25^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel – Matthew 20:1-16

It’s Not Fair

Sepphoris, Jezreel Valley

A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin, 5, and Ryan, 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, "Let my brother have the first pancake. I can wait." Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, "Ryan, you be Jesus."  If we are honest, we all have probably had a similar experience either as a brother or sibling fighting over a piece of pie, who goes first, complaining that one got a bigger Christmas present or that mom or dad likes them better.    And even though the words are not spoken, they are obviously hanging in the air in such a situation – ITS NOT FAIR!!!! 

That is essentially what we are hearing today in the Gospel.  Laborers in a vineyard who have put in a long full day of work – 12 hours, from 6 to 6, are complaining that others who only worked as little as one hour are being paid the same wage.  I have worked all day with the sweat of my brow.  And here someone you hire at the very last and only works one hour gets the same pay as me??

IT’S NOT FAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  If we were honest here, and we were those same day laborers, we would probably be complaining  and grumbling long and loud just like them.

But notice that there really wouldn’t have been an argument at all if the owner had paid the full day laborers FIRST!!!  Then they would have been on their way and never heard the rest of the story.  They would have walked away with a full day’s pay for a full day’s labor!  Perfectly acceptable, perfectly fair!  They never would have seen that the one hour workers were generously paid the same wage.  So something else is going on here, more than a simple lesson on justice!!  Jesus deliberately flips the order of payment so that the day long laborers go LAST.  And as each group gets paid, you have to believe the 12 hour workers are getting more and more HOPEFUL of a bigger paycheck!!!  But that doesn’t happen; they get paid exactly what they agreed to, exactly what they expected, exactly what was FAIR!!  And all of that hope explodes into anger!

Contrast that with the hope displayed by those chosen last.  They stayed and hoped ALL DAY LONG that someone would hire them.  If you were ever involved in choosing teams for a baseball game and ended up being chosen last, you can identify!!  All the talented people are picked first.  And last are the unskilled, those who are somehow lacking in physical ability or mental acuity.  These are the laborers who have stuck around through the heat of the day, still hoping for a job, for a chance to prove themselves.

So consider that this is a parable NOT about human justice, but really about God’s unlimited generosity.  The laborers get angry only when they compare their wages and effort with the effort of someone else!  They get upset when they think more of themselves and less of someone else!!!  They think the owner has been unjust to them when he really has only been generous with the others!  Who’s to say we all wouldn’t have had a similar reaction!

Even as parents we know how difficult it is to be both fair and loving, just and compassionate when we deal with our children.  The same holds true for grandparents.   Often when I am blessed with spending the day with my 2 grandsons, I will treat them, among other things, to lunch. But I made the mistake one time of asking them – where do you want to go??  Big mistake.  I got two completely different answers – Portillo’s and Taco Bell - and the obvious hint that whichever I chose I would hear complaints!   IT’S NOT FAIR!!!!   You like him better; you picked him first last time – I couldn’t win!

It is not an easy task but even the oldest son in the pancake story gets it!!  He knows how hard it is to be like Jesus!!  To be just and generous – that’s why he pushes the role of Jesus to his little brother.  And yet that is exactly what we are all called to do!  

In God’s eyes, it doesn’t matter if we have lived our whole lives in faithful service to God or if we have only just come to the Faith.  It doesn’t matter if we have lived a good moral life or if we repented and asked for forgiveness on our deathbed.   It doesn’t matter if we have worked in the vineyard all our life or if we entered the workforce at the last hour.

God loves us ALL – wholely, completely, unconditionally, EQUALLY!!  Whether we worked 12 hours or one, the reward He offers us all is one and the same – eternal life with Him in heaven.  God is just and fair, kind and loving, generous and compassionate to us all.  And while His ways are not our ways, we are called to strive to be the same,  to be fair and generous, just and compassionate, to be Christian to all those around us. 

And so, like the opening story, God challenges us all – YOU BE JESUS!!!!