In his play No Exit, noted French playwright Jean-Paul Sartre had one of the most famous lines in modern literature: “L’enfer, c’est les autres” or “Hell is other people.” The exact meaning of this quote is often misunderstood, but I found a good summary in one online article (of which the entire article is worth reading): “Putting it in laymen terms, we are all afraid of being judged negatively by others, and hence we are never in total control of ourselves as long as someone else is present . . . We can never escape being influenced by what we think of others’ thinking of ourselves in the social world.”
Pretty heady stuff! While — obviously — I have a different take on what “hell” is as a Catholic, I nevertheless thought of this idea as I reflected on the discomfort that arises from today’s Gospel selection, from Matthew. It’s an amazing parable from Jesus: Workers from a vineyard were all given the same pay — a pay to which they agreed to — regardless of whether they started at 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., or 5:00 p.m. Some of the workers who started earlier grumbled about getting the same pay as the later workers, and Jesus sets them straight.
It’s an utterly amazing parable, which — if possible — seems to be even more challenging in an era of rising inequality, seemingly indifferent power structures, and foundational challenges to the very notion of “fairness.”
But in the context of the parable, it’s vital to understand the exact point where this discomfort comes from.
Is it from the offer of the landowner? No; absent other context, it’s a fair offer, one to which the workers agreed.
Is it the nature of the work? No; the workers seemed fine with what they were doing.
Is it the hours worked? No; the workers didn’t complain while they were working.
The entire situation only comes into friction when we consider other people. Thinking that they’re getting a “better deal” gnaws at us. Thinking that they’re thinking they pulled one over on us is really galling.
In other words, the “hell” of this situation — the torment and challenge — is “other people,” and thoughts of what they might be thinking in this situation. And that feeling of resentment or friction doesn’t change even if you know that the “pay” is the gift of salvation, and “the landowner” is our Lord.
But the Way that Christ shows is so radically different that I can barely type this in a coherent fashion.
We need the social connectivity of care and compassion for our fellow humans to get closer to God . . . but that social connectivity is not an end unto itself.
I love my wife and family dearly, but I understand that — if we make it to heaven (which should be an ultimate goal) — our relationship will not be the same as it was on this world.
If I give a coat or medical care to someone who has none, I can’t resent them for having a coat they didn’t “work” for, or medical aid they didn’t “pay” for. And if they die and make it to heaven, they won’t be parading around in heaven in my coat; that’s not how heaven works!
If we truly believe that God’s gift of love and salvation is open to all, and infinite in its reach and possibility, we cannot resent those who accept and receive that gift.
In fact, if we allow ourselves to steep in resentment because others might “get to heaven” with less “work” than we did, then not only does that miss the point of the path that Jesus paves; it also places our own souls in very real jeopardy. That jealousy can be the crack in our foundation, the stain on our soul, by which the Devil can act. It would be a true case of “hell” being “other people” — not by their own actions or inactions, but by our inability to deal with those actions or inactions, even though they don’t affect us.
I challenge you today: If you have someone you truly dislike or feel is on a wrong path, pray for them. Pray for them to receive the greatest treasure you can possibly conceive. Imagine what that gift would give them, how happy it would make them. And imagine yourself happy — truly happy — for them, as they revel in their new bestowal. It’s a gift you already have, and has been available since you started working in the Father’s vineyard.
Salvation is not yours to give, nor yours to deny. And even if it were possible for mere humans to deny salvation to others against the Father’s wishes, know that the same resentment and unfairness that you might use to deny someone else salvation can almost certainly be applied against you, by someone who’s lived a “holier” life than thou. Don’t fall into the trap, a hell of your own making. Heaven is big enough for all.
