by Fr. Oscar

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We can reasonably say that if the landowner that is mentioned in today’s Gospel, would continue with this attitude in today’s economy or in the management of a company, he would become bankrupt.

How is it possible that he does not pay the workers for the number of hours they worked but solely for the fact that they had worked.

The landowner did not commit any injustice towards any one of his workers. The wage that he promised to pay each one was the wage that was just.

He as the landowner could leave at any hour that he wanted to and hire as many workers as he wanted, as well as pay them any wage he wanted to pay them.

I am not an expert in manual labor to say if an undertaking with these conditions could prosper, maybe not. But yes, I know, that Our Lord values this parable and gives us an opportunity once again to recognize a very particular facet of God.

The landowner is God. It does not matter the time or place He searches and finds people to work in His vineyard. This vineyard is the Kingdom of Heaven. He has promised to all of us His final payment "I will give you what is just"

Nevertheless, as mentioned in today’s Gospel, one of the workers that was hired to work the first hour was angry because he claimed that he should have earned more money than what had been promised to him. The landowner shows him that he is not committing an injustice and at that the worker takes what is given to him and leaves.

We are all these workers that Our Lord searches for on a daily basis. Each one of us has encountered many difficult moments in our lives: some since birth, others since youth, and for some even at the hour of our death. Whoever positively responds to Our Lord’s request will surely receive the promised payment of Eternal life.

This Gospel shows us once again, that God’s reasoning is not the same as man’s reasoning. God does not get tired of calling, of finding, of forgiving, or of giving us opportunities to answer Him. The prophet Isaiah says: "My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts."

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Let us not be afraid to open our hearts to Our Lord, let us not be afraid to work for the building of a more just world, more humane and more Christian way of living. Let us not forget that we are all contributors in the Heavenly Kingdom and that we all are working together to fulfill God’s work.

We are all working to get closer to Our Lord, for it is through Our Lord Jesus Christ, we live, we move, and we exist.

God’s work is great. At times, it may seem as if we are being defeated and will never be able to overcome this defeat because of all the scandals and persecutions. However, when we consciously place our strength in the Holy Spirit – it is He who then shows us the results. Then we can discover God’s work. God’s work is valuable and we who love Him will be worthy of His great love.