It’s easy sometimes to get caught up in the difficulties of this life. When pain or anguish, loss, and heartache sting, we often begin to wonder: “why me?” Especially when we are trying to live the Gospel message to the best of our abilities. Part of the problem with the workers in this parable is not that they didn’t work. They did. They put in a good, honest, hard days work. But at the end of the day, they didn’t acknowledge that they had been paid for that work; instead, they were jealous of the others who also got paid the same. Hadn’t they toiled more? Wasn’t their sacrifice greater?
When we look at the social media representation of others’ lives, when we see the movie adaptation of someone’s story, we only see a glimpse of their lives. I heard a story once about a daughter who got upset because someone else had more in their bowl than she did. Such a minor thing, but it made her so mad she went to her dad to ask for more too. Her dad simply said to her: “never look in someone else’s bowl unless it’s to make sure they have enough.” I think that’s part of what we miss in this parable. It’s a reminder that we shouldn’t be so much caught up in the things others have, but to begin to truly look at the beauty and splendor of what God has given us. The relationship with Him is the true payment for work in the vineyard. It’s worth the toil. It’s worth the pain. It’s worth the heartache.
Whether we are new to our walk as Christians or have been traveling this road for decades… today, Jesus reminds us to rejoice in God’s goodness and blessings, both the ones we see in our own lives and the ones we see in the lives of others. Because God’s love and generosity far exceed the justice of what we truly deserve, and his mercy endures forever.
A homily for Wednesday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time: August 17th, 2022