20/09/2026
Homily for 25th Sunday Year A, 20th September 2020
Is 55:6-7; Phil 1:20-24, 27; Matt 20:1-16
“God ways might not be fair, but they are full of Love”
Recently, Nduka a young graduate with first class honours in Economics ran to me crying Fr, please I am confuse and getting worried. And I asked why he now said, “I went for an interview in some business firm after three years of looking for work and lo and behold the chairman of the board of interviewers was my course mate who could barely pass exams while in the university. “Fr”, he said, “This life no balance at all!” This is popular slogan in usage among the Nigerian youth meaning life is not is fair. Rather unfortunately this is the normal scenario in the country. A lot of unfair cases and situations of injustice here and there. The readings today perhaps try show some light on why certain things are the way they are, especially things that pertain to God’s apportioning grace.
Today’s gospel is a build up from the lessons of the previous chapter, 19. Against the Pharisees and the Scribes who believed that they should occupy the first place or positions of honour; Jesus will say allow the little children to come to me. (Matt 19:14). It is also perhaps to Peter’s question, “What do we stand to benefit we that left everything and followed you?” (Matt 19:27). Next was the rich young man who is unable to accept Jesus’ demands that he leaves his possessions to follow him. (Matt 19:23-26) Jesus’ response to the rich young man sounds very much like the conclusion we find in today’s Gospel: the first will be the last and the last will be first.
The gospel passage is a parable that expresses the generosity of the almighty and the manner we interpret God’s goodness. It is a parable that is unique to Matthew. It is true-to-life parable. It reminds me of the famous Mubi-round located in Jimeta where in the early hours of the morning and up to noon time where you will see Labourers waiting to be hired. You will find masons, carpenters, plumbers, etc., all waiting to be hired. It is to such a place that the landowner in our gospel went to hire more labourers to his vineyard. That he went out at different time meant that he wanted the work to be completed on time. He had negotiated with the first workers on a normal daily wage of one denarii, (around this part of the country which will amount to N1, 500 or N2, 000 a daily wage for a labourer).
The problem started when they were due for payment in the evening, the landowner wanted to pay each one for his services. He started first with those who he hired an one hour ago and paid them one denarii. The work they put in wouldn’t warrant that amount, but he decided to do that to teach a lesson. Those whom he hired eight hours ago must have thought that he will pay them each eight denarii to which Landowner did not do so. They must have shouted, “This life is not balance at all”, “this is injustice”, “this is not fair”, etc. Or going by nowadays youth slogan, “This matter no go settle.”
For many they will argue that the landowner wasn’t fair in his decision to pay everyone an equal amount. But he was “fair” with those who worked the entire day because he paid them the usual wage, and this was also the amount for which they had agreed to work. No one was cheated here. The protest had to do with the generosity of the landowner towards the late-comers, who worked a mere hour. They hardly broke a sweat, but they were paid a full day’s wage. The thing that angered the early workers was not the landowner’s greed, but his grace. They were angry that while they worked hard for what they got, the late workers received the same reward, but for very little labour.
Often times we tend to get angry with the grace of God, with the way and manner that God distributes his blessings. We become legalistic in our thinking, when we begin to think that salvation should only be to those who worked the hardest. I have seen people who have worked harder than their colleagues in their offices and yet nothing to show for it. Recently, a Catechist met me and was crying bitterly that he has worked many years for the church and yet he has nothing to show for it. I now told him there are things that can testify for it; you taught the faith to lot of young men who now are doing well in the church, you have organized the church here so beautifully well that Christian community is lively. Perhaps what he meant was material benefit which is only God that can reward.
God, like the landowner, is radically just and abundantly generous. We are occasionally tempted to think that our own actions deserve more reward, more of God’s abundant mercy, than the actions of others. But God’s generosity cannot be qualified or partitioned into different amounts for different people. When we think that way, we are trying to relate to God on our terms rather than to accept God’s radically different ways.
The punchline of the parable of the “Labourers in the vineyard” is not about the workers (we humans) but God the ultimate “Landowner” who is magnanimously generous to the just and the unjust. It talks about the grace of God which the first reading talks about.
Lessons to learn:
1. The text today reminds us that God owes us nothing, he offers abundantly and equally.
2. Keep working for our salvation, don’t give up because God’s justice might delay but it will surely come. It comes in the evening.
3. God doesn’t apportion blessings according to our standards and our rating but according to his boundless mercy. God indeed is merciful and generous.
Prayer:
Almighty and merciful Father, may I learn to be patient with God whose ways are the same with mine. May I always rejoice with whatever blessings He apportion to me. This I ask through Christ our Lord.