Last week I talked about how every sin we have ever committed or ever will commit has already been forgiven by God. Our response to that grace is to place ourselves at the foot of the Cross in the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession). This week sort of follows up on that with the parable of the generous vintner.
It was a common thing in the ancient world (and even the modern world in some places, like Home Depot) that day laborers would gather in central square and those landowners and contractors who needed workers would go there to hire them for the day. The usual daily wage was a silver coin worth ten donkeys called a denarius. (Hence the name, for you Latin scholars out there.) A typical workday was from dawn to dusk.
Given the brief hiring process, the owner usually had to keep an eye on the workers so that they didn’t slack off or steal his stuff. The odd thing about the story is that he keeps going there at different hours of the day. This should be the first hint to the listener that my thoughts are not your thoughts/nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. (Is 55:7)
This is an important thing for us to keep in mind, especially in a parish like this. Alaska is one of those places where longevity brings credibility and status. People will introduce themselves to you and immediately tell you how long they have been in the state, in the parish, in the neighborhood, etc. There is a temptation to think of oneself as a bit more important or deserving simply because one has been here more than one winter.
At the same time, we Alaskans and St. Patrick’s folks are pretty darn good at welcoming the newcomer. We love our state, our town, our neighborhood, and our parish. We want other people to love it too. So we bring cookies to new neighbors, help folks out with furniture, get them connected to things going on in the local scene that might interest them. In many ways we do this better than in other places. Probably because most of us came here from somewhere else too.
This is the virtue that Jesus is talking about in the parable. In this sense, the denarius represents our relationship with God and each other. What matters is that at some point we have been invited into the vineyard. When we get there is meaningless.
This is because the Kingdom of God is about relationships. Sometimes you will hear me talk about “Our parish family”. This is very intentional. Think about your own immediate family, such as it is? Is the last child any less a part of the family than the first child, simply because they arrived on the scene later? No. In the same way, none of us is less a member of the parish, less a member of the Church, less a member of the Kingdom because we got here later than someone else.
Let us strive then to welcome others into this little part of the vineyard we call St. Patrick’s Parish, and to invite as many as we can into this gathering of holy goofballs we call the St. Patrick Parish family.