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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,
the landowner 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,
the landowner 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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I remember being called by a family to anoint their loved one. “He’s on the brink of death,” they said, “and is asking for a priest. Please, 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 little to no faith in God.
It wasn’t until he reached his deathbed, that this man decided to make amends. I remember grabbing my holy oils, granting him absolution, and praying as I commended him to the Lord.
Shortly after I left, he went peacefully to meet his Maker.
Like the repentant thief, Jesus said to that dying vet, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.”
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I remember being deeply moved – even confused – that day by the mercy of God. This was a man who, apparently, lived a life without much faith, who never went to church, whose suffering pushed him away from God.
But in his final moments, he was reconciled.
I often say in the Sacrament of Confession, God not only forgives our sins; he also forgets they ever happened. Think about it – that man entered heaven scot-free. His sins washed away. His future, eternal.
Like the laborers chosen last in today’s Gospel, he received a “full-day’s wage.”
It can seem unfair to us who are life-long believers, who spend our days working in our Master’s vineyard, who strive to be faithful and virtuous Christians, that someone who came to faith at the last moment would receive the same reward as us.
But, “my thoughts are not your thoughts,” says the Lord.
The purpose of this parable is not to change the mind of the master; it’s about changing the mind of the workers, even this preacher. Anyone who shows up in the vineyard receives a “full day’s wage,” regardless of when they’re called.
That’s good news, plain and simple.
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The reconciliation that young vet experienced speaks to the essence of what God is saying to us through the words of the prophet Isaiah in our first reading. God is not interested in where we’ve been or what we’ve done, as much as having us remain in his presence.
Like a parent who desires their children to return after an eternity away, God just wants us. If our feet are dirty, then he washes them. If our heart is hardened, then he softens it. If we feel ashamed, then he embraces us. If we are dying, then he receives us.
As Saint Paul says, “Whether we live or we die, we are the Lord’s.”
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That’s the same type of attitude which God wants us to have towards one another – an attitude of reconciliation, not retribution, which I spoke about last Sunday.
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“Do to others what you would have them do to you,” Jesus says. We often call this the “Golden Rule,” treat others the way you want to be treated.
Yet we’re tempted to live by the “Bronze Rule,” treat others the way they treat you. It’s a tit-for-tat; quid-pro-quo; don’t get mad, get even type of logic that leaves no room for mercy or forgiveness.
If the Lord treated us using the “Bronze Rule,” then we’d all be doomed! Think of that vet lying on his deathbed. But God reminds us, “My thoughts are not your thoughts.” The Lord’s desire is not retribution, but reconciliation.
Every. Single. Time.
What’s our own attitude like? Do we treat others using the “Golden Rule” or the “Bronze Rule?” When we’ve been wronged do we seek retribution or reconciliation?
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Like the laborers chosen to work in their master’s vineyard, whether we work all day or arrive at sunset, everyone is given the same wage: eternal life.
That’s good news, plain and simple.
May we thank the Lord for calling us, and pray for those who stand idly in the marketplace, that God would give them the gift of faith, even if it comes in their final hour.
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Image credits: (1) The Red Vineyard, Vincent Van Gogh (2) God is Unfair, SAVED (3) Our Daily Bread