DAILY HOMILIES #vineyard

Dear friends, in God’s vineyard, there is no need to look down on the function anyone plays. We all have different callings, but none is more important than the other. Albert Einstein said: “If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.” This is just an example of how roles could be different yet complementary. Everyone’s role is different, but we all need each other.

Like these workers in the vineyard, what separates us from each other is unimportant. There is no need to look down on anyone or take anyone to be a god because even if it seems we are better or worse than others, we are all equal before God. Jesus has said it all: “The last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Most of us are good at identifying our problems, but we easily become overwhelmed by their magnitude. We either fail to pray or fail to act with faith. Do that which is in your power to do. It may be very small compared to the problem but do it. Let it become a mustard-seed action planted in faith. Jesus came to save the whole world, yet He chose to begin his ministry with only twelve workers.

Like the tenants in Jesus’ parable, we often forget that we are tenants on earth and there is nothing we can do to “own” the world. No matter how much you achieve on earth, you will leave everything behind one day. So take it easy. Never forget you are not yet home.

Like the brothers of Joseph in the Old Testament, we could become so overwhelmed by envy that we begin to think that our survival depends on eliminating others. We begin to think that we can only shine when we quench that of others. This is the insanity of the envious mind.

As children of God, we have been hired (at various times) into His vineyard. Regardless of when we were hired, God expects us to bear fruits – He demands that at harvest time, we will account for our opportunities, gifts and talents.

In our first reading today, we see how the people were touched when they heard the word of God read to them by Ezra, the priest. This reading of the Book of the Law would not have been possible without the ground-breaking work of Nehemiah, who rose from the position of cup-bearer to Governor of Judah.

The essence of the Christian life is COLLABORATION, not COMPETITION. Why engage in a fight with someone who in a few years from now would become dust just like you under the ground? What is the point of boasting or treating people like garbage when we do not know what tomorrow holds?

Never look down on yourself because the rich harvest of God’s vineyard neither requires already made Saints nor does it asks only for the talented, the outspoken, the educated, the influential or the technologically driven. So long as you are empowered, you too can labour for God.

If we all go by the principle of an eye for an eye, very soon we would all go blind. As much as we need to learn to let go and forgive, we should not forget that being imperfect creatures, we also stand in need of the forgiveness and mercy of others. In our first reading today, we see how Jezebel connived to put Naboth to death simply for refusing to sell his land to King Ahab. It wasn’t the case that Ahab was a poor man, he was the king, he was the richest man in the whole nation of Israel but due to his insatiable greed, he couldn’t take his eyes off the property of poor Naboth. Greed is a very serious disease.

It is not enough that we go to church, or contribute to its building, we must have our say even in the formulation of laws and policies that directly bear on the promotion of the kingdom of God on earth. The question we must always ask ourselves is this: “In what ways can I use my good office like Nehemiah to serve the work of God?”

Like the workers who were recruited for work in the vineyard at different times of the day, we are not all gifted the same way, we were not all born the same day, and we did not come to know God the same day. However, in the end, we all shall be rewarded not according to how much work we have done but according to what is rightfully our due.