by Fr. Gregory-David Jones, O.S.B.


     The story of the landowner would have been very different, even boring, if there were one change in the actions of the characters.  Imagine the first group upon receiving the agreed payment thanked the one who hired them and went on their way, satisfied and proud of their hard-day’s work.  This would have happened if they had no knowledge of what the others were receiving as payment for less work in the same field.  It is possible that Jesus framed the sequence of the payouts in such a way so as to highlight a very important lesson for us.  Instead of being satisfied with the agreed payment for a day’s work in the field, the workers valued their labor based upon what others had received – not on what they had agreed to work for.  The landowner’s insistence on his freedom to pay whatever amount he decides, is not a lesson about justice in labor practices, but about God’s sovereignty and wisdom in distributing His gifts according to His wisdom – not ours.

    Sometimes in life, we can be tempted to compare ourselves with others thinking that it is unfair that they live in better circumstances or have better talents than ours.  Doing this can be denigrating to our personal sense of self-worth and cause us to neglect the blessings that we already have.  More importantly, it can cause us to question the One who is in charge of reality itself and the place that faith in Him should have in our life.

    At this time we do not know why some people seem to have greater blessings than others, but the reality is that there is always someone who seems more fortunate than ourselves and there will always be another person who seems to have fewer blessings than we have.  Jesus’ parable about the laborers reveals to us that life will be more meaningful if we have faith in God’s Divine plan and focus our attention on seeking the Lord and doing His will rather than being envious of what others have.  It was once said, “If you do the best you can with the little you got, you will realize how much you actually have”.  In this life, as followers of Jesus, the greatest “payoff” and consolation is not manifested in what we get for doing good things, but it is found in having a relationship with the One whose wisdom is beyond our understanding and having faith in the One whose justice will manifest itself in our lives at the proper time. 

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