predication.net

In his parables and comparisons, Jesus Christ often emphasized the necessity of human cooperation with God’s call. It is eg. in the parable of the sower (Mt 13: 24-30); o anyone among wheat (Mt 13: 24-30); on the fishing net (Mt 13, 47-50) and others He said that man had an obligation to open himself to the grain of God and, if possible, to enhance the field of his soul in order to yield a good crop (Mt 13: 19-23). Man has received this task from God and it does not matter the result, but the goodwill to achieve this goal. This is what Jesus wanted to tell us in the parable of talents. So with the kingdom of heaven it is “as if a man was about to go. He called the servants and entrusted them with their possessions: one gave five talents, the other two and the other one, each according to his ability and traveled …” (Mt 25) 14-15).

And how did it turn out? The Lord of those servants returned after a long time and began to charge them. He who received five talents won five more. Even the other one who got two won two more. But the third buried his talent and returned it when he arrived. The Lord praised the first and second servants for their hard work. He called this third lazy and was not worthy to participate in the joy of his master. The parable of talents gives us a wide field to reflect on God’s generosity and trust in people. God gave people reason and free will. They can freely decide how to handle the gifts they have entrusted. It is not a result, but a good will to achieve this goal. This is for us happiness and hope – but also a threat: a threat if we do not show goodwill; hope, for it is possible for every person to show good will to God’s order as he knows it in his own conscience, whatever the assumptions and circumstances of our lives. In this way he instigates human initiative according to a well-known proverb: Do man and God will help you.

Mother of st. Clement of Ancyra often reminded her son when she was young: “My son, what is at stake here is eternal life!” In this sense, we should also understand Christ’s entrusted of gifts, talents, in order to manage them according to our abilities and gain the best reward at the heavenly Lord. He will ask us once, how we used these gifts for ourselves, but especially for our fellows. It is actually eternal life, life without end, life with God, and we would be really wicked if we did not to achieve it.

Sv. Gvantenius († 1160), a Scottish monk, often reminded himself, “What benefit will it bring me for eternal life?” Let this be the measure of all our deeds.

Poet Francis Thompson writes that the Church is not a “machine”, which is to “stick addresses, wrap people’s gods, and cultivate them to the courts and the courts …” Every person has to make his own response. You need to. Every saint is proof to us that if you or I are not holy, just because we did not want ourselves. Achieving this goal is not enough: not to steal, not to murder, to go to the temple, to baptize your children, to contribute to the repair of the temple … It is also necessary to cooperate with God’s grace and strive for perfection (Mt 5: 48). For this reason, the Divine Savior prompts us to diligently manage God’s gifts that we received from our parents by birth and from Christ by rebirth. The joy of eternal life opens before us; Whether we achieve it depends on us. Faithfulness in a small way will give us the “immense weight of eternal glory” (2 Cor 4:17), prepared from the creation of the world, if we have not disappointed in managing the entrusted gifts.

In the parable of the sower, it was said that only the fourth part of the seed yielded fruit (Mt 13: 8). In the second parable – of anyone among wheat – it is said that the enemy sowed even the fourth amount of the seed and tried to poison the fourth amount (Mt 13:25). If things are like this, the damage is to bother. The work of spreading the kingdom of God is meaningless, thought not only the apostles but also others who listened to Jesus on the shore by the sea (Mt 13: 1-2). Jesus saw it and wanted to give them the courage that he was never interested in a lot, a great mass. He is more concerned with inner conviction. The kingdom of God that is in us. He cares about our personal perfection. He cares about each one of us … So he told them two more short parables, pointing out that God’s work would grow, even if the whole world conspired against him.

God is not bound by human peace (cf. Isa. 55: 9); He does not need a ceremonial laying of the foundation stone, a great beginning, etc. God’s works usually begin in secret and silence. And the disproportion between the beginning and the result is manifested above all by God’s power. The first is about the mustard seed “which man took and sowed in his role” (Mt 13:31). The mustard grain “is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it grows up, it is larger than the other herbs and is a tree, so that the birds of the heaven are flying and nesting on its branches” (Mt 13: 32). In the second, and also very short parable, he compares the kingdom of heaven to “a leaven, which a woman takes and mixes in three degrees of flour until everything flourishes” (Mt 13: 33).

These short parables tell the world that God uses little things to shame and instruct those who have made and deride from Christ’s teaching. Yet this doctrine, so tiny as it is, continues to tear the way forward “all over the world as a testimony to all nations” (Mt 24,14). At first it is tiny, as small as a mustard seed. Finally, all the herbs grew, became a tree on which the branches of heaven breathed and made nests. The spread of the Kingdom of God compared Jesus to the leaven, which the woman put into three measures of flour. Kvass set in motion its immense and inner strength and poured new life into the dead mass of flour. Thus the Word of God came alive in the hearts of Jews and Gentiles by the Holy Spirit, turning them into keen Christians. Its activities were not limited to people living in the Palestine region, but to all people “all the way to the country” (Acts 1: 8). He still works, works today, and will work and bear abundant fruit “all the day until the end of the world” (Mt 28:20).

One example is the half-hour manifestation of the faithful of March 25, 1988 in Bratislava. The participants stood peacefully with candles in Hviezdoslav Square, praying and singing. Nobody tore up the tiles, smashed windows, overturned cars, built barricades, threw stones into members of the armed forces, and did not impose physical resistance on them when they suppressed the silent but determined attitude of the demonstrators. Here the faithful manifested greatly the power of the work of the Holy Spirit, which prevailed over the passions. As the leaven penetrates all the way, so the teachings of Christ are to penetrate all areas of our lives. A Christian must not retreat into the shell of his privacy and say, “Do what you want, but without me!” His task is to baptize all human being, thought and action, and to carry the mind of Christ into all areas of daily life. By the action of the Holy Spirit, he is to become as a mighty tree, in the branches of which many would find their rest. To penetrate the world like leaven on the road to ferment the entire earth’s surface. Thus strengthened and penetrated by God’s teaching to become a true blessing of the earth.

Parable of the sower In the parable of the sower, it was said that only the fourth amount of seed yielded fruit (Mt 13: 8). In the second parable – of anyone among wheat – it is said that the enemy sowed even the fourth amount of the seed and tried to poison the fourth amount (Mt 13:25). If things are like this, the damage is to bother. The work of spreading the kingdom of God is meaningless, thought not only the apostles but also others who listened to Jesus on the shore by the sea (Mt 13: 1-2). Jesus saw it and wanted to give them the courage that he was never interested in a lot, a great mass. He is more concerned with inner conviction. The kingdom of God that is in us. He cares about our personal perfection. He cares about each one of us … So he told them two more short parables, pointing out that God’s work would grow, even if the whole world conspired against him.

God is not bound by human peace (cf. Isa. 55: 9); He does not need a ceremonial laying of the foundation stone, a great beginning, etc. God’s works usually begin in secret and silence. And the disproportion between the beginning and the result is manifested above all by God’s power. The first is about the mustard seed “which man took and sowed in his role” (Mt 13:31). The mustard grain “is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it grows up, it is larger than the other herbs and is a tree, so that the birds of the heaven are flying and nesting on its branches” (Mt 13: 32). In the second, and also very short parable, he compares the kingdom of heaven to “a leaven, which a woman takes and mixes in three degrees of flour until everything flourishes” (Mt 13: 33).

These short parables tell the world that God uses little things to shame and instruct those who have made and deride from Christ’s teaching. Yet this doctrine, so tiny as it is, continues to tear the way forward “all over the world as a testimony to all nations” (Mt 24,14). At first, it is tiny, as small as a mustard seed. Finally, all the herbs grew, became a tree on which the branches of heaven breathed and made nests. The spread of the Kingdom of God compared Jesus to the leaven, which the woman put into three measures of flour. Kvass set in motion its immense and inner strength and poured new life into the dead mass of flour. Thus the Word of God came alive in the hearts of Jews and Gentiles by the Holy Spirit, turning them into keen Christians. Its activities were not limited to people living in the Palestine region, but to all people “all the way to the country” (Acts 1: 8). He still works, works today, and will work and bear abundant fruit “all the day until the end of the world” (Mt 28:20).

One example is the half-hour manifestation of the faithful of March 25, 1988 in Bratislava. The participants stood peacefully with candles in Hviezdoslav Square, praying and singing. Nobody tore up the tiles, smashed windows, overturned cars, built barricades, threw stones into members of the armed forces, and did not impose physical resistance on them when they suppressed the silent but determined attitude of the demonstrators. Here the faithful manifested greatly the power of the work of the Holy Spirit, which prevailed over the passions. As the leaven penetrates all the way, so the teachings of Christ are to penetrate all areas of our lives. A Christian must not retreat into the shell of his privacy and say, “Do what you want, but without me!” His task is to baptize all human being, thought and action, and to carry the mind of Christ into all areas of daily life. By the action of the Holy Spirit, he is to become as a mighty tree, in the branches of which many would find their rest. To penetrate the world like leaven on the road to ferment the entire earth’s surface. Thus strengthened and penetrated by God’s teaching to become a true blessing of the earth.

You know folk wisdom that when two do the same, it’s not the same. Even in today’s Gospel, two people do the same – they pray. But Jesus does not evaluate their prayer equally. My God’s only prayer was the myth. The Pharisee put himself and his deeds at the center of prayer. He presented God with a catalog of all his virtues. He was convinced that when he himself saw them, God had to see them, he had to admire and appreciate them. But the opposite was true. In this prayer, the Pharisees discovered himself, but lost God. After all, no one can find God for whom perfection is his goal. For such a goal shakes hands and works with pride, the greatest enemy of God. The myth found nothing except sin and therefore asks God: “be merciful to me sinful”. According to him, God had nothing to admire in his life. But precisely because he was aware of his sinfulness, his emptiness, God could enter his life and give him a new dimension. The sinner shook his hand with humility and regret, which are the most beautiful human manifestations that He likes to reward.

A medieval legend tells of a young woman who knocks on the heavenly gate after her death. But no one opens it, for she has done many evil deeds during her life. But there was hope for her. He gets to heaven on the condition that he returns to earth and finds there a gift that is most pleasing to God. She returned to the ground and began to seek such a gift. What can it be? One day she passed a young man who had laid down his life for faith. She quickly picked up the drops of his blood, which she believed was certainly the sweetest gift to God if someone lay down his life for faith. But the gate of heaven did not open for her. She searched further. She found a weary missionary with sweat dripping from his forehead. You said it would surely be God’s favorite gift when one sacrificed his life to the service of the Gospel. So she took the drops of sweat from the missionary’s face and brought them to the heavenly gate. But the gate did not open again. She went back to the ground and looked further. She was already unhappy and wanted to give up. She sat down at one of the fountains, wondering what to do next. Children were playing at the fountain and she saw their pretty and innocent faces. Suddenly a man came to the fountain. He jumped from his horse and wanted to drink water. But he looked at the children and remembered his own childhood. Then he looked into the fountain and saw his ruined face in it, recognizing how much he had changed internally, how far he had gone from childhood innocence, how he had sinned the life God had given him. There was great pain in his heart, and tears began to flow down his face. The woman quickly took one of the tears and brought it before the heavenly gate, which opened to her immediately, for the sinner’s tears are the sweetest gift to God.

We, too, create our relationship with God on the basis of regret and humility. Indeed, in our behavior, we can sometimes see how proud the Pharisees are our father to whom we resemble. He mentions one priest preaching about the proud Pharisees and the humble myth. He preached so flame that the listeners were moved, especially one, let’s call it eg. John. He also condemned the Pharisees and the like. After holy mass came to the sacristy to thank the priest for good discipline and added: “I thank God that I do not resemble the Pharisees”. But the myth did not thank God in this way. He didn’t mention anyone, he only regretted humbleness. Only such an attitude can also open us to God’s graces and gifts, whether it be in prayer or in St. John’s. Mass. Even though we all pray, each of us’ s prayer is unique and original. Humility and regret should be common to all of us.

Some Pharisee invited Jesus to his house. Jesus accepted the invitation. While they were sitting at the table, a woman came here, known in the city as a great sinner, and sat down at his feet. Tears soaked his feet, wiped them with the hair of her head, kissed them, and smeared with fragrant oil (Luke 7: 36-38). This was seen by the Pharisee Simon, who invited him, thinking in his mind: “If he were a prophet, he would know who and what the woman who touched him was a sinner” (Luke 7: 39). Jesus knew his thoughts, for he was one of those Pharisees who had always been looking for faults on him. For this reason, he said this parable: “A certain creditor had two debtors. One owed five hundred diaries, the other fifty. Since they were not supposed to repay the debt, he forgave it both. Which one will prefer him? ”(Luke 7: 41-42). It was already a question for Simon to properly assess, answer, and so actually testified against himself. He said, “I think he whom he forgave more” (Luke 7: 43).

Jesus confirmed his answer. But in the next interview there was talk about him. Simon received Jesus into his house very coldly and did not preserve the customs that were then provided to the guest at the entrance to the house. So, he said, “Do you see this woman? I walked into your house, and you didn’t put water on my feet. But she teared my feet with tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t kiss me. But she hadn’t stopped kissing my feet since I walked in. You didn’t anoint my head with oil. She rubbed my feet with fragrant oil. Therefore, I say to you, many sins are forgiven because she loves very much. Who is less forgiven, fewer loves ”(Luke 7: 44-47). Then he turned to the woman and said to her, “Your sins are forgiven” (Luke 7: 48).

The parable of the two debtors as well as the interpretation of Jesus himself says that the woman was a great sinner. She turned and was forgiven. In a way, she expresses love to the one who forgives her. It is a sincere gratitude and thank you for your adventure, for she has been much forgiven. So, Jesus said to her, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace! ” (Luke 7: 50). The greater the guilt, the greater the gratitude for forgiveness. Simon was cool to Jesus because he felt righteous. He had no desire for forgiveness because he thought he didn’t need it … But this woman will be an example for us to be misguided as these Pharisees. They could appreciate the love of God, which has also forgiven us many and often.

Writer Donn Pearce in Cool Hand Luka, filmed in 1967 in America, writes about how drunken Luke Jackson maliciously damages a public facility and is serving his crime in a prison camp for two years, where he has escaped several times, but where he must always be instructed . Finally, he turns to God, whose life he has often offended. He sees and admits that nothing will help him and there is no way to acknowledge God’s authority and ask for forgiveness. He begins the path of repentance like a rogue on the cross. Someone funny said that we all belong to bars. If not for iron, at least for wooden – confessional. That’s for all of us! Let no one think much of himself as this Pharisee Simon. We are all the same. Everyone needs repentance and the grace of forgiveness. The greater our guilt is, the greater the repentance and the greater the gratitude for forgiveness.

Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice, I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life. They will never perish and no one will tear them out of my hand. My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one ”» John 10, 27-30.

Lord Jesus has repeatedly spoken this sentence from the now read Gospel of the Good Shepherd: “My sheep listen to my voice, I know them, and they follow me …” This is a model that has been true since the time Jesus founded our Church. It is a model that He himself considered generally functional. Nowhere is there any other style, even perhaps the opposite shepherd style, to speak of.

The sheep follow the shepherd. Not the other way around. Sheep should go to the shepherd. And if a shepherd goes after a sheep, just to get her out of her wrong way and to put her in the flock. The shepherd goes ahead and the sheep are to follow him. There is no other option in the Gospel. Shepherd leads and sheep are led. I therefore threaten the increasingly sounding words of some shepherds that they do not know, but accompany. So, they let the sheep go their way as they just attack them, and then the shepherd follows and accompanies them.

What then is the function of the shepherd? Why is he such a shepherd when he doesn’t know? He is totally useless, just as the fifth wheel on the car meets the entrusted herd. He’s late. He’s a slow shepherd! It is not to be a functionary, but to function. A shepherd who does not know but only accompanies is like a driver who drops off his seat and leaves a bus full of people to his fate. He’s just with them in that potentially crashing car. And it may add some word of encouragement and consolation to it, but even then they all go to destruction anyway.

A shepherd who does not fit is a shepherd free of charge. He just nods to the ideas of his sheep and so does not actually contribute to any service. The sheep soon realize that without such a “mechanical shepherd” they can do without a function similar to a wooden duck on a string, which the last of the herd pulls behind it like a toy. It is no wonder that there are not enough spiritual vocations. That there are few shepherds. Who wants to be such a puppet who has a great responsibility for God before men, but who has a weakened power to lead them before men?

Shepherd is the one the sheep are to follow. If they are stubborn and disobedient, they will lose their shepherd, and all that he wants to do for them will be of no use to them. Though such a lost sheep will relax from the inconvenient guidance, it will soon be captivated by the predators of this world, and it will deprive it not only of the comfort of a shepherd-free life but of life itself. Pastoral ism is a term derived from the word shepherd. Nowadays, when various crimes are invented as so-called. New pastoral models, I always remember the apt words of the Lord Jesus that sheep should follow the shepherd. They are to follow him not because he will prepare some sophisticated lures of various pastimes for them, but simply because he is a shepherd – appointed by Christ – the One who gave life for his sheep. The sacraments entrusted to the shepherd are what continues to give this life and life sacrifice.

The Lord Jesus then continues to say about sheep: “I will give them eternal life.” And that is the main reason for all his shepherding. He is not a shepherd to give something less than eternal life. It cannot be tempted by banality when it is the most important thing – life! A shepherd must be appreciated to have followers. Without doing his work as a shepherd leading the sheep, and without the sheep following him, there will be no more shepherds. They will not be needed. If he does not want to lead the shepherd, he only accompanies it, so it is useless. If the sheep does not want to be led, a shepherd is not necessary.

The value of this office lies in its function, not in its title. Therefore, a non-functioning shepherd is not a shepherd, and sheep without a shepherd are scattered and are not a herd. As we pray for new spiritual vocations, remember that the shepherds are functional and the sheep are obedient, otherwise God’s silence will respond to our prayers for the new shepherds.

About stubborn children

Anyone who wants to resist the truth will always find an excuse to avoid the truth. Neither Jews could speak to taste, for they did not want to submit to the truth. This reminded them of St. The First Martyr Stephen in his defensive speech against the Jewish Highness: “You, the stubborn ones with uncircumcised hearts and ears, always resist the Holy Spirit; you as well as your fathers” (Acts 7: 51). Jesus also thought of this in his parable of stubborn children, saying, “Whom do I compare to this generation? It is like the children who sit in the square and shout at their companions: ‘We whistled to you, and did not dance; “(Mt 11: 16-1).

It can be whistled to this generation, weeping before it, they don’t care. The morning gaze of the Kingdom of God is showing up, the promises of thousands of years are fulfilled. In vain he announced it to St. John the Baptist that “the ax is already attached to the roots of the trees” (Mt 3: 10). Everything in vain. Both John and Jesus were accused of their way of life. They criticized both humility and self-denial because they could not understand the kingdom of God. “John came, he did not eat and drink, and they say, ‘He is possessed by an evil spirit.’ The Son of Man has come and is drinking, (Mt 11: 18-19).

The sternness of John’s life, as well as Christ’s silence and gentleness, is recognized as true wisdom from those who have a sense of God’s ways. Indeed, John the Baptist, by his strictness, represented the relentlessness and hardness of the Old Testament, while Jesus, by his mildness and gentleness, represents the good of the New Testament. Both were wise and fair. Those who understood and believed in Christ knew the Messiah and John his predecessor.

Everything is done for the salvation of the human race, but the stubborn race is opposed. Jesus Christ therefore rebukes and reproaches them for their impotence. The karh cities of Korozain and Bethsaid, in which he performed the most miracles. They were eyewitnesses to his miracles, yet they did not repent. “Woe to you, Korozain! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles of Tire and Sidon had been done in you, they would have repented in penitential robes and ashes long ago. easier than you … “(Mt 11: 21-22).

This parable shows us God’s will to save every man. His caring love embraces everyone. He did everything on his part. It’s just that we, too, do everything we need. The parable is also the revelation of the good heart of Jesus Christ: “The esteem and the drinker, the friend of the myths and the sinners”, – is a proof of the true humanity of the Lord and of love for us. He became one of us looking for us wherever we live: on the road and in the temple, at the funeral and at the wedding, on the lake and in the mountains. There was nothing to suggest that the Pharisees, who considered themselves true scholars of piety, were aggravated at eating with despised myths and sinners.

The priest of Emmaus dr. Schacherle speaks in his memories of how he lost faith in Jesus Christ and God. As a theologian in the worship of the Way of the Cross that he was working with others, he considered it impossible for Jesus Christ, who is considered God, to suffer as an ordinary man. He lost faith in God and fought against Him. But this is the first part of his story. Few know, however, that the same priest in World War II died in a concentration camp completely reconciled to God. Here, in the terror of the concentration camp and his suffering, he understood Christ’s sacrifice, which he underwent for all souls. He knew that an ordinary man could not do it, but God, who descended to the earth from infinite love for men.

The parable of stubborn children expresses the image of our Lord who is so close to us and wants to be our Divine friend. What he did out of love for us during his earthly life! Is it therefore appropriate to ask ourselves whether we always go with due confidence to our Divine Brother and Savior ?! So let us always have a clear idea of ​​him that he is infinitely good, so that his goodness will always attract us to him.

About the Ten Virgins Death is a personal encounter with God. This often comes very suddenly. The best protection against the danger of death is constant vigilance and readiness. This was expressed by Jesus in the parable of the ten virgins. “Then the kingdom of heaven shall resemble the ten virgins who took the lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom” (Mt 25: 1). Ten bridesmaids had the task of waiting for the groom. He was due to arrive at night and the bridesmaids were to welcome him with oil lamps on. Five of them were sensible, and they took enough oil with their lamps. The other five, who recall the parable as unreasonable, took no oil with them. As the bridegroom did not come, everyone began to doze and fell asleep. At midnight the bridegroom came and they all woke up. The wise virgins prepared the lamps and went to meet the groom. So far, it was unwise to buy oil. The groom came and the door closed. When they returned unwise, they vainly cried, “Lord, Lord, open to us!” (Mt. 25, 11). The groom answered them, “I do not know you” (Mt 25: 12).

The late and therefore unexpected arrival of the groom in the parable draws us to the late but sudden second coming of the Son of God, who will come in his glory (Mt 25:31). He also warns not to find us unprepared at the time of death and the day of his arrival. Therefore, even at the close of the parable, Jesus said, “Watch therefore because you know neither day nor hour” (Mt 25: 13). The uniqueness of earthly life is a reason for vigilance and a serious focus of life on God. There is no possibility to start the earth test once again after death. Life has only one beginning, but also one end, and then comes a “night when no one can work” (John 9: 4). Where the tree falls, it will lie there. Therefore, the words of Christ: “I do not know you” are not for jokes, but a serious admonition: “Watch because you know neither day nor hour” (Mt 25: 13). We still have time not to sound for us forever.

Missionary P. Abel tells the story he had experienced in Halle, Tyrol, where he was visiting the Institute for Insane. The headmaster led him into a large room, in which he saw a very nice girl sitting in the corner, embroidering the altar sheet. He approached her and asked which church was embroidering this canvas. The girl didn’t answer. But when he did not answer any further questions, the Father deeply moved by the destiny of the poor, left. Outside, the director of the institute told him about this girl that she was betrothed and had a wedding. Before the wedding she went to visit her groom in his house. He stood on the steps of his house and shouted, “Get away from me! He didn’t want to see you again!” I expelled her. The girl went crazy. The pain of condemnation is terrible. Terrible, if told to us by a parent, a friend … What is unmatched by the pain of souls who once will be condemned from God Himself: “Get away from me …” (Mt 25:41).

The parable of the ten virgins describes this scene and tells us to understand what Jesus puts on our hearts. Human life and the history of the Church are preparation, death and the end of human history is the joyful beginning of eternal marriage to God. The frequent admonition of our Lord to vigilance for God’s order is, in fact, admonitions to a steady love of God. One day, comes when everything on earth changes. All work and fun will have to be interrupted. The Lord Jesus will return to us on earth. He will come beautiful, full, with all angels and saints (Mt 25:31). Therefore, Lord “teach us to count our days, that we may come to the heart of the wise!” (Ps. 89, 12).

The of the workers in the vineyard shows us very aptly that in the kingdom of heaven there is a different law than here on earth. This is also confirmed by the words of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah “” As the heavens are lifted up above the earth, so are my ways high from your ways, and my thoughts from your thoughts “(Isa. 55: 9). (cf. KKC, 1996) God is righteous, and only he can consider and respect all the facts, and this is what the parable mentioned above is telling us.

“The kingdom of heaven resembles a farmer who came out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard …” (Mt 20: 1). At dawn he hired them and spoke to them on a daily basis. He hired the workers at nine o’clock, and did likewise at 12 o’clock and even 3 o’clock, even on the eve of 5 o’clock. the landlord commanded the trustee to pay the wage “from the last to the first” (Mt 20: 8).

The first ones expected to get the most, and the others less and less, according to hours worked. How surprised they were when everyone got the same. They envied each other, arguing with each other, and squinting at the landlord that he was unfair. However, the economist explains that he has not wronged anyone. The first gave what he dealt with. He gave the others out of his goodness. The wage was fair and did not become unfair because he gave others what they owned and something else. So he replied correctly to the first of them, “I want to give this last as much as you can. Or am I not allowed to do what I want with my own? Do you look at me because I’m good?” (Mt 20: 14-15).

It is true that God will reward once according to His deeds. However, the degree of reward depends not only on the size of the work, but also on the inner grace, love and purity of the intention with which this or that deed takes place. This just adds moral value to God. It escapes the human eye. But God sees every fold of the heart. It is for this reason that “they will be the last and the first to be the last” (Mt 20: 16). Jesus also showed how God rewards. We must admit that his actions seem strange to us. God offers an eternal reward to those who have been striving for it all their lives, and to those who came to work in his vineyard only in the early evening, at the end of their lives.

The Last Judgment by J. Anouilh expresses this truth to us as follows: The elected stand before the gate of paradise are impatient until they let them go. They praise their merits and are sure that they already have seats reserved. Only suddenly a message runs between them: “It seems that God will forgive others as well.” Here everyone will be amazed and outraged. They protest, mourn their exertions and renunciation. They will explode in a curse against God, and at that moment they are damned. From the parable of the prodigal son, we know that the older son is offended by his father’s behavior when he forgives his younger son. The older son may have been in a state of mercy. He never transgressed the fathers command, but was infertile to love.

His apology: “I have been serving you for so many years …” (Lk 15, 29), should he be entitled to the first place in the family? The father, however, begs the elder son, acknowledges his loyalty, but here is a reason for joy. It can be assumed that the elder son’s heart softened over such a father’s love. Father’s tenderness completely disarmed him. Only God can make such a gesture of grace, joy and generous love. Therefore, let us not criticize God for this, but let us look forward to it. For if he were to reward us according to righteousness and not according to his goodness, who of us would succeed? This generous love also invites us to forgive our culprits and to forgive all of us.
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