Newsletter – 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A.

REFLECTION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE – by Lisa-Marie Calderone-Stewart

The parable of the vineyard owner and the workers doesn’t always play out in the real world as cleanly as we might wish it to. It often bothers us.

Would it bother you if you worked at a car wash or a bakery all day, and another young person who showed up an hour before closing time received the same pay as you did? Why or why not?

Would it bother you if you worked for a week typing up a wonderful English essay, and received an A for your work, and then you found out that someone else who scribbled their essay on scrap paper during the lunch break and handed it in late also received an A? Why or why not?

If we work hard and do well, why are we jealous if someone else does well also – especially if we think that they have not worked as hard as we have?

This parable is not exactly about an effective workplace or school policy. It’s really about the way God forgives. If we have a small sin, we are forgiven. If we have a really huge sin, we are forgiven just as much.

Does the ‘equal forgiveness for the unequal sin’ policy seem easier to take or harder to take than the ‘equal pay for unequal work’ or the ‘equal grade for unequal work’ policy? Explain.

Does this mean that we can go out and commit tremendous sins and do reckless things and hurt people we care about because, in the end, we will be forgiven just the same anyway? What is wrong with this plan? What would Jesus say about this?

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