Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The parable of the ‘Workers in the Vineyard’ could not have come at a more relevant time. There are two ongoing nationwide strikes, and both have to do with workers, wages, benefits, justice, and the common good. When we experience an injustice, we seek justice. It is the right thing to do. It is right to seek justice not only on a social level, but we Catholics also believe that justice is a divine virtue. We know God to be just.
Think about this, however. When we have personally done something wrong and come before God, we don’t seek justice. We seek mercy. Here, then, is the dichotomy - we know God to be just, but we expect to be treated with mercy. In the Christian tradition, God is known to be both just and merciful.
Where do justice and mercy meet? The purpose of the parable of the generous vineyard owner in today’s gospel reading (Mt 22:1-16) is meant to address precisely this question. Just to recall, in the parable, a vineyard owner invites laborers to work in his vineyard at various time during the day, but pays them all the same wages, which causes the ones who came first to the field to be disgruntled.
In my three points, I would like to reflect on how God can be both just and merciful.
The Last will be First
To understand the connection between justice and mercy, we must begin with the moral of the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Jesus said, “Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last” (Mt 20:16a). What does this saying of Jesus’ mean?
Jesus was accused of associating with disreputable people - an accusation Jesus never denied. He himself said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners (Mt 9:13). The so called ‘religious people’ in Jesus’ time thought like many of us do - God and heaven are for the righteous. Jesus turned this thinking upside down. In the parable, by giving equal wages to those who came at the end, the vineyard owner was not denying the righteous their due. Indeed, he was being just. However, by giving the same wage to those who came later, he was being merciful. Through the parable, Jesus was giving a very simple lesson - God is accessible to the righteous and the sinner.
However, the righteous people began to take offense at Jesus for showing mercy toward those who, in their thinking, did not deserve it. But as Isaiah says in today’s first reading, God does not think like us. “For 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” (Is 55:8-9). As Jesus’ ministry progressed, it was tax collectors and sinners who responded more eagerly to Jesus. The ‘righteous people’, on the other hand, were losing out on God’s presence among them. Hence, Jesus’ statement, “The first will be last and the last will be first.”
What does this mean for us? It means that we religious people should avoid the temptation that the religious leaders of Jesus’s time fell into - the temptation to control God’s thoughts. Today’s readings teach us not to play God. Unlike us, God is just and merciful. Those we consider unworthy also have a chance at eternity.
God’s Generosity: Where Justice and Mercy Meet
Let me return to the original question - In Christianity, where do justice and mercy meet? Once again, let us look to today’s parable for an answer. When the people who came first to the vineyard grumbled against the owner because the people who came last received the same wages as them, he said, “Are you envious that I am generous?” (Mt 20:15). The answer, then, lies in the word “generous.” Those who came early to the vineyard got their just reward, whereas those who came late to the vineyard experienced God’s mercy. Both justice and mercy flow from God’s generosity. Both the righteous and the sinners, the first and the last, can expect eternal reward because of God’s generosity. Eternity is not something we earn. Eternity is God’s generous gift to us all.
As a practical implication, let me say this – whether it is the autoworkers strike, the writer’s strike, our family life, our relationships at home and at work, or our attitude toward the poor, the struggling, the disenfranchised and those on the periphery, and even our relationship with Creation – the generosity of God which encompasses justice and mercy is the key.
Generosity Gone Viral
In my third point, I would like to return to last weekend’s parable of the unforgiving servant. The servant owed the king a huge debt. In justice, the king sentenced his debtor to prison until he had paid the debt. Later however, moved with compassion and in mercy, the king forgave his entire debt and let him go free. The parable was meant to showcase the generosity of God. However, the parable was meant to also convince Jesus’ followers that they have a religious obligation to spread the generosity of God. The debtor’s refusal to share the same compassion with his fellow worker was contrary to God’s generosity.
When we come to the confessional our just God treats us with mercy. This is because God is generous. Now it is our task to let God’s generosity go viral. The only people who lose out on the generosity of God are those who begrudge God’s generosity toward others. And we lose out, not because God is not generous and merciful, but because we refuse to impart God’s generosity to others.
Every Eucharist is an experience of the justice and mercy of God. When we come for mass, we stand before God as a community of sinners. That is why we begin every mass by pleading, “Lord, Have Mercy.” God could condemn us. Rather, God has mercy on us. The Christian community leaves every Eucharist as a reconciled community, having experienced the mercy of God. As you leave this church today, be sure to proclaim that God is just. But in your actions, let the mercy of God go viral.
- Fr. Satish Joseph