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Gospel: Matthew 20: 1-16
Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard.
Going out about nine o’clock,
he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard,
and I will give you what is just.’
So they went off.
And he went out again around noon,
and around three o’clock, and did likewise.
Going out about five o’clock,
he found others standing around, and said to them,
‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’
They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’
He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’
When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,
‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay,
beginning with the last and ending with the first.’
When those who had started about five o’clock came,
each received the usual daily wage.
So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more,
but each of them also got the usual wage.
And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,
‘These last ones worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’
He said to one of them in reply,
‘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?’
Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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A few years ago, I was called by a family to anoint their loved one. “He’s at the brink of death,” they said, “come quickly.”
When I arrived, I saw an American flag waving outside the home, with cars parked all over the street. I entered the house and saw a relatively young man lying peacefully on his bed in the living room with a black Vietnam Veteran hat on.
“Dad saw some awful things in the war,” one of his children said to me. Experiences that, on the one hand, engrained in him a strong sense of patriotism; but, on the other hand, left him with no faith in God.
It wasn’t until he reached his deathbed, that this man decided to make amends with God. I remember grabbing my oils, granting him absolution, and praying the prayer of commendation.
Shortly after I left, he went peacefully to meet his Maker.
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In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that the reward for this man’s short journey of faith is no different than yours or mine.
Like the laborers chosen to work in the vineyard, whether we work all day, or just arrive at sunset, everyone is given the same wage: eternal life.
That’s the goodness of God.
May we thank the Lord for calling us into his vineyard, and pray for those standing idly in the marketplace, that God will give them all the gift of faith and the reward it brings:
Eternal life.
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Image credits: (1) In Christ Alone, Pinterest (2) Workers in the Red Vineyard, Vincent Van Gogh (3) Fearless Living