Holiness

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It isn't fair! That just isn't fair!

As parents, how many times have we heard this? Whether we are a kid or an adult, how many times have we said it – or, at the very least, thought it? We all tend to expect that things should be fair, right?

But truthfully, nothing holds us back from holiness like the desire for things to be fair - for 'fairness.'

It is one of those uncomfortable paradoxes of human nature. We ask ourselves, " why didn't I get that promotion? Why do I have this illness? How dare he speak to me like that? " And yet, we can have very little patience for others who complain about the same things. In this parable, Christ wants to open our eyes to see the world through entirely different eyes - His eyes. He doesn't hand out a certain number of graces here, and balance that with a certain number of difficulties there. And Christ doesn't compare us with others. No, like the perfect parent, he deals with us based on only what is good for us - why should we treat ourselves or others any differently?

Don't we get tired of "doing what is good " from time to time? Always being the first one to offer help - the one everyone counts on? When we feel like this - discouraged and tired - are we subtly comparing our behavior to that of others? These are precisely the kind of temptations that Christ is warning about in this passage. Whenever we remove Christ from the center of our hearts and allow our behavior to be motivated by anything else, sooner or later we notice our tendency to compare ourselves with others, which can lead to jealousy or envy. To counteract this downward spiral, we must fight to have grateful hearts. The more we look for God's grace in our lives (and it is surely there), the less we will look at how much more grace appears to be in others' lives. Gratitude doesn't leave room in our hearts for anything but God - and in grateful hearts, God is able to work wonders. 

Jesus tells us that the first and last workers in the vineyard were paid the " daily wage. " So, too, the first and the last into the Kingdom of Heaven will receive the " daily wage, " which is eternal life. When we consider the parable in this light, our hearts, far from being burdened by jealousy, are set on fire to invite others to the vineyard so that they too can receive this totally gratuitous and unwarranted gift of God.

So this week, let us see what we can do to help in building the Kingdom of God giving thanks to God for the blessings we received in our lives.

 Sincerely,

Deacon Ed Herrrera