God's Way
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
I pray that you are blessed. If everything went according to plan I am in the U.P. for a bit of R&R. I will miss preaching on this Sunday’s Gospel. It is a favorite of mine, since it is a wonderful message on social justice. I will admit, perhaps also because it upsets people who equate fairness, equality and justice, and expect God to act according their ideas.
The owner purposefully pays the workers in reverse order so they can witness that he gives everyone the same daily wage. Our first reaction is that this is not fair. Those who worked longer hours should get higher pay. In their eyes this is not just. The owner reminds them that they got exactly what they agreed to. Since they were in the vineyard working when the others were hired, they have no idea what these other men agreed to. They might have held out for more money. Although we know that’s not the case. We know that the first group agreed to “the usual daily wage.” The others agreed to “what is just,” and that is key to understanding this passage.
The owner knows that “the usual daily wage” was just barely “a living wage.” It was just enough to buy a days worth of food. The owner knows that if he pays the later workers only a fraction of “the usual daily wage” it will not be enough. So instead of telling them that he was going to pay them by the hour, he tells them, “I will give you what is just.” What is “just” is a “living wage.” He gives to them, no matter how long they worked, what they would need to survive. Any less would have been cruel and certainly unjust.
As a parable for The Kingdom, this tells us that our God is a just God. Our God gives to each of us what we need. We don’t all get the same blessings. Neither do we all bear the same cross. Our Lord blesses each of us according to our needs and to fulfill what we are asked to do. Our Lord would not ask someone who is tone deaf to be a soloist in the choir. Neither are we blessed according to how long we have been members in The Church. Our God knows each of us by name, loves us equally. We have to remember that our ways are not God’s ways. Our idea of what is just and fair, is not the same as what our Lord sees as just and fair. That is a very good thing for us. No matter how far we have wandered, no matter the sins we may have committed, no matter the good things we failed to do, no matter how late we have come to the vineyard... we can be assured of one thing, our God gives us a LIVING wage.
I want to welcome Sherri, our new Secretary. Katie moved on to a different job and we wish her well. I am sure you will make Sherri feel welcome. Please be patient with her as she is still trying to get settled in and learn all of her new duties and responsibilities, and Sandy is spending time training her. Likewise, Maureen is also learning her new position as DRE. Since I will be gone this week, I would ask that if you have any office business that can wait for a week or so, that you please do so, so that our parish staff can get organized. You will also notice a rise in activities here at St. Alphonsus. While closely adhering to the social distancing guidelines, we are trying to offer some in person activities along with our online material. Please keep an eye on the bulletin, which is always on our web site, for further details.
God bless and stay safe and healthy, Fr. Rick