‘These last ones worked only one hour,
matthew 20:12
and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’
Reflection
Jesus tells a parable about a landowner who hires people throughout the day to work in his vineyard. At the end of the day, even the people who worked only one hour were given the same daily wage as those who worked the entire day. The laborers who had worked all day complain about this, but the landowner rebukes them and tells them the last will be first and the first will be last.
It is natural to be jealous of those who do less than us but still receive the same amount of compensation. We believe it isn’t fair, yet in this Gospel, that is precisely what happens. The landowner is generous with his workers – even those who only worked for an hour. In the same way, God is generous with us.
There are plenty of people who are lifelong Catholics, are active in their parish and spiritual life, and then there are people who turn to God much later in life and seem to not have “done” as much. Yet God still offers them the same compensation – eternal life. Instead of being jealous, we should rejoice at God’s goodness and mercy. He is so generous and loving that he wants every person to be in heaven with him, even if they spent most of their life without him.
We must strive to be generous like the Lord, especially in our judgments and thoughts about others. Today, reflect on how you can cultivate an attitude of gratefulness that Christ calls everyone to himself, even at the last hour.
Saint of the Day
St. Bernard: 1090 – 1153
“Love seeks no cause beyond itself and no fruit; it is its own fruit, its own enjoyment. I love because I love; I love in order that I may love.”
St. Bernard
The Healing Word 