by Father Anthony F. Raso
NO MATTER HOW many times we encounter today’s Gospel about the owner of the field, who pays everyone the same wages at the end of the day no matter how many hours they’ve put in, the owner seems – to our sinful selves – to be completely unfair.
And our sinful selves are right about that, at least as far as this sinful world of ours is concerned. In fact, the idea that it all seems to be unfair is exactly the point that the Lord is trying to make.
An Even Break
Those of us who live in this cloudy world have to have some standards of fairness or we wouldn’t be able to get along with one another. The best we can hope for is to give each other an even break. If we feel we are being cheated or disrespected, we are not going to accept that and will probably – like those first-hired workers – complain loudly.
So when the owner of the field seems to mistreat those early birds, why is he such a hero?
The reason is simple: because he represents God, and God – as Jesus and Isaiah tell us today – is not going to be fair. In fact, He is going to be much more than fair, and that may very well get under our skin. However, God will be doing that because He’s smarter than we are, just like our mothers.
My own mother, for instance, was smarter than I was. I recall one occasion when I saw her being “fair” and I didn’t like it one bit. I was the older brother, and as such, had been told to give a good example to my little brother, Chris. I tried hard, and often enough, succeeded. Chris, however, was the “little devil” in the family, and often enough, acted accordingly.
In our bedroom, the wallpaper was decorated with pictures of cowboys and one day, Chris got hold of his trusty box of Crayolas. He improved upon the wallpaper by adding a variety of Native Americans who were doing battle with the cowboys. When I came home from school and saw this, I figured he’d be punished from 1955 though 1978, but no. My mother told me that she just couldn’t do it.
My response: “Why not!?!”
A Different Perspective
Well, she explained, if I had done this, I would have been hiding away, knowing how guilty I was. But Chris grabbed hold of her and actually gave her a grand tour of the newly improved wallpaper, like Picasso proudly leading a tour of his latest show in Paris.
“How can I punish him?” she said.
Again, this was in 1955. After awhile, maybe by 1968, I understood my mother’s point. But I sure didn’t understand it that day.
Today’s readings help us to understand this and greater things we all face in our sinful world. Isaiah tells us, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord … my thoughts [are] above your thoughts.”
We see things “through a glass darkly,” as St. Paul puts it, but God is smarter and wiser and more loving than that. He sees things through His divine heart and His decisions are made though that loving heart.
Thus in our Gospel today, the owner points out that he is not breaking any promises to his earlier workers; he is just showing some compassion to the poor souls who might not otherwise get a full day’s wages if not for his goodness.
Act of Compassion
And what’s wrong with that? Nothing at all. Is it unfair? No. It is the act of a compassionate man who well represents the understanding Father in Heaven, Who is smarter than our own limited and sinful selves.
Most of us, at least at first, have a hard time understanding this way of thinking, but not all of us. By the time he wrote his Letter to the Philippians, St. Paul obviously had reached the point of thinking with his heart, rather than just his mind. He says, “I long to depart this life and be with Christ … Yet that I remain in the flesh is more necessary for your benefit.”
St. Paul chooses to remain with his beloved younger sisters and brothers so that he too, like Christ, can help to wipe the walls when they draw pictures up there. They need him. It might be more “fair” for him to go to his reward in Heaven but no, he’ll stay right there. While his mind is leading him to Heaven, his heart is calling him to Philippi.
God’s idea is to bless those who were promised the blessing, but also to reach out to others who need the blessing as well. He will always be ready to understand them from His heart – and what a world this would be if we all, at long last, learned to do the same.
Readings for 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 55: 6-9
Psalm 145: 2-3, 8-9, 17-18
Philippians 1: 20c-24, 27a
Matthew 20: 1-16a
Father Raso is a parochial vicar at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, Dyker Heights.