Fr. Michael Williams

One thing I have noticed since working as a chaplain in the Hospital is that some people respond to the call of the Lord only in the last few days of their life. It happens occasionally in the hospital that people will turn to God and the Sacraments of the Church only in their final few days on earth. You could say it’s better late than never! Although it’s better to establish a good relationship with the Lord now, rather than leaving anything to chance, as we don’t know when the Lord will call to Himself.

People who respond to the Lord late on in their lives, are like those workers the landowner calls to work in his vineyard, in the eleventh hour, in today’s gospel. Up until the call came they have been “standing idle all day”, wasting their lives. But when they hear the call of the Lord, they respond. Idleness gives way to a response, and for responding to the call, they receive the same payment as those who have been working for much longer.

Those who “have done a heavy day’s work in all the heat” are not too pleased about the latecomers receiving the same payment. In the parable there are complaints from those who were called much earlier to their duties. Maybe it does seem somewhat unfair that those who respond to the landowner at the beginning should receive the same payment as those who responded to the landowner much later. But everyone receives the payment of “one denarius”. If these workers had been in a trade union they would have been all out!

The displeasure of the workers who “have done a heavy day’s work in all the heat” does not go down too well with the landowner, because they have been casting envious eyes towards those who have received the landowner’s payment too. He says to them, “why be envious because I am generous”. The Catechism tells us that, ‘Envy refers to the sadness at the sight of another’s goods’ (CCC2539). And the Catechism goes on to tell us that envy is one of the capital sins. Envy is a form of spiritual sickness. Surely, it is better to rejoice in the generosity of the landowner, who represents God, rather than be jealous of God’s gifts to another.

The parable is a reminder to us that the Lord thinks differently to human beings. God is far more generous than any human being. Through the prophet Isaiah God tells us that, “my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways not your ways”. God is generous and wants all people to receive his gifts, even if they only turn to Him late on in life. Ultimately, God does not want anyone to be lost.

God is generous and so responding to the Him, and working for Him, will result in the same payment for everyone. We are all called to work for the Lord and bring His Good News to others. In our increasingly secular society we all must play our part in promoting and defending the gospel.

St. Augustine, writing on this parable says that, ‘the [payment of the] denarius stands for eternal life, in which all have the same share’. In other words to receive the payment from the Master, after responding to his call, is to receive the reward of eternal life. And St. Augustine goes on to say, ‘where eternal life is concerned there can be no question of more or less for anyone’. Eternal life cannot be divided up: you either have eternal life or you don’t.

Let us pray that many more people will ‘Seek the Lord while He is still to be found’, and so receive the gift of eternal life. And let us be eager workers in the Lord’s Vineyard, so that all will know the great generosity of Our God.