For many people, today’s parable about the workers in the vineyard is a tough one to swallow. There just doesn't seem to be any fairness to it and yet, this parable isn’t about fairness; it’s about generosity and mercy.
From the perspective of those who labored all day long, it does seem unfair that the owner of the vineyard gives them the same pay as he did people who worked only one hour
The latecomers, of course, are the ones who didn't exactly...
For many people, today’s parable about the workers in the vineyard is a tough one to swallow. There just doesn't seem to be any fairness to it and yet, this parable isn’t about fairness; it’s about generosity and mercy.
From the perspective of those who labored all day long, it does seem unfair that the owner of the vineyard gives them the same pay as he did people who worked only one hour
The latecomers, of course, are the ones who didn't exactly rush to get in line so that they could work, the ones who, perhaps, might have preferred enjoying the finished product rather than making it. So, why is the owner being so generous to them? Perhaps he is being compassionate when he gives the latecomers a full day's pay so that they could buy enough food to feed their families.
The vineyard owner is, of course, representative of God and we are fortunate that God is like that; generous and compassionate in His love for us. After all, even if we work hard to follow God’s will in our lives, we know that we often fail and it is then that we really don’t want God to judge us with fairness, but with mercy instead. None of us can fulfill our mission in this life without God and, because of our failures and sinful nature, none of us can really make it to heaven without God’s mercy. Not even the saints believed they deserved heaven or that they could reach heaven without the mercy of God.
God's kingdom is His free gift to us. All we can do is love God and our neighbor and trust that He will give us all the graces that we will ever need toward our salvation.
Perhaps the best way to look at how this parable relates to us is this: All that is good in us is ours, not by right but a free gift of God. Certainly, there is much that we have earned: our salaries, our homes, our cars, even our parish church and our school and other facilities.
But, all this is possible only because so much has been given to us: life itself, eyes to see, ears to hear, hands to touch, a good mind, a heart to beat with Christ's love, the power to give hope to someone in despair, to love where others hate. All of these things and so much more are pure gifts, not rewards.
Each of us is loved deeply by God. But, none of us is able to do anything to have either earned it or demanded it.
So, let us change our ways of thinking until we are no longer confused by God's generosity and mercy. We have to remember that God's ways are not our ways and God's thoughts are not our thoughts. Our challenge is to let God be God. It would be a lot better for the whole world if we do so.+
