Matthew 20: 1-16
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,
he 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,
he 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.”
“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,
he 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,
he 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.”
Claude Newman was an illiterate black man on death row
for murder at the age of nineteen. He was visited in death row by our Mother
Mary. Mary convinced the man to repent and he summoned a priest to begin
instruction in the Catholic faith. He was a Catholic barely a month before he
went joyfully to his execution. Later Claude appeared with the Holy Mother to
another inmate just before he was put to death. They gave the man a vision of
what he faced in hell. The man converted on the spot just before being put to
death.
God extends the offer of salvation to each and every
person. If the person has never received a saving knowledge of Jesus before they
died Jesus will be his best advocate. The reward of salvation is the same for
anyone saved, whether they are a last second convert like Claude or a life-long
servant like Saint Theresa of Calcutta.
There will be those who dedicate their entire life to the
service of the Lord who think they should get a larger share in the Kingdom of
heaven. Those who put themselves behind others will come first and those who
think they should be first will be served last.
If you wish for a large share in heaven you must put away
selfish desires and serve others before yourself. If you can truly get to this mindset
and way of life you will find that you no longer care about your share in
heaven. You rejoice with God for those who accept him in the final moments of
their lives. You do not grow jealous that they have received the same reward in
heaven as you who have served for so long.
The reward for living a life dedicated to the service of
our God is a life well lived.
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