Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

MATTHEW 20:1-16
JOAN AND I HAVE TAKEN SOME OF OUR GRANDCHILDREN ON TRIPS. WE HAVEN'T TAKEN THEM ALL, BECAUSE ONE OF THE QUALIFICATIONS TO GO ON A TRIP WITH US IS TO BE UNEQUIVOCALLY POTTY TRAINED, AND A LOT OF THEM HAVEN'T REACHED THAT POINT YET. WE RECENTLY TOOK THREE GRANDDAUGHTERS TO VERMONT. TWO WERE SISTERS, AND POINTED OUT THAT WE HAD TAKEN THEIR TWO OLDER BROTHERS TO MONTANA, AND THEY WERE ONLY GOING TO VERMONT, SO OBVIOUSLY WE LIKED THE BROTHERS MORE. WE REMINDED THEM THAT WE HAD TAKEN THE TWO OF THEM TO DISNEY WORLD AS WELL. THEY STILL DIDN'T THINK IT WAS FAIR, BUT JOAN POINTED OUT HOW THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF MONEY WE HAD SPENT ON THEM WAS MORE THAN WE HAD SPENT ON THE BROTHERS, AND SINCE NEITHER ONE IS VERY SWIFT AT MATH, THE DISCUSSION CAME TO AN END. THE THIRD GRANDDAUGHTER DIDN'T SAY A WORD, BECAUSE SHE'S BEEN TO QUEBEC, DISNEY WORLD, CALIFORNIA, AND MONTANA WITH US. SHE WAS SMART ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT THIS WAS NOT THE TIME TO REMIND HER TWO COUSINS OF THAT FACT.
IT SEEMS TO BE NATURAL FOR PEOPLE, OLD AND YOUNG, TO BE VERY SENSITIVE TO WHAT IS FAIR. AND IT IS TRUE NOT ONLY OF HUMAN AFFAIRS, BUT OF SPIRITUAL THINGS AS WELL. MANY YEARS AGO I CAME HOME TO MONTANA WITH MY NEW BRIDE AND VISITED A PRIEST I HAD KNOWN WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER; HE WAS A GOOD FRIEND AND ADVISOR TO ME. HE HAD MANY ACCOMPLISHMENTS; HE HAD A DOCTORATE IN ECONOMICS AND WAS A SPECIAL COUNSEL TO THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR; HE WROTE LEARNED PAPERS AND WAS IN DEMAND AS A SPEAKER; AND HE WAS A PROFESSOR AT THE LOCAL CATHOLIC COLLEGE. WE VISITED HIM IN THE HOSPITAL; HE HAD JUST HAD BOTH LEGS AMPUTATED AND WAS GOING BLIND AS A CONSEQUENCE OF DIABETES. HE WAS DEEPLY DEPRESSED. HE COULD BARELY SPEAK TO US. I SUSPECT HE WAS THINKING, “HOW CAN GOD DO THIS TO ME? I'VE BEEN FAITHFUL. I'VE SPENT MY LIFE IN HIS SERVICE; I'VE GIVEN UP SO MUCH TO SERVE HIM?” AND THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO SEEM TO HAVE EVERYTHING, BUT HAVEN'T DONE A THING FOR GOD; AND INDEED, MAY BE GREAT SINNERS. HOW CAN GOD DO THIS? WHERE IS THE FAIRNESS?
I THINK EVERY GRANDPARENT COULD NAME A FAVORITE GRANDCHILD, JUST AS EVERY PARENT COULD NAME A FAVORITE CHILD. I KNOW, IT SOUNDS HORRIBLE. BUT IN MY EXPERIENCE, THE FAVORITE CHANGES FROM DAY TO DAY, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE QUESTION SHOULD BE “FAVORITE IN WHAT SENSE?” BECAUSE WHEN YOU FOCUS DOWN ON EACH GRANDCHILD, YOU REALIZE THAT THAT ONE IS YOUR FAVORITE, NOT BECAUSE YOU ARE COMPARING HIM OR HER TO THE REST, BUT BECAUSE YOU APPRECIATE THE GRANDCHILD FOR HIMSELF OR HERSELF. AND WE GRANDPARENTS HAVE LEARNED SOMETHING IMPORTANT – WE CAN'T REALLY PUT HUMAN BEINGS ON A SCALE, WE CAN'T COMPARE ONE TO ANOTHER; EVERY ONE IS UNIQUE, EVERY ONE IS FAVORITE.
WE CAN LOOK AT THE MESSAGE IN TODAYS' GOSPEL IN TWO WAYS. IN THE FIRST, I THINK WE GET A LITTLE UPSET WITH THE OWNER OF THE VINEYARD. WE KNOW HE CAN DO WHATEVER HE WANTS WITH HIS MONEY. WE KNOW THAT THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN WORKING ALL DAY HAVE RECEIVED A FAIR WAGE. WE KNOW IT IS NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS WHAT THE OTHERS HAVE RECEIVED. BUT WE STILL SIDE WITH THOSE WHO BORE THE HEAT OF THE DAY. SOMETHING DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT, SOMETHING DOESN'T SEEM FAIR. WE CAN'T QUITE PUT A FINGER ON IT, BUT MAYBE THAT'S THE REASON THAT IN ANOTHER STORY, THE WORKERS IN THE VINEYARD BEAT THE SERVANTS WHO COME TO THEM AND END UP KILLING THE HEIR OF THE OWNER OF THE VINEYARD. SOMETHING IS NOT FAIR HERE!
THE OTHER PERSPECTIVE, HOWEVER, IS WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT WHEN I TOLD YOU ABOUT MY GRANDCHILDREN. THE VINEYARD OWNER IS NOT CONCERNED ABOUT HOW MUCH WORK EACH LABORER HAS DONE. HE IS CONCERNED THAT EACH HAS WHAT HE NEEDS – THE USUAL DAILY WAGE. IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE THE DAILY WAGE, WELL, YOU MIGHT NOT GET TO EAT. AND IF YOU RECEIVED MORE THAN THE USUAL DAILY WAGE FOR A DAY'S WORK, YOU DIDN'T DESERVE THE EXTRA. THE VINEYARD OWNER SOLVED THE PROBLEM IN A GODLY WAY, NOT IN THE WAY A MAN MIGHT HAVE.
THE POINT IS THAT GOD IS PURE LOVE. AND YOU ARE GOD'S FAVORITE, AND I AM GOD'S FAVORITE. IN FACT, EVERYONE IS GOD'S FAVORITE – SAINT, SINNER, MUSLIM, CATHOLIC, ATHEIST – YOU NAME IT. IN GOD'S EYES, HE DOESN'T SEE A CROWD OF PEOPLE. HE SEES EACH OF US IN OUR UNIQUENESS, IN OUR GOODNESS AND NOT-SO-GOODNESS, IN OUR TRUTH AND IN OUR ERROR. AND HE LOVES WHAT WE ARE, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW, AS A BETTER GRANDPARENT THAN I AM LOVES EACH GRANDCHILD WITH ALL THE LOVE HE CAN MUSTER UP.
I LOVE TO TAKE MY GRANDCHILDREN ON TRIPS, BECAUSE I GET TO KNOW HOW SPECIAL, HOW INDIVIDUAL, HOW MARVELOUS EACH ONE IS. AND GOD LOVES TO FOCUS ON EACH ONE OF US, ALL HIS LOVE, ALL HIS GOODNESS, AND ALL HIS GRACE.
IF YOU SEE SOMEONE WHO SEEMS BETTER OFF THAN YOU ARE, SOMEONE WHO SEEMS TO GET MORE THAN THEY DESERVE; IF YOU THINK THAT YOU DESERVE BETTER THAN YOU'VE BEEN GIVEN, YOUR GRASP ON REALITY IS VERY WEAK. OUR FATHER GIVES EACH OF US EVERYTHING WE NEED TO BE HAPPY WITH HIM FOREVER IN ETERNITY. THAT IS ALL HE GIVES US, THAT IS ALL HE CAN GIVE US; ALL THE REST IS REALLY NOTHING, NOT MEASURED AGAINST ETERNITY.
MAYBE THOSE LABORERS WHO SPENT THE WHOLE DAY PICKING GRAPES AND TENDING VINES WILL THINK TWICE TOMORROW; MAYBE THEY WILL REST IN THE SHADE UNTIL LATER IN THE DAY, AND HOPE THEY WILL GET A DAY'S WAGE FOR AN HOUR'S WORTH OF WORK. MAYBE THOSE OF US WHO HAVE WORKED HARD AT LIVING A CHRISTIAN LIFE SHOULD NOT HAVE BOTHERED; IT WILL ALL WORK OUT IN THE END, WON'T IT?
THE OWNER OF THE VINEYARD WANTS TO GIVE EACH LABORER WHAT HE NEEDS; BUT HE ALSO CALLS EACH LABORER WHEN HE WANTS HIS LABOR. IN ORDER TO BE OPEN TO RECEIVING WHAT HE NEEDS, THE LABORER MUST ANSWER THE CALL WHEN CALLED.
IN THE END, WHAT WE RECEIVE FROM THE FATHER IS NOT RELATED TO WHAT WE DO AT ALL. AND THE WORK WE DO FOR HIM IS NOT REALLY OURS TO GIVE; HE GIVES US THE TASK, HE GIVES US THE STRENGTH TO DO IT, AND IN HIS HANDS RESTS WHAT IS ACCOMPLISHED. IF I SEE A GRANDCHILD WINNING A SCOUTING AWARD OR BEING HELPFUL AROUND THE HOUSE OR SCORING A GOAL IN A SOCCER GAME, I'M PROUD OF THEM, I SHARE THEIR JOY. BUT IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE LOVE I HAVE FOR THAT GRANDCHILD.
SO NEVER AGAIN SAY TO GOD, “IT ISN'T FAIR!” REMEMBER THAT YOU, YES, YOU, ARE HIS VERY FAVORITE CHILD, AND HE IS GIVING YOU EVERYTHING YOU WILL EVER NEED TO SPEND ETERNITY WITH HIM.