God’s Grace and Love
In our Gospel reading for Sunday (Matthew 20:1-16a), Jesus tells a parable about a landowner who has a vineyard and goes out during the day to hire laborers. It is a parable that exemplifies what God says through the prophet Isaiah in our first reading (Isaiah 55:6-9):
“Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked his thoughts; let him turn to the Lord for mercy; to our God, who is generous in forgiving. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.”
In the parable, at the end of the workday, the landowner tells the foreman to pay the workers who were hired last, first. These workers, who only worked an hour, were paid the wages usually received for a whole day. So when the workers who were hired at the beginning of the day came to be paid, they thought they would get more, but they didn’t. So, they complain to the landowner, and the landowner replies, ”My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?” And then Jesus ends the parable with this statement: “Thus the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
When we hear this parable, we can sympathize with the ones who were hired first and worked all day. But we need to remember that this parable was about the kingdom of heaven, not a blueprint for labor practices in the 21st century.
If we understood the “money” in the parable as God’s love and mercy and the promise of eternal life, then perhaps we can understand the parable a bit better.
If I think about it, if I can accept God’s overwhelming love for me, can I really assume that God loves me more than someone else? Really? Or if I get to heaven, will there be a chance that I would get more heaven than someone else? Really?
I’m beginning to think that when we fall into thinking that we are more entitled to God’s love and forgiveness and grace than someone else, it’s because we somehow think we paid or earned a higher status, like some frequent flier on an airline. When it comes to God’s grace, did we pay more than someone else?
I recently heard a reflection on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross by Fr. Johnson Emmanuel, C.P. One thing he said that brought me almost instantly to Sunday’s parable was,
“God doesn’t play fair. God plays generous.”
Which brings me to what the parable may be saying to us about how we treat each other. The complaint of the workers hired first was: “These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.” I was struck by the words “you have made them equal to us.” I wonder if welcoming immigrants and seeking to understand others and build cultural competence might be more oriented towards the kingdom of heaven than not.
I am tempted to say, “It is God who made us equal, and loves us equally.” But the words “loves us equally” don’t match the reality. It isn’t God divvying up love into equal portions. It is God loving each and everyone of us abundantly, incredibly, indescribably, overwhelmingly! And we are called to love each other in the same way! We ought to be grateful for those who have been faithful disciples all their lives. We can also be grateful for those who have just turned to God. Like the landowner in the parable, God is looking for more workers to share Good News.
I welcome any comments or questions. Thanks for your time.
In Christ,
Phil, CP
