The landowner and the hired workers.

The parable from Matthew 20:1-16, featured this Sunday, can be challenging for us to comprehend or accept. In this story, the landowner pays the same wage to those who worked only one hour as he does to those who worked all day under the hot sun. Our first reaction is probably how unfair this is. However, the ones originally hired simply received what was in their contract. One denarii wasn’t much but it was enough to keep the wolf from the door. Anything less than that meant families going hungry. If the latecomers had received less that would have been the case. What a caring and thoughtful landowner. But why did he not give those who worked all day more?

Parables of course are meant to make us think and because we have heard them many times before their edginess and shock value can be lost to us sometimes.

If someone has been a Catholic all their lives as opposed to someone who has just joined, do they deserve or require any extra treatment or favouritism? Are their needs and sensibilities more important than newcomers?

No matter when someone realises who Christ really is, whether as a young person or later on in life, they are equally dear to God.  The important thing is that a person comes to Christ. God will give to each the same warmth of welcome. Now, that seems reasonable, hopeful and inspiring to me.

The parable gives us a glimpse of the amazing generosity of God.

Ok the workers did not all do the same work but they did receive the same pay. There are a couple of great lessons here. All service ranks the same with God. It is not the amount of service given, but the love in which it is given that matters.

As a child, I was given a small amount of pocket money to buy Christmas presents for the 11 other members of my family. I recall purchasing an ashtray for Dad, even though he had given up smoking years earlier, and a hankie for Mum, despite her already having a drawer full. I also bought various small items for my brothers and sisters. Looking back, I realize that the effort I put in and the love with which I gave those gifts were what truly mattered. God values the sincerity of our service, not the quantity.

Everything we receive from God is a matter of grace. We cannot earn what God gives us, nor do we deserve it. What God provides is not payment but a gift, not a reward but grace.

The workers hired first agreed with the landlord's terms and worked expecting the wage agreed to at the end of the day. For those hired later, there was no contract; they simply wanted the opportunity to work and left what remuneration was owing to them to the master's discretion.

Are we Catholic and Christian for personal gain expecting God to reward us? Or are we more focused on serving God and neighbour because that is what our Christian lives are about.

If we pursue a reward in a self-centred way, we lose it; if reward is not our concern, we find it.

How often has that been a reality in our lives?

You may wish to listen to Psalm 144 from 'Making music to your name.'

Blessings on your week.