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." - Source -
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMENTARY
Key Message:- GOD IS GENEROUS
The gospel passage is a parable about the kingdom of God.
It tells what will happen at the end of time, when God will reward all, who have responded to his call.
God gives His Grace according to how He perceives the work that is done, according to His standards, not according to ours.
God will treat them equally, out of his generosity, for we are the same in the eyes of God. We are all part of His plan whether our role is little or big, whether we have worked for the Lord all our lives or have recently returned to the Lord.
God does not deal with them according to our human standards. God is God. He has his own superior standards.The gospel reading also emphasizes God’s superiority.
God sees the individual effort and rewards this effort generously. He is far more generous to his people than we think.
We, humans, should not confine God to our measuring standards. In short, we must not make God human.
We should not take offense when God treats the saints and new converts similarly. God can do more to the poor, especially to the humble, who respond to God’s call. He will continue to do the same to all who respond to his call, no matter how late.
All the more we should rejoice because the Lord is kind and merciful.
Let us not hinder God from being generous.
Instead, let us imitate him.
Excerpt from Fr. Cielo R. Almazan, OFM (Welcome to our Bible Study) and Fr. Joseph Pellegrino (Are You, Am I, Good Enough?)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REFLECTION
God is kind and merciful.
It tells us how God deals with us.
He deals with us according to our needs.
No one is consider a latecomer in the kingdom of God. That is what the Gospel reading is about, that parable about the last hired receiving the same wages as the first hired. God sees the individual effort and rewards this effort generously. His standards are not like ours. He is God.
And we are wrong if we compare yourselves to others. We feel we are not as good as someone else so we give up. We can’t do that either.
We are each created to be unique reflections of God’s love. We do not have the right to compare our reflection to anyone else’s. As God has a purpose for each of us. Only He knows what that purpose is. Only He knows how well we fulfill that purpose.
God created us for who each of us is when we do everything possible to let Him work in us.
Hence, we need to do our best, to be our best, and let God take care of the rest.
The last hired were paid first. He does not make a comparison between our lives and those of others. He rewards us according to the way that we live out the Grace He gives each of us.
God’s ways are not the ways of humans. And thank God for that!
God has room for everyone.
So, what are you doing?
Go back to him, God is waiting for you.
God does not want intentional delays!!!
Excerpt from Fr. Cielo R. Almazan, OFM (Welcome to our Bible Study) and Fr. Joseph Pellegrino (Are You, Am I, Good Enough?)
