THEME: Serve God willingly.
Our God remains a mystery. Two of the striking qualities of God which defies logic are forgiveness and generosity.
The first reading forms part of the book of the Prophet Isaiah called Deutero- Isaiah or second Isaiah. It is often called the book of consolation (Isaiah 40-55). The Israelites were in exile in Babylon and I guess they were worn out because of the struggles that go with being in exile coupled with their infidelity to Yahweh. God, through the prophet Isaiah invites them to an abundant life (Isaiah 55:1-6).
In today’s section of Isaiah 55, God invites them to experience the power of his mercy and forgiveness. Indeed, one of the ways to abundant life is to experience the mercy and forgiveness of God. “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thought; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them and to our God , for he will abundantly pardon” ( Isaiah 55:6-7). In spite of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God in exile, the Lord assures them “For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you and my covenant of peace shall not be removed says the Lord, who has compassion on you” (Isaiah 54:10).
That same God assures us today that His steadfast love never ceases under any circumstances. He remains a faithful God. He does not depend on times and seasons. We can only come to appreciate God if we learn to know that “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9).
The parable in today’s gospel reading has nothing to do with salvation. The day’s wages in that time does not represent salvation for nobody works for his salvation. Nor is the parable talking about rewards, for we are not all going to receive the same rewards for, “Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour” (1 Cor. 3:8). Indeed, like Isaiah reminds us in the first reading, God took the initiative to invite us to an abundance of life by forgiving and showing us mercy.
The parable is emphasizing the right attitude in our service to God and mankind. It is important to note that there were actually two kinds of workers hired that day namely those who wanted a contract and agreed to work for a penny for a day and those who had no contract and agreed to take whatever the owner thought was right.
The lessons for Christ’s disciples and us are obvious and they are fourfold. First, we should not serve him because we want to receive an expected reward and we should not insist on knowing what we will get. God is infinitely generous and gracious and will always give us better than we deserve.
Now we can understand the perils that were hidden in Peter’s question in “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” (Matthew 19:27). For one thing, we must not suppose that we will get something more if we do not deserve it like the labourers. We are told that “When the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage and when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner…” (Matthew 20:10-11).
It is possible to do the father’s work and yet not do His will from the heart (Ephesians 6:6). If we serve Him only for the benefits (temporal and eternal), then we will miss the best blessings He has for us. We must trust Him unreservedly and believe that He will always give us what is best.
Second, there is the danger of pride. “What shall we have?” asked Peter. This parable warned him and us all. “How do you know you will have anything?” we are warned to beware of overconfidence when it comes to the rewards God will give, for those first in their own eyes and in the eyes of others may end up last. Likewise do not get discouraged, for those who consider themselves “unprofitable servants” may end up first.
Third, we should beware of watching other workers and measuring ourselves by them. “Judge nothing before the time” (1 Cor 4:5). We see the worker and the work but God sees the heart.
Finally, we must beware of grumbling against God and feeling that we have been left out. Sometimes, the tendency is to behave as if God owes us. Had the early morning workers trusted the owner and not asked for an agreement, the owner would have perhaps given them much more; instead, they were jealous and complained. The generosity of the owner of the vineyard should have led them to repentance but their grumbling attitude revealed the true character of their hearts namely they were selfish. What it means for us is that whenever we find a complaining servant, we must know that he has not fully yielded to the master’s will.
In conclusion, the immeasurable generosity and forgiveness of God is revealed in the various times the vineyard owner went out and still found people to work. This shows that the labourers can never be sufficient because the harvest is indeed very rich. God is still calling us today not taking cognizance of time and season. This is because God is timeless and seasonless.
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