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Humberto Werdine |
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Are the
Spiritists
the so
called
Workers
of the
Last
Hour? |
1.
The
parable
The most
dedicated
biblical
scholars
consider
that
there
are some
parables
of Jesus
of
difficult
- or at
least
controversial
understanding;
and the
parable
of the
vineyard,
also
called
the
workers
of the
last
hour is
one of
them. So
in order
to
propose
our
response
to the
question
in the
title of
this
article,
we will
describe
below
the
parable,
found in
Mathew
XX,
1-16:
For the
kingdom
of
heaven
is like
the
master
of a
house,
who went
out
early in
the
morning
to get
workers
into his
vine-garden.
And when
he had
made an
agreement
with the
workmen
for a
penny a
day, he
sent
them
into his
vine-garden.
And he
went out
about
the
third
hour,
and saw
others
in the
market-place
doing
nothing;
And he
said to
them, Go
into the
vine-garden
with the
others,
and
whatever
is right
I will
give you.
And they
went to
work.
Again he
went out
about
the
sixth
and the
ninth
hour,
and did
the same.
And
about
the
eleventh
hour he
went out
and saw
others
doing
nothing;
and he
says to
them,
Why are
you here
all the
day
doing
nothing?
They say
to him,
Because
no man
has
given us
work. He
says to
them, Go
in with
the rest,
into the
vine-garden.
And when
evening
came,
the lord
of the
vine-garden
said to
his
manager,
Let the
workers
come,
and give
them
their
payment,
from the
last to
the
first.
And when
those
men came
who had
gone to
work at
the
eleventh
hour,
they
were
given
every
man a
penny.
Then
those
who came
first
had the
idea
that
they
would
get
more;
and they,
like the
rest,
were
given a
penny.
And when
they got
it, they
made a
protest
against
the
master
of the
house,
Saying,
These
last
have
done
only one
hour's
work,
and you
have
made
them
equal to
us, who
have
undergone
the hard
work of
the day
and the
burning
heat.
But he
in
answer
said to
one of
them,
Friend,
I do you
no wrong:
did you
not make
an
agreement
with me
for a
penny?
Take
what is
yours,
and go
away; it
is my
pleasure
to give
to this
last,
even as
to you.
Have I
not the
right to
do as
seems
good to
me in my
house?
or is
your eye
evil,
because
I am
good?
So the
last
will be
first,
and the
first
last.
2.
The
controversy
Apparently,
the lord
of the
vineyard
seems to
commit
an
injustice,
since it
paid the
same
salary
to those
who
worked
less
time.
But
actually,
he pays
to those
who have
begun
earlier
the
salary
he had
combined
with
them. He
had
fulfilled
his
promise.
With
respect
to those
who have
been
hired
later,
he told
to some
that he
would
give
them
what
would be
fair and
to the
last
ones he
said
nothing
about
the
payment.
But at
the end
of the
day he
gives to
these
last
ones the
same
that was
paid to
the
first
ones.
And he
responds
to
claimants
who
started
early,
saying
basically:"
I am
good
person...,
it is
not
lawful
for me
to do
what I
want?
He must
have
seen
something
more on
the
latter,
the
willingness
to work,
the no
questioning
about
the pay
and
maybe
the
quality,
commitment
and
intensity
during
the few
hours of
work.
And he
gratified
them
what to
him, the
lord of
the
vineyard,
seemed
fair.
And he
adds to
the
parable
by
saying,
Thus,
the
first
will be
last,
and the
first
last,
because
many are
called
but few
are
chosen.
As we
can see,
there
may be
many
explanations
for this
parable
and the
controversies
are also
countless.
The
Gospel
According
to
Spiritism
dedicates
the
twentieth
chapter
to this
parable
and four
spirits
explain
it:
Constantine,
Heine,
Erasto
and the
Spirit
of
Truth.
A
question
then
assaults
us: - if
there
are four
explanations
and
mostly
important,
one of
them is
from the
Spirit
of
Truth,
which
are the
doubts,
why the
controversy?
Let's
analyze
what
these
spirits
had told
us:
Constantine,
the
first
spirit
to
explain
the
parable
uses the
following
phrase
in the
course
of his
argument:
Good
Spiritists,
my
dearly
beloved,
you are
all
workers
of the
last
hour.
This
phrase,
the way
it has
been
translated
from the
French
edition,
gives
the
impression
that all
spiritists
are the
workers
of the
last
hour.
However,
if we go
to the
French
edition
from the
Union
Spirite
Française
et
Francophone,
we see
the
following
phrase:
“Bons
spirites,
mes
bien-aimés,
vous
êtes
tous
des
ouvriers
de la
dernière
heure”.
As we
can see
that the
grammatical
article
that is
placed
before
the word
ouvriers
(workers)
is the
indefinite
article
des,
meaning
that the
good
spiritualists
are part
of this
group
and are
not
unique
to this
group.
But
there is
another
point to
me much
more
important.
It is
that
Constantine
begins
the
sentence
with the
adjective
good
spiritists.
Who in
reality
can in
good
conscience
say that
he or
she is
a good
spiritist?
After
all what
does
really
mean
being a
good
spiritist?
At this
point we
see the
beauty,
coherence
and
integration
of the
four
answers
from
those
spirits,
which
should
be read
together
and not
separated
from
each
other.
Erastus
also
starts
his
explanation
with the
phrase
Oh, true
adepts
of
Spiritism
... you
are
God's
chosen
ones!
And the
question
is
repeated:
are we
true
followers
of the
Spiritism?
Kardec,
a
pedagogue
and very
concerned
about a
possible
misunderstanding
or
incorrect
interpretations,
questioned
Erasto
about
the
characteristics
of the
true and
good
spiritist.
Let´s
see his
answer:
You
will
recognize
them
through
the
principles
of true
charity
that
they
will
teach
and
practice.
You will
recognize
them by
the
number
of
afflicted
ones
they
will
comfort.
You will
recognize
them by
their
love to
neighbours,
by their
self-denial,
by their
personal
disinterestedness.
And also
if we go
to the
Gospel
According
to
Spiritism
, it
teaches
us how
to
recognize
the true
spiritist
; it is
in cap.
XVII ,
item 4:
The true
Spiritist
can be
recognised
by their
moral
transformation
and by
the
efforts
they
employ
in order
to
dominate
their
bad
instincts.
Indeed,
the
Spirit
of Truth
calls
our
attention
and
reminds
us of
our
pride,
selfishness,
laziness
and lust
for
power,
which
may
delay
the work
of the
Father:
Let us
work
together
and
unite
our
efforts
so that
when the
Lord
arrives
He will
find His
work
finished,"
seeing
that the
Lord
will say
to them:
"Come
unto me,
you who
have
been
good
servants,
you who
knew how
to
silence
your
rivalries
and
discords
so that
no harm
should
come to
the work!"
But woe
to those
who as a
result
of their
dissensions
have
held
back the
time of
the
harvest,
because
the
tempest
will
come and
they
will be
taken
away in
the
turbulence!
As we
can see
some of
us
spiritists
still
have a
long way
ahead of
us to be
called
good or
true
spiritists.
3.
The last
hour
The
meaning
of the
last
hour
can be
inferred
in
the
words of
the
Spirit
of
Truth.
He said
that the
Lord
wants to
find the
work
done and
complements
saying
that
those
that
have
delayed
the
harvest
will be
taken by
the
whirlwind
storm.
This is
nothing
more
than our
participation
in the
transformation
of the
planet
towards
its new
phase of
regeneration.
The
last
hours
figuratively
represent
the time
we are
living
now, the
transition
from the
phase of
proofs
and
atonement
to the
regeneration
phase.
We the
spiritists
are
hindering
the
regeneration
of the
planet
when we
keep our
jealousy
and
discord,
fighting
for
higher
hierarchical
positions
and
wasting
time
that
could be
used to
spread
the
teachings
of
Kardec.
We are
hindering
the
regeneration
of the
planet
when we
are
leaving
for
tomorrow
our
inner
reform,
keeping
our
prejudices
against
anything
or
anyone,
skin
color,
race,
religion
or
sexual
orientation.
These
conditions
will
disrupt,
damage
the
work,
contributing
to a
delayed
harvest.
Therefore
the
responsible
ones
could be
taken in
the
whirlwind
towards
the
reincarnation
on other
planets
and
would
not
participate
in the
regeneration
phase
here on
Earth.
4.
Conclusions
The
first
conclusion
we
reached
is that
by the
denomination
workers
of the
last
hour,
are all
those
men and
women
who work
for the
good,
always
doing a
little
more,
having
already
understood
that it
is not
enough
not to
do evil,
it is
necessary
to make
the
good. So
all
people,
regardless
of their
religion,
or even
being
agnostic,
that fit
these
characteristics
are part
of this
group of
workers
of the
last
hour.
The
second
conclusion
is that
we
Spiritists
have all
the
possibilities
to
enlarge
this
group,
because
we know
of
reincarnation,
the
afterlife
and the
communication
with our
loved
ones who
have
gone
before
us. We
are sure
that
life
continues
beyond
the
grave.
With
this,
our
responsibility
is much
greater.
Why then
do we
keep our
jealousy,
pride,
selfishness
and
prejudice?
The
third
conclusion
we
reached
is that
by
the last
hour
we must
understand
the
period
we are
living
now,
where
spirits
of the
new age
are
coming
among us
ever
more
intensely,
giving
incontestable
march to
the
renewal
and
regeneration
of our
planet.
The
fourth
conclusion
is that
we are
having
our
opportunity
now ...
or we
reform
ourselves
to
continue
to
reincarnate
here
helping
the
consolidation
of the
Earth's
evolution
into the
regeneration
phase,
or we
may be
unworthy
of it
and so
would
leave
for more
primitive
planets
to help
in their
evolution.
It is
being
fulfilled
which
the
Spirit
of Truth
said
above: "
But woe
to those
who, as
a result
of their
dissensions
have
held
back the
time of
the
harvest,
because
the
tempest
will
come and
they
will be
taken
away in
the
turbulence!!
"
The
fifth
conclusion
is that
everything
depends
on us,
whether
we will
or not
be part
of the
regeneration
of our
planet,
whether
or not
we are
part of
this
group of
the
workers
of the
last
hour.
After
all, we
already
have the
invitation
of the
Vineyard
Lord 's
with his
instructions
and
guidelines,
for over
2000
years
and
constantly
repeated
by many
spirits
messengers.
The
decision
and
choice
belong
to us,
only us.
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