Jesus’ parable identifies chosenness in those who resist, dissent, protest and refuse the invitations of the empire.
If we are willing to listen to those standing around without work, however, a new possibility emerges. Why are they standing around without work? “Because no one has hired us,” they reply (Matthew 20:7). They aren’t lazy, they’re desperate enough to stand around all day waiting for work. The laborers are many; the jobs are few.
The theo-political impulse of this parable is this: one needs to address the inequality of perceptions that manifest both in society and sacred places.
Perhaps this parable is not about stewardship of resources, in the sense of asking the maximum effort to produce the maximum gains, but is rather about revealing and denouncing unethical behavior that reinforces oppressive structures of the past and the present.