Of all the parables Jesus told, the parable of the laborers in the vineyard (today’s Gospel) is the hardest to love! It is so unfair! It seems that we inherit by birth a gigantic sense of fairness — parents and elementary teachers quickly learn to respect that inbuilt instinct in young children. The landowner in this parable asks the complaining laborers and us — are you envious because I am generous? Well, yes! Of course we are! Whom will we imitate this week — the landowner or the laborers? I need to challenge myself to be generous. It does not matter if someone does not reciprocate by taking time to ask me how I am, or by including me in something, or by offering to help me; that’s fairness. I need to take time to recognize and speak with others, include them in my circle and offer help when it is needed without even noticing any reciprocity; that’s generosity! There are so many other ways to respond with generosity instead of merely with fairness as we go through our daily lives.
– Blog entry by Sister Mary Garascia
Thanks, Sr. Mary. I’ve started a practice of smiling at people and greeting them with the appropriate time of day. It’s amazing how many change their face from a grin to a smile. They have to feel better, and so do I, but that’s not the reason I do it. I do it for the other people I meet.
It makes me feel a little pretentious, but I have been posting “Please pray daily for Trump–only God can change hearts.” instead of joining in the criticism and mockery, even though that would be “fair” in light of his behavior.