and one of them
got to have or do something
that the others did not,
they would complain “it’s not fair.”
And I would tell them,
“‘fair’ is overrated.”
Now that my children are adults
they tell me that they sort of
think of this as my motto.
Whether or not it is in fact my motto,
it certainly seems to be the motto
of the landowner in today’s Gospel.
If you believe that wages
ought to reflect productivity,
and that reward ought to be
proportionate to merit,
you might be tempted to say,
upon hearing this parable,
“It’s not fair.”.
It’s hard not to sympathize
with those first-hired laborers.
The daily wage that they toiled to gain,
others received as pretty much a freebee.
True, the landowner was not
out-and-out unjust,
since he paid the ones he first hired
the wage they had agreed on.
But they are still bothered
by the fact that they,
who worked the whole day,
ended up with no more
than those who worked
for only one hour.
They grumble against the landowner,
saying, more or less,
“It’s not fair.”
To which the landowner replies,
more or less,
“‘fair’ is overrated.”
ought to reflect productivity,
and that reward ought to be
proportionate to merit,
you might be tempted to say,
upon hearing this parable,
“It’s not fair.”.
It’s hard not to sympathize
with those first-hired laborers.
The daily wage that they toiled to gain,
others received as pretty much a freebee.
True, the landowner was not
out-and-out unjust,
since he paid the ones he first hired
the wage they had agreed on.
But they are still bothered
by the fact that they,
who worked the whole day,
ended up with no more
than those who worked
for only one hour.
They grumble against the landowner,
saying, more or less,
“It’s not fair.”
To which the landowner replies,
more or less,
“‘fair’ is overrated.”
In the face of this seeming unfairness,
it might help to recall that
this parable is not simply
given to us as a lesson
in economics and labor relations,
but as a teaching about salvation.
We Christians believe that
eternal life in God’s kingdom
is disproportionate to anything
that we can ever earn or deserve,
no matter how long we have labored.
Not only do the sinful tendencies
of our fallen nature
make it highly unlikely
that we could fully fulfill
the demands of righteousness,
by always following God’s commandments
or the dictates of our own conscience,
but even if we did all those righteous deeds
they would be as nothing
when placed in a balance
against the weight of eternity.
How could we ever earn
so sublime a destiny?
With regard to salvation
“fair” is overrated,
because all that fairness
would get any of us
is wailing and gnashing of teeth
where the worm never dies
and the fire is not quenched.
it might help to recall that
this parable is not simply
given to us as a lesson
in economics and labor relations,
but as a teaching about salvation.
We Christians believe that
eternal life in God’s kingdom
is disproportionate to anything
that we can ever earn or deserve,
no matter how long we have labored.
Not only do the sinful tendencies
of our fallen nature
make it highly unlikely
that we could fully fulfill
the demands of righteousness,
by always following God’s commandments
or the dictates of our own conscience,
but even if we did all those righteous deeds
they would be as nothing
when placed in a balance
against the weight of eternity.
How could we ever earn
so sublime a destiny?
With regard to salvation
“fair” is overrated,
because all that fairness
would get any of us
is wailing and gnashing of teeth
where the worm never dies
and the fire is not quenched.
This is true for all of us without exception.
So, in God’s boundless mercy,
the last-minute penitents
who have spent their lives
in unrighteousness
and in their dying gasp
breathe out an act of contrition
receive that same reward as those
who have toiled dutifully for decades
in the vineyard of the Lord.
The penitent and the dutiful
are united in their reward
not because they have put in the same effort
but because they have the same need—
to receive the bread of immortality,
to drink from the spring of living water—
and it is the nature of mercy
to regard what someone needs
rather than what they deserve,
to be generous rather than fair.
And this should make all of us
breathe a sigh of relief.
So, in God’s boundless mercy,
the last-minute penitents
who have spent their lives
in unrighteousness
and in their dying gasp
breathe out an act of contrition
receive that same reward as those
who have toiled dutifully for decades
in the vineyard of the Lord.
The penitent and the dutiful
are united in their reward
not because they have put in the same effort
but because they have the same need—
to receive the bread of immortality,
to drink from the spring of living water—
and it is the nature of mercy
to regard what someone needs
rather than what they deserve,
to be generous rather than fair.
And this should make all of us
breathe a sigh of relief.
The parable we hear today
points us to the mystery of grace,
but it also keeps its feet planted
in more mundane matters.
It is ultimately about salvation,
but it is also not not about economics
and the just distribution of goods.
Jesus isn’t going to let us off the hook
quite so easily.
After all, shouldn’t our convictions
about ultimate things,
like salvation,
shape our convictions
about less-than-ultimate things?
If “fair” is overrated
with regard to our ultimate good,
if generosity to those in need
is the way that God deals with us sinners,
is it totally implausible that something similar
might be true with regard
to such worldly matters
as food and shelter,
healthcare and education?
points us to the mystery of grace,
but it also keeps its feet planted
in more mundane matters.
It is ultimately about salvation,
but it is also not not about economics
and the just distribution of goods.
Jesus isn’t going to let us off the hook
quite so easily.
After all, shouldn’t our convictions
about ultimate things,
like salvation,
shape our convictions
about less-than-ultimate things?
If “fair” is overrated
with regard to our ultimate good,
if generosity to those in need
is the way that God deals with us sinners,
is it totally implausible that something similar
might be true with regard
to such worldly matters
as food and shelter,
healthcare and education?
When God says through the prophet Isaiah,
“my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways,”
he is not absolving us
from acting toward others
in the way God has acted toward us.
Rather, he is exhorting us
to think and act within our earthly sphere
with something like the mercy and generosity
that God has shown to us.
The earth’s goods are not meant
to be a score-keeping system
for tracking who has worked hard,
or been clever and resourceful,
or maybe just gotten lucky.
The earth’s goods are given generously by God
so that human need might be alleviated.
“my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways,”
he is not absolving us
from acting toward others
in the way God has acted toward us.
Rather, he is exhorting us
to think and act within our earthly sphere
with something like the mercy and generosity
that God has shown to us.
The earth’s goods are not meant
to be a score-keeping system
for tracking who has worked hard,
or been clever and resourceful,
or maybe just gotten lucky.
The earth’s goods are given generously by God
so that human need might be alleviated.
And this is, in fact,
the longstanding teaching of the Church.
In his recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas,
Pope Leo reiterates the demand
of his predecessor, Pius XI,
“that wages be proportionate
not only to performance,
but also to the needs of workers
and their families” (MH §31).
Leo goes on to say, “the earth’s goods—
soil, water, air and natural resources—
are given by God to the entire human family
to sustain the lives of all,
and… every person has an inherent right
to the use of such goods” (MH §65).
the longstanding teaching of the Church.
In his recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas,
Pope Leo reiterates the demand
of his predecessor, Pius XI,
“that wages be proportionate
not only to performance,
but also to the needs of workers
and their families” (MH §31).
Leo goes on to say, “the earth’s goods—
soil, water, air and natural resources—
are given by God to the entire human family
to sustain the lives of all,
and… every person has an inherent right
to the use of such goods” (MH §65).
What we believe to be true
about what is most important—
that the eternal reward we receive
is in proportion to our need
and not to our merit—
must surely be true as well
of things of lesser importance,
like money or food or shelter.
Surely the generosity of God
in providing for the world
ought to find in us
a corresponding generosity
toward our brothers and sister
in their need.
So perhaps it is not really
that “fair” is overrated
but rather it is misunderstood.
Perhaps what is fair is that we,
who in God’s generous mercy
have received a reward
far exceeding our labor,
ought to think and act toward others
as God thinks and acts toward us,
looking to the need of our neighbor,
and judging the fairness
of both our personal dealings
and of our societies and economies
not in terms of payment for performance
but of sharing the goods God bestows
with those who are most in need.
that “fair” is overrated
but rather it is misunderstood.
Perhaps what is fair is that we,
who in God’s generous mercy
have received a reward
far exceeding our labor,
ought to think and act toward others
as God thinks and acts toward us,
looking to the need of our neighbor,
and judging the fairness
of both our personal dealings
and of our societies and economies
not in terms of payment for performance
but of sharing the goods God bestows
with those who are most in need.
St. Paul exhorts us today,
“conduct yourselves in a way
worthy of the gospel of Christ,”
and this is the Gospel
of unmerited mercy.
Let us pray that God
would make us worthy,
would make our thoughts
like his thoughts
and our ways
like his ways
so that God, in his mercy,
might have mercy on us all.
“conduct yourselves in a way
worthy of the gospel of Christ,”
and this is the Gospel
of unmerited mercy.
Let us pray that God
would make us worthy,
would make our thoughts
like his thoughts
and our ways
like his ways
so that God, in his mercy,
might have mercy on us all.
