The following is a reflection by Ursuline Associate Bonnie Chester.

At a very young age, I remember hearing the gospel story in Matthew 20:1-16 and thinking, “Wait a minute.” The owner of the vineyard hired workers at dawn, at 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., and 5 p.m. At the end of the day, all the workers received the same wage. If I was the one who worked the longest, I would have been tempted to throw the biggest tantrum imaginable. “Those late arrivals don’t deserve the same pay as I got. It’s just not fair.”

Over the years, as I have read and heard the parable many times, I have learned so much more from this gospel story. Jesus had a remarkable way with his parables, didn’t he? He packed so many lessons into these short stories. He was the greatest storyteller ever. There are more than 40 parables in the Gospels, all attributed to the words of Jesus. Often, they begin with an analogy, such as “the kingdom of heaven is like…”

Let’s take a closer look at the workers hired first. As a young person, I thought the story was mainly about them and the apparent unfairness of the owner’s decision. Where was the fairness and justice? Did I need to be jealous of a younger sibling who got more attention than me? As adults, we can often be envious of the praise someone else receives for doing exactly what we did, or maybe even less. Do you often stew over what you think you deserve? The landowner says in verse 15, “Am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?”

Matthew begins the chapter with Jesus’ own words, “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out…to hire laborers for his vineyard.” So this vineyard is a description or comparison to the kingdom of heaven. Now the parable begins to make more sense. The workers hired first – are they the people who began following the Lord early in life, made sacrifices, and lived out their faith? Is your faith strong? Have you planted and tended it, hoping your reward will be great? If so, you can relax and continue to strengthen your faith.

Now we come to the “late comers”—the people who worked the least. They are deserving of the grace, generosity, love, and mercy of the landowner, who I hope you have guessed by now is God. They are deserving, no matter what time they come to the vineyard (Jesus’ kingdom). Haven’t you jokingly wondered about what you would think if you got to heaven and saw Judas there? This parable shows us that there is always hope for those who seemed to have strayed from God.

Lastly, the landowner—why did he pay the last workers first? I concluded that if the earliest hires had received their wages first, they would have left the worksite and never known the true generosity and mercy of the owner. I think that is the message this parable is conveying – that God’s mercy cannot be measured, that it is there for all of us, no matter where or when we come to the Lord. There is always hope for all people who have yet to come to the Lord. This month, we celebrate the feast of St. Monica, who prayed for the conversion of her son Augustine for 30 long years before he found the Lord. God endlessly offers his mercy and love to us!

Lord, I praise you for your abundant mercy and love!