As I prepared for today's Mass by
reading the Gospel for today, I researched a couple of reliable
meditation sites to “jump start” my own meditation. In case
you're not Catholic or you weren't listening at Mass this morning the
Gospel was about a wealthy landowner who at the end of the day pays
everyone the same daily wage, even though some only spent an hour
laboring. (Mt 20: 1-16a)
Most of the meditations I researched
rightly focused on God's mercy and generosity right up to the time of our
deaths, while a couple of others focused on God's infinite wisdom and
how His ways are not our ways, as it said in the first reading.
Jesus says the landowner went out in
the morning and hired some workers. Then he went out again 3 hours
later, then 3 more hours, then 3 more. And each time there were more
hands waiting to be hired. What He doesn't say is why the landowner
didn't hire them all in the first place. I got to wondering why
there would be more to hire each time he went out to the marketplace.
Was it because they slept late? Did they not have the proper “skill
set?” Were they attending other “interviews” when this
landowner came to hire? Worst of all, were they just lazy and not
looking for work after all, but “putting in an appearance” to
avoid embarrassment? In my meditation, I realized that none of these
questions mattered.
What mattered is that the landowner
felt so passionate about each and every worker's well-being that he
constantly sought out more and more so none would be left with his
daily wage. And he wasn't judgemental as to the reason why the man
hadn't been hired until the last hour of the day. He was happy that
the laborer finally did show up, and could share in the landowner's
generosity.
I realize that I am sometimes each of
the laborers talked about in this parable. There are days that I am
very ardent in my prayer life, evangelical endeavors, and works of mercy then—more
often than not—I am lazy in those efforts. It is on those days
especially that Jesus comes to me sometimes several times in one day in my thoughts and in my
interactions with others to remind me that it's never too late to
agree to work in His vineyard and receive the “usual daily wage”,
even though others have been more diligent than I have been.
And how do we “work” in God's
vineyard? As the popular saying goes “you have ONE job”. That
job is to LOVE. Jesus lets us know in several places in the gospels
exactly what that means. He reminds his Apostles in one of the
gospels and affirms Nicodemus in another that the highest Law (or the
“labor of the kingdom”) is 'to love God with all our heart,
mind, soul and strength. And the second is like it: to love our
neighbor and even our enemies as we want to be loved.'. And, just
like farmwork in a vineyard, this job is not easy. It will weary our
bones, test our patience and yes—at times even cause us seemingly
impossible suffering and heartbreak. But at the end of our days no matter when we started and if we have done our one job right, a
loving God will send His Son to welcome us and pay us our “usual
daily wage” of everlasting joy in the presence of our creator.
