. People who endorse communism now-a-days claim that it is a solution to fiscal inequity. They would say that if the people all contribute to a governing body according to their ability to give, then that body can redistribute the money according to people's needs. Individuals of a communist mindset can't stand to know that others have more money than them. It is this motivation that is identical to the laborer demanding his fair share. You see the vineyard laborer also wanted his fair share. So were Jesus' disciples communists? No. Because their sharing in common flowed out of their generosity not their selfishness. The communal life of the disciples was a reflection of their desire to give not to receive. They knew God was generous with them.

So there you have it. Communism is based upon everyone receiving their fair share, and communalism is based upon a desire to give freely. Communism doesn't acknowledge God's provision for us, whereas communalism embraces it fully. Communism = Envy. Communalism = Generosity (what the disciples practiced). Any questions?

"So the last will be first, and the first last." (Matt. 20:16)