Gospel Reflection from the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 20:1-16a
At first glance, who wouldn’t feel empathy for those laborers who have borne the day’s burden and heat? I can picture their exhausted, sweat-covered faces, sweltering under the sun. It seems only fair that they receive more pay. How is it that these new workers, who have worked for only an hour or so, receive the same reward as the first laborers, who have diligently endured the day’s work? And to rub salt into the wound, the new workers receive payment first!
But as God reminds us in Isaiah, from the first reading,“…[M]y thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.”
As I meditated on this Scripture passage, I was struck by the magnificence of God’s ways. The first laborers were already blessed by being in the Master’s vineyard from the very beginning. They labored within the safety and security of the vineyard and received their wages much earlier than the new laborers, who had experienced the sorrow and uncertainty of not knowing where to go or where to work before the Master came and found them. They had experienced what it was like to be overlooked, not to be the first choice or the first pick of other masters. I imagine they felt helpless and listless while waiting for purpose. This is a kind of mental exhaustion that many people experience today. And like the Good Shepherd, the Father and His Son go out to the byways, seeking the lost sheep.
This Gospel passage also reminds me of the prodigal son and his older brother. The older brother failed to recognize the abundance that was already his and instead treated his father with contempt. After learning of his brother’s return, he says to his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you…,” to which his father responds, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours” (Luke 15:29–32). It was never about slaving away, but about enjoying the company of the father.
These lessons offer helpful reflections for us. Do we rejoice when our brethren come around? When they are finally able to hear the voice of the Master and respond? How awful would it be if, when we arrived at the Pearly Gates of Heaven, St. Paul were to meet us and say, “What is she doing here? What is he doing here? … I’ve slaved away, endured beatings, forty lashes minus one, and this beggar [us] is sharing in the same glory I have!” Truly, he would be right, but it would be a very sad and awful day. Yet we know, hope, and believe in faith that when we enter Heaven, we will be received with great joy and rejoicing! For, “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).
May we today trust that we are in God’s company, even as we feel the burdens of our day. May we hold fast courageously as we generously welcome newcomers into God’s fold. May our brethren find in us open and welcoming arms to receive them, showing them the way to the Master, our Father.
