On receiving it, they grumbled against the landowner.
Before we condemn the laborers in Matthew 20:1-16 who grumbled against the landowner for giving them the same pay as those who did very little, let us imaginatively walk in their shoes for a moment.
Imagine clocking in at your workplace at 6 am and getting off at 6 pm, and then you discover that you get the same pay as someone who strolled into the same workplace at 5 pm the same day. Wouldn’t you at least complain about this to your employer? No matter the agreement between you and your employer, I seriously doubt that you will show up to work the next day at 6 am. You would most probably show up at 5:30 pm and demand a full day’s pay too!
Our sense of fairness prevents us from accepting being paid the same as others, no matter how little they have done and how much we have done. We feel unjustly treated when what we receive is paltry compared to what we have invested in a venture.
However, Jesus told this parable about the kingdom of God to stress that, in this kingdom, everything is a gift from God. We have no strict right to anything before God in His kingdom because the just God is also merciful and gracious to those who don’t deserve it. His gracious ways are well above our sense of fairness, “For my 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” (Is. 55:8-9).
The laborers gave in to complaining against the landowner because they focused only on how much work they had done, their unfavorable working conditions, what they had received, and how their pay compared with what others had obtained from an hour’s work. They said, “These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.” They had no gladness for the landowner who had taken the initiative to employ them in his vineyard without asking for their work qualifications, credentials, or experience.
We too will complain and grumble against God when we fail to realize that, in His kingdom, everything is a gift from God. Our belonging to God in His kingdom as His beloved children is a gift from God won for us by Jesus Christ. Without the grace of Jesus Christ, we cannot even live for a single second as God’s beloved children, “But to all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God” (Jn. 1:12).
Our call to serve God is also a gift from God. There is a prayer in one of the Eucharistic prayers of the Holy Mass that often reminds me of the great gift of being a Catholic priest and of being present at Mass. Seconds after the consecration of the bread and wine into the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, the priest prays:
Therefore, as we celebrate the memorial of His death and Resurrection, we offer you, Lord, the Bread of life and the Chalice of Salvation, giving thanks that you have held us worthy to be in your presence and minister to you.
God alone makes us worthy to serve and worship Him in union with His Son Jesus Christ in every Holy Mass.
The grace to approach and serve God is also a gift. In the words of Jesus, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (Jn. 6:44). Divine grace draws and moves us to serve God. The desire and energy to serve come from God alone, and He sustains these in us.
The time to serve God is also a gift from God. Every second of our lives is a gift from God, and we are blessed by using all our gifts to serve God every single second of our lives. Speaking of the faithful servant who used his gifts and time well, Jesus said, “Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing” (Mt. 24:46).
Lastly, the ultimate reward of serving God is perfect union with Him in heaven. This is God’s ultimate gift to us. Our eternal participation in His glorious life is the climax of God’s graciousness to us. Strictly speaking, we don’t deserve this life in glory. We don’t even have a right to favorable conditions or treatment as we serve Him here on earth. This is why Jesus said that after we have done all that we should do, we can only say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty” (Lk. 17:10).
St. Paul, writing to the Philippians from his prison, sees all of God’s gifts to him in Jesus Christ. Thus, he can write with profound gladness to Jesus who had called and transformed him completely, “For to me, life is Christ, and death is gain.” He sees his service and suffering for Christ as a gift, writing, “If I go on living in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me.” He also sees his heavenly reward as God’s greatest gift, “I long to depart this life and be with Christ for that is far better” (Phil. 1:20-24). He does not give in to complaining and grumbling because he sees all as a gift from God in Jesus Christ.
I have heard people complain about God because of their pain and suffering. I have heard some of us complain about God because our prayers weren’t answered the way we expected. I have seen people take offense at God because things did not turn out as they had expected. I have even heard complaints against God because He demands too much from us in the way of His Commandments. I have heard many accuse God of being unjust because they feel He treats others better than He treats them. We easily forget that we have been brought into God’s kingdom, where the logic of the gift prevails over our sense of fairness. So, we lose the gladness in serving God that brings us joy and hope.
The Eucharist is God’s gift of Himself to us, a gift that we don’t deserve at all. In the Eucharist, our just and merciful Savior offers us graces for serving Him and a participation in His own gladness. He served the Father with gladness throughout His life, and He wants us to serve Him like that too.
By the grace of the Eucharist, we too can begin today to see all in the Kingdom of God as His gifts to us, so that we can begin to serve God with gladness. With a truly glad heart, we can use all that we have to serve God now and always. We make good use of our time in this world in serving God and the needs of others. We will not compare ourselves with others because we are busy using our gifts and time in serving God.
Unless we serve God with such gladness in this life, we cannot hope to experience God’s greatest gift to us—the eternal gladness of life with Him in heaven.
Glory to Jesus!!! Honor to Mary!!!
Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash
