THE CHALLENGE TO BE LIKE JESUS In his autobiographical work Confessions, St. Augustine wrote, God is closer to us than we are to ourselves. Yet paradoxically, God is also the totally Other whose thoughts are not our thoughts, whose ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). The parable in todays Gospel manifests its truth in such a provocative way. It starts by narrating the metaphorical relationship of the landowner and the hired laborers. This could later on be applied to our image of God as the landowner and of ourselves as his hired hands. What consistently comes out of the story is that it is always the landowner who goes out of his way and invites the idle workers. The initiative is his -- all the time, all the way. God always takes the first step in inviting us to be part of his family and to work in his field. Let us look closely at these workers. In the first place, what appears consistent is that they are all idle, as mentioned twice in the narrative. Perhaps they do not even look for work, they are waiting for work to come to them. They get their earning for that day only out of sheer generosity of the owner. A second characteristic of those who are hired first is gradually revealed: they are envious and resentful. They expect a higher salary than their co-workers because they have worked harder than the rest, according to their calculation. Their heart is not really united with the owner but only on what he can give them. But where is the injustice? The owner replied, My friend, I am not cheating on you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? (Matthew 20:13) The owner calls his worker friend, notwithstanding the latters envious, grumbling attitude. Does this suggest an invitation to rethink the relationship of this story? What starts as a sheer employee-worker relationship needs to go deeper, to look at the heart of the matter, even to be converted to the person of the owner, to be generous and unconditional in ones service. The parable is placed in the context of Jesus discussion with his disciples regarding the rewards of discipleship. What do the disciples get in following Jesus, in joining him in his ministry, in serving as he does? In Matthew 19:27, Peter asks Jesus, We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us? In Matthew 20:21, James and John ask their mother to approach Jesus, Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom. There is only one challenge for those who want to follow Jesus: how to be converted to a life of unconditional, total, selfless service. How to be like Jesus: Though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God something to be grasped but emptied himself, taking the form of the slave... humbling himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:6-8). -- Sr. M. Gemma A. Victorino, PDDM
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 15:28:50 +0000
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