That's not fair!

Memorial of Saint Bernard

First Reading: Ezekiel 34:1-11
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 23
Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16


"That's not fair!" How many times a day do we hear this (or even say it ourselves)? Think about all the times that you might have said this during your life. Perhaps you said it while playing games in gym class, or while confronting a teacher on a grade they gave you on that term paper that you worked so hard on, or at work when someone less qualified was promoted ahead of you. We can all note many times in our lives when the tables have been turned on us and it seems as though we get the rotten end of the deal.

"That's not fair!" This must have been the credo of the first workers in the vineyard of today's gospel. In the gospel the workers who only worked part of the day received the same amount of pay as those who worked all day. Can you imagine the riots that would be going on in your workplace if you boss decided to do this? And why is this? Because we all know that this is not fair, it is not ensuring that everyone is being treated equally. But in our quest for fairness and equality it seems as though we forget about those very important virtues that should be governing our decisions and our judgement. The first workers, like many of us, were only focused on themselves and what they were not getting, instead of what they were getting. By thinking of themselves only and fairness, they had forgotten the importance of compassion, generosity, and mercy. I am sure that there was a time when these workers remember what it was like to stand outside and wait all day for work as the last worker had done. Wouldn't they have been thankful for a merciful master to offer them the same daily wage as everyone else, regardless of when they arrived? When we focus solely on fairness and equality, mercy tends to be forgotten about.

While we know the frustration of the first workers all too well, we must also remember what it is like to have someone be merciful to us. What if God was not a God of mercy, but a God of Fairness? How many of us would make it to heaven and receive our eternal prize? I don't think that any of us would want to get to the heavenly gates to hear that we were just a bit late coming to our faith. But how much more wonderful is it to know that God is a great God of mercy! He is not worried about fairness; He knows us all to well. The Lord knows that some will take longer than others to come to Him and to surrender their life to Him. Thankfully, He wants to be with us, and he is willing to wait however long that takes.

So let us not worry about fairness so much in our lives. Let us make room for God's mercy to work in us. Remember, it is never too late for anybody. We have a choice: we can be joyful for those seeking God's Kingdom no matter when in their lives they begin, or we can be on the side judging and noticing how late they are. I pray that we will all make the right choice.

Father above, we thank you for being so merciful to us. We thank you for each of our callings and we ask that you continue to guide us towards you. Lord we pray for the strength and courage to persevere through this life until the day the end. We pray for all those going through difficult times and pray that they turn to you in their time of need. We ask this all through Christ our Lord. Amen.