Word to the Wise
Wednesday, August 22, 2007 - Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
[Judges 9:6-15 and Matthew 20:1-16]My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?
Is it like one of those situations where siblings keep a hawk-eye lest one of them get "more than another?" Is it a situation calling for application of the Fair Labor Standards Act or an appeal to the National Labor Relations Board? If we think anyone is being treated unfairly in this parable, we are missing the point! But, then again, the situation is bound to attract the attention of those who believe that God should give everyone exactly the same thing in exactly the same amount, or else be accused of unfairness. By this standard, we should all be Michelangelos or Mother Teresas. That is not the point of the parable or of discipleship. Each of us responds to the call of the Lord in our own way and in circumstances that fit each of us differently. However, it is the Lord's call that we accept and that is not subject to anyone's human notion of what is fair. We all know the corroding force of envy which can happen to anyone (especially in church ministry!). "Why did God give THAT person such abilities or positions? After all, haven't I/WE worked our fingers to the bone for God and church?" Oh yes! Isn't the landowner's question the pivotal one? Are we envious because we believe God has been more generous to someone else? Are we envious only of the beneficiary? Or are we also envious that God can be so generous?" The preceding gospel passages for Monday and Tuesday referred to the danger of possessions, but this parable goes to the real core: the psychological and spiritual biases that can corrode any person who believes that a choice of discipleship must result in entitlement. When Jesus says, "the last will be first, and the first will be last," he is warning us all that a response to his call means we accept whatever comes of it - period. AMEN
config
view
logs
3840.0 KB
85 ms
4
