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Happiness
in an Unfair World
September
18, 2005 Homily
Fr.
George Smiga
Matthew
20:1-16a
I
do not know anyone who likes today's parable of the laborers
in the vineyard. This is probably because it comes a bit too
close to the truth. The truth which underlies today's parable
is that life is unfair. There is no general principle that
can be applied to insure that each person receives what they
deserve. Some people, like those who were hired last in the
parable, receive much more than they deserve. Other people
receive much less.
We
see this in all areas of life. In a work situation it is easy
to look at someone who has the higher position than you do
and say, “It's unfair. She is no smarter than I am. My work
is a good as hers. So, why does she get the bigger office
and the higher salary?” The same perspective applies in relationships.
We can say, “It's not fair. I love my friends as much as he
does, perhaps even more. Then why is it that they choose to
be with him and accept me only in second place?” It applies
in families. We can say, “I love my children as much as those
people love their children. I spend as much time with my children
as they do. Then why is it that their children are brighter,
better behaved, make friends easier, make wise decisions over
foolish ones?”
Life
is unfair. All of us know of stories about families that have
never been able to recover after reading their parents' will.
Either they all received the same when some children expected
to receive more, or some children received more when others
thought they should receive the same.
Life
does not always fall into categories that we think are just.
We perceive such injustice immediately. It is the first thing
we notice. Just listen to the workers who were hired first
in today's parable. They say to the landowner, “These last
have worked only one hour and yet you have chosen to make
them equal to us who have borne the work of the day and the
scorching heat.” These workers immediately recognize the unfairness
of the situation.
But
today's parable is not about what the worker see but what
they do not see. What they do not see is the generosity of
the landowner. More specifically, they do not see the generosity
of the landowner to them. They recognize that the landowner
has chosen to be generous to those who were hired last, and
they resent it. But they do not recognize how they have been
given a job, a day's labor, by which they can support their
families. You see, today's parable is about blindness, the
blindness that so may of us have to the blessings of God in
our life. The parable warns us that we will never be able
to see God's generosity to us as long as we look with jealous
eyes.
The
parable is realistic. It accepts the world as it is. It recognizes
that things are unfair and there is not that much we can do
about it. So the parable does not give us some magic formula
which would allow us to give each person what is deserved.
But what the parable provides is a way—a way in which we can
be happy even in a world where some receive more than others.
The parable tells us that if we are to be happy in an unfair
world we must focus less on what others have and more on the
generosity that God has shown to us. Yes, we may not have
the biggest office or the highest salary but we do have a
job, a job by which we can earn a decent living. We may not
be the most popular person in our school or on our street,
but we do have friends and those friends are real. Our children
may not be the brightest or the smartest, but they are healthy
and we have a good relationship with them. Others in our family
may receive more from our parents, but we have parents and
they have given us life.
In
an unfair world, jealousy can consume us. If we compare ourselves
to others, that comparison can make us blind to the blessings
that we have received. The gospel reminds us that our blessings
are real, and it is only by embracing them that we will be
able to find happiness regardless of how much more others
seem to be given.
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