The Holy Priest-Martyr Hermolaus and those with him (286-305); Holy Venerable-Martyr Parasceve.
1 Corinthians 13:4-14:5; Matthew 20:1-16.
Read Matthew 20:1-16
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
The parable in today’s gospel reading shows God’s love and mercy for all people of all generations. No matter at what time of the day the landowner hired laborers to start working in his vineyard, they all received the same pay.
We have a desire to be treated fairly, and it feels unfair that a person who worked for one hour at the end of the day gets the same pay as someone who worked since the early morning and endured the heat of the day. However, the person hired at the beginning of the day knew and agreed to what his day’s wage would be. There was no injustice because he was paid exactly what he agreed to, but he felt that he should have been paid more than someone else. In his own eyes, he was worth more than someone else.
St. John Chrysostom recollects this parable in his famous Paschal Homily, making an analogy between the workers in the vineyard and those who participated in the fasting and ascetic struggles of Great Lent:
Are there any now weary with fasting? Let them now receive their wages! If they have toiled from the first hour, let them receive their due reward; If any have come after the third hour, let him with gratitude join in the Feast! . . . And he who arrived only at the eleventh hour, let him not be afraid by reason of his delay. For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first. He gives rest to him who comes at the eleventh hour, as well as to him who toiled from the first.”
Today’s parable is good news! God loves us and accepts our repentance regardless of the “hour.” Whether we were faithful, lifelong Christians or whether we turned away from God and returned to Him much later after committing many sins, we remain children of God. He runs towards us with open arms and embraces us, holding nothing against us. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, the father saw his son returning from “a great way off,” “ran and fell on his neck and kissed him” (Lk. 15:20), and immediately commanded the fatted calf be killed to celebrate his son’s return. The son who returned was worth the same as the son who never left, just as God receives the repentance of the first even as He receives the repentance of the last. In the eyes of God, you are worth more than you could ever understand.