So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many are called, but few chosen.
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Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
De Spir. et Lit. 24: Or; The lesser are therefore taken as first, because the lesser are to be made rich.
de Sanc. Virg., 26: Because that life eternal shall be equal to all the saints, a denarius is given to all; but forasmuch as in that life eternal the light of merits shall shine diversely, there are with the Father many mansions; so that under this same denarius bestowed unequally one shall not live longer than another, but in the many mansions one shall shine with more splendour than another.
Few chosen: only such as have not despised their caller, but followed and believed him; for men believed not, but of their own free will. (St. Augustine, lib. i, ad Simplic. q. ii.) (Bristow)
Hence the rejection of the Jews and of negligent Christians, and the conversion of strangers, who come and take their place, by a conversion both of faith and morals. On the part of God all are called. (Matthew xi. 28.) Come to me all In effect, many after their call, have attained to faith and justification; but few in comparison are elected to eternal glory, because the far greater part do not obey the call, but refuse to come, whilst many of those who come fall away again; and thus very few, in comparison with those that perish, will at the last day be selected for eternal glory. (Tirinus)
Non. occ., sed vid. Raban.:Or, if you choose, the Father saith unto the Son; for the Father wrought by the Son, and the Son by the Holy Spirit, not that there is any difference of substance, or majesty.
But what follows after this is dreadful. For many are called, but few are chosen; many come to the faith, and only a few are brought to the heavenly kingdom. See how many have gathered for today’s celebration; we fill the church! But yet who knows how few may be numbered in the flock of God’s elect. All voices shout “Christ,” but not everyone’s life shouts it. Many follow God with their voices but flee from him by their conduct. Paul says, “They profess that they know God, but they deny him by their deeds”; and James, “Faith without works is worthless”; and the Lord says through the psalmist, “O Lord my God, you have multiplied your wonderful works, and in your thoughts there is none who shall be likened to you. I declared and spoke of them. They exceed number.” At the Lord’s call the faithful were increased more than he could count, because they also come to the faith who do not belong to the number of the elect. In this world they mingle with the faithful through their confession of ...
Hom. in Ev., xix, 1: Or; The Master of the household, that is, our Maker, has avineyard, that is, the Church universal, which has borne so many stocks, as many saints as it has put forth from righteous Abel to the very last saint who shall be born in the end of the world. To instruct this His people as for the dressing of a vineyard, the Lord has never ceased to send out His labourers; first by the Patriarchs, next by the teachers of the Law, then by the Prophets, and at the last by the Apostles, He has toiled in the cultivation of His vineyard; though every man, in whatsoever measure or degree he has joined good action with right faith, has been a labourer in the vineyard.
The morning is that age of the world which was from Adam and Noah, and therefore it is said, “Who went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.” The terms of their hiring He adds, “And when he had agreed with the labourers for a denarius a day.”.
The third hour is the period from Noah to Abraham...
These then are sent into the vineyard, “Go ye also into my vineyard.”.
And this murmur of the labourers corresponds with the frowardness of this nation, which even in the time of Moses were stiff-necked.
From everything then it is manifest to us, that the parable is spoken with reference to them who from earliest youth, and those who in old age and more tardily, lay hold on virtue; to the former, that they may not be proud, neither reproach those called at the eleventh hour; to the latter, that they may learn that it is possible even in a short time to recover all.
For since He had been speaking about earnestness, and the casting away of riches, and contempt of all one's possessions, but this needed much vigor of mind and youthful ardor; in order to kindle in them a fire of love, and to give vigor to their will, He shows that it is possible even for men coming later to receive the hire of the whole day.
But He does not say it thus, lest again He should make them proud, but he shows that the whole is of His love to man, and because of this they shall not fail, but shall themselves enjoy the unspeakable blessings.
And this chiefly is what it is His will to establish by this para...
The Master of the household is Christ, whose house are the heavens and the earth; and the creatures of the heavens, and the earth, and beneath the earth, His family. His vineyard is righteousness, in which are set divers sorts of righteousness as vines, as meekness, chastity, patience, and the other virtues; all of which are called by one common name righteousness.
For in this world men live by buying and selling, and gain their support by defrauding each other.
Or; The “idle” are not sinners, for they are called dead. But he is idle who works not the work of God. Do you desire to be not idle? Take not that which is another's; and give of that which is your own, and you have laboured in the Lord's vineyard, cultivating the vine of mercy. It follows, “And he said unto them, Go ye also into my vineyard.” Observe that it is with the first alone that He agrees upon the sum to be given, a denarius; the others are hired on no express stipulation, but “What is right I will give you.” For the ...
But when they had rendered their day’s task, at the fitting time for payment, "When even was come,” that is, when the day of this world was drawing to its close.
To establish the truth of this saying, “There are many first that shall belast, and last first,” the Lord subjoins a similitude.
A denarius was a coin anciently equal to ten sesterces, and bearing the king's image. Well therefore does the denarius represent the reward of the keeping of the decalogue. And that, “Having agreed with them for a denarius a day,” is well said, to show that every man labours in the field of the holy Church in hope of the future reward.
Or, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the master of the household, and also the steward, like as He is the door, and also the keeper of the door. For He Himself will come to judgment, to render to each man according to that he has done. He therefore calls His labourers, and renders to them their wages, so that when they shall be gathered together in the judgment, each man shall receive according to his works.
By this one to whom his answer is given, may be understood all the believing Jews, whom he calls friends because of their...
. Evening means the end of the world. Therefore at the end each one receives his penny, which is the gift of the Holy Spirit re-fashioning man into the image of God and making him a sharer in the divine nature. Those who lived before Christ’s incarnation labored more, because death was not yet then destroyed, nor the devil crushed, but sin still had its full vitality. But we who by the grace of Christ have been made righteous through baptism receive power to conquer our opponent who has already been cast down and slain by Christ. Also, according to the first interpretation, those who believed in their youth have a greater labor than those who approached in old age, for the youth, warring with passions, must bear the burden of anger and the heat of desires, while the old man is in tranquility. Nevertheless, all are deemed worthy of the one gift of the Holy Spirit. The parable, then, teaches us that it is possible even in old age to repent and obtain the kingdom, for this is the eleventh...
