God’s free and unfathomable love knocks our carefully constructed world off its axis. We think we know how it all works: we need to be saintly and not like all those idlers who don’t live as decently as we do. “And so we are shocked when it seems that Jesus bypasses the pious who are loaded with merits and goes precisely to those who are not entitled to any reward from God – sinners who do not observe the Law or prostitutes forbidden to enter the temple.” (Pagola J. Following the Footsteps of Jesus).  

Perhaps we don’t understand after all! God is just and generous. God’s justice doesn’t mean “anything goes” but it is divine justice tempered with vast divine mercy which reflects immeasurable love for each of us. God’s Reign is overflowing with justice and generosity.

Humankind has created all sorts of limitations on God’s love. We insist he follows our notions of “justice” and “fair go.” We point indignantly to some page or sub-paragraph and protest that he treats recalcitrants too generously. But “for those who seek God’s will, the important thing is not to read laws written on stone tablets, but to discover the requirements of love in people’s lives.” (Pagola. J. Jesus: An Historical Approximation p248).

Jesus loves people and helps them because they suffer and need help. Our gospel this Sunday is such an example (Matt 20:1-16). The workers of the eleventh hour have the same right to work as the first laborers and the right for them and their families to live from that work. In God’s Reign, everyone would have a job with a decent wage. All would have what they need to sustain their families.

The owner of the vineyard asks us, “Why be envious because I am generous?” (Matt 20:16) Likewise, rather than reprimanding God for his big-heartedness, we should celebrate that he is equally generous to us.