Homily - Sunday
September 21, 2014
Workers in the Vineyard
Matthew 20:1-16A
Deacon David Lewis
Saint Charles Catholic Church, Imperial Beach / San Diego, CA
Imagine
for a moment if I said to pull out your missal from in front of you and open it,
and in it, each of you were to find a 20 dollar bill hidden inside, enough
twenties so that everyone here got one and only one. Nice?!?! Huh? Everyone
would be happy right? … well except for me, I would be out about 10 grand. That
is why we are only imagining, so you can stop looking, it is not there, I
promise. But going back to my imaginary scenario, imagine you are standing
there with your new twenty, and you hear someone on this side scream out, “OOH
I got a hundred dollar bill” and then over on that side, “Ooh mine has a
hundred too.” Suddenly your twenty isn’t so great, you wish you had that
hundred instead, right?
So
now you can imagine what it was like for the workers in the parable we read in
today’s Gospel. The first group begins there day, happy to have found work
right away, they have the opportunity to provide for their family. They are
glad they will be able to eat, maybe get cloths, and pay toward some shelter.
Then half way through the morning, the second group, they too are probably
thankful for the work, they go to work for “what is just”. Again the landowner
went back noon, 3, and again around 5, each time getting more workers,
presumably agreeing to pay them a just wage to finish out the day.
But
when he goes to pay them he starts with those who had worked the least amount of
time. Making sure that everyone knows what he is doing. He gave out the same to
everyone, regardless of the time they worked. Suddenly those that started, so
thankful to have work for that day, are now upset that they feel cheated. But
were they cheated? Didn’t they agree to work for a day’s wage? They felt much
like I imagine you would feel standing there with your free twenty, they were
upset because they didn’t get the best deal, the hundred dollars.
But
God, he is the landowner. It is through his grace, and his grace alone that we
have anything at all, the air we breathe, the clothes we wear, the food we eat,
the jobs we have, the friends, family, and loved ones in our lives, all gifts
from God. What we get from God is never earned, it is gifted. God gives, he
doesn’t sell. Our salvation, our eternal rest in heaven with God isn’t bought
by trading in points for good deeds. Our salvation is gifted from God.
I
heard a story that explains it well. A man gets to heaven and is at the gates
talking to Saint Peter, and Saint Peter says to the man, “Let’s go over your
life and we will tally up the points and if you get 200 points you will be let
in.” So Saint Peter says “Tell me what have you done to get into heaven?”
“Well”, says the man, “I have been married for 37 years to my wife, I have
always been faithful, I’ve never even raised my voice to her, and always made
sure to put her needs ahead of mine.” “Wow” Saint Peter replies “that’s great”,
he looks in the book of points, and says “That’s worth 5 points.” The man
begins to be very worried, if that was only 5 points, he still has 195 left.
The man goes on “I worked for the same employer for 39 years, was never late,
always put in a hard day’s work, and never stole, not even a pencil.” Saint Peter
says “Yep, I see that here in your records, well done.” He glances at the book
of points “3 points”
At
this point the man has 192 points left and he proclaims, “But Saint Peter at
this rate I will never get to 200 points, the only way I will get into heaven
is by the grace of God, with that Saint Peter says, “Well done, 192 points,
welcome home.”, as he opens for the man the gates of heaven. I imagine that God
wants us to come to heaven with the most points possible, because by doing so,
we show our love for Him, but ultimately the points we earn are meaningless,
without the mercy of God, and the sacrifice of Jesus.
We
aren’t going to earn our way in to heaven, we aren’t to earn enough points so
that he has to open the gates. The only way we are going to get into heaven is
if we are sinless, or in the absence of being sinless, as most of us are, we
have to reach out to God for forgiveness. It is Jesus that offers us that
forgiveness. By dying on the cross, he gave his life and in doing so allowed us
to reconcile with God, making up for our massive shortage of points if you
will.
So
in this parable God is indeed the generous Landowner. That makes us -- the
workers. The workers that were found in the marketplace, sitting idly. You may
not have noticed, but the landowner he didn’t go out to their homes and lift
them up from sitting on the couch in front of the TV while eating chips and
dip. Nor did he go up to them and hand them a day’s wage and say “Here, the day
is almost done take this money and go home.” They had to work for the landowner,
they had to show the landowner that they were willing to do what he wanted. It
was the gift of the landowner to make up for the rest of the day that they had
missed already.
So,
as workers, do we go to the marketplace, sure, we are here today, celebrating
the Eucharist at Mass, participating in His sacraments, we have shown God that
we are willing to be disciples, followers of him, his workers. But what ways
are we sitting idly, when we could be working for Him? How much of our time,
talent, and treasure do we put forth to God?
Do we spend our time seeking Him in prayer, seeking Him through fasting,
thanking God for his graces, his gifts?
In what other ways do we
do the work of God, clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, bringing those that
live life outside the acceptance of others into the fold? Lifting up the
fallen, bringing hope to those in despair, compassion to those who ache. Do we
humble ourselves to be the servants of the lowly? God wants us to work in his vineyard,
he wants us to go out into the fields, not sit idly at the marketplace.
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