Message of Abbot Paul - Wednesday 18th August
Message from Fr Paul for Wednesday, 18th August 2021
I’m always saying that this or that is one of the best known or most loved stories or parables, as we read through the Gospels together each day. In fact, I’m convinced that it’s the words of Jesus that keep us focussed on God and on our Christian faith. Where would we be without the Scriptures, that nourish and strengthen our faith and love for God? Today’s Gospel passage from Matthew, (Mt 20: 1-16), is the Parable of the Labourers in the Market Place, a parable which is particularly dear to me, as it reminds me in a particular way of my 20 years in Peru. The most commonly used Spanish word for worker in rural Peru is “jornalero”, which means a day worker. Each morning, apart from Sundays, at 4 o’clock, men of all ages would gather in the town square, hoping to be taken on for the day on one of the local farms or doing some other work, such as road building or repairing irrigation canals. Very few had stable work. Many had been taken on by 6 o’clock, but there were some, depending on the season, who stood there all day, hoping for work, if only for an hour or two. This was the only hope of earning something to feed the family, at least with a meagre supper. It was heart-breaking seeing them there. Of course, life is like this in many parts of the world and hundreds of millions live on the borderline of starvation. Thank God for generous landowners like the one in the parable, which really doesn’t need explanation. Let’s read it.
“Jesus said to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner going out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. He made an agreement with the workers for one denarius a day, and sent them to his vineyard. Going out at about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place and said to them, “You go to my vineyard too and I will give you a fair wage.” So they went. At about the sixth hour and again at about the ninth hour, he went out and did the same. Then at about the eleventh hour he went out and found more men standing round, and he said to them, “Why have you been standing here idle all day?” “Because no one has hired us” they answered. He said to them, “You go into my vineyard too.” In the evening, the owner of the vineyard said to his bailiff, “Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last arrivals and ending with the first.” So those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came forward and received one denarius each. When the first came, they expected to get more, but they too received one denarius each. They took it, but grumbled at the landowner. “The men who came last” they said “have done only one hour, and you have treated them the same as us, though we have done a heavy day’s work in all the heat.” He answered one of them and said, “My friend, I am not being unjust to you; did we not agree on one denarius? Take your earnings and go. I choose to pay the last comer as much as I pay you. Have I no right to do what I like with my own? Why be envious because I am generous?” Thus, the last will be first, and the first, last.’”
This is a parable about the generosity of God, who rewards equally those who have worked all day and those who have worked just an hour or two or even less. Now this can refer to Jews and Gentiles, those born into the household of the faith and those who have recently come to a life of faith. It could be those who have struggled to keep the commandments all their life and those who have recently repented. We can think of many more examples. So, divine largesse, understanding and forgiveness compared with envy, niggling and a total lack of mercy, pity and an unwillingness to share the good things God wants to give us. It also prepares us for a shock when we finally get to heaven. Many people we didn’t expect to find there, will be enjoying the presence and love of God. Lord, may we be as generous and forgiving as you are and may we rejoice at the salvation of all your children. Amen.
