Christ the Cornerstone
God’s generosity exceeds our expectations
Are you envious because I am generous? (Mt 20:15)
The Gospel reading for this weekend, the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Mt 20:1-16a), includes a familiar but somewhat perplexing parable. A landowner recruits day laborers to work in his vineyard at an agreed upon daily wage. Some workers begin early in the morning. Others are added as the day progresses, including some who are recruited by the landowner late in the day.
When the day’s work is done, and the laborers receive their wages, those who came late receive the same amount as those who worked all day long. Those daylong workers are understandably resentful. “These last ones worked only one hour,” they complain, “and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat” (Mt 20:12).
Our immediate reaction is to side with the laborers who worked all day. Out of a sense of basic fairness, we think, shouldn’t they receive more than those who only worked a few hours?
Jesus tells us that the landowner defended his action as being an act of generosity which, by definition, exceeds ordinary expectations.
To be generous—whether with one’s time, talent or money—means to give more than is required by the demands of fairness or custom. Generosity flows from the heart as an expression of compassion or of genuine concern for the welfare of others. It is not limited to what is ordinarily expected.
The landowner responded to one of the laborers who complained: “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?” (Mt 20:13-15)
If our minds and hearts are open, this parable should cause us to ask ourselves this same question: Are we envious because God is generous? Do we pass judgment on those who we think are being treated differently (better) than us? Do we resent those who don’t work as hard as we do and yet seem to receive more benefits? Do we complain when our individual rights seem to be overshadowed by the common good?
We have become a society that is obsessed with individual rights. Certainly, human rights are fundamental to human dignity, and they should be protected and preserved as a matter of fairness and justice. But individual rights are not absolute. They are always subject to the good of others, the common good. As law-abiding people, we seek to achieve the proper balance between individual needs and the needs of all. Good laws, and just public policies, respect this balance between individual rights and the common good.
God’s generosity, on the other hand, exceeds all human expectations of fairness and equality. God treats every individual as special, a unique person made in the divine image and likeness. Regardless of race, ethnicity, social or economic status or personal characteristics, everyone is special in the eyes of God.
Therefore, our generous God shares his abundant gifts with everyone without exception. None of us “deserves” God’s gifts of life, liberty and love. We are not entitled to the things that make us happy or successful. They are gifts that we receive from a good and gracious God.
It is God’s nature to give generously. All of creation is God’s generous gift. Our redemption came as a result of the selfless gift of Christ our Lord, and our sanctification—our growth in holiness—is accomplished by the gifts of the Holy Spirit poured out for us in the seven sacraments and in our prayer, worship and selfless service to our sisters and brothers in Christ.
The parable concludes with one of the most perplexing statements in sacred Scripture: “Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last” (Mt 20:16). We naturally scratch our heads in confusion when we hear this. How is it fair that we who have worked hard, trying to do our very best and achieving at least a modest amount of success, will be superseded by the “last and least” among us? Everything in us screams: That’s not fair!
Still, as baptized Christians, we are invited, and challenged, to accept God’s generosity without measuring or comparing our gifts with what others have been given.
Do we pay too much attention to what others have been given? Are we envious because God is generous? If so, let’s ask God for the gift of repentance and for the grace to be grateful and accepting of God’s generosity even when we don’t understand it. †