St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church issued the following announcement on Sept. 20

Isaiah 55:6-9 | Philippians 1:20-24, 27 | Matthew 20: 1-16

Gospel

Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o’clock, the landowner saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.’ So they went off. And he went out again around noon, and around three o’clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o’clock, the landowner found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’

They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’

He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’ When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’

When those who had started about five o’clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’

He said to one of them in reply, ‘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?’ Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

1. How do you feel about God’s justice as portrayed in this parable of the laborers in the vineyard? Do you think it was an act of generosity or was it wrong of the owner to pay them equally?

2. We are all laborers in the same vineyard, but do we all do the same amount of work? The answer is “No” but does it matter? How does your work compare to others? Thinking about the comparison, how do you feel about the differences between your work and theirs? Do you think the latecomers would have been glad to have been hired earlier in the day? To help you reflect on this, here are two example scenarios: 1) I would have worked all day if I had known there was work to do; and 2) I didn’t really want to work so I waited until late in the day thinking no one would hire me.

3. Who is the landowner? Who is the foreman? Who are the last hired? Who are the first hired?

The real point to reflect upon is what happens the moment when the wages are paid. It is about the final judgment when you will see the balance between God’s justice and His mercy. It is God’s generosity that you should also be aware of. And now one final question, how generous are you?

Original source can be found here.