God is Always Fair

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
Matthew 20:1-16 “Are you jealous because I am generous?”

“My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways,” says the Lord in our first reading today (Isaiah 55: 6-9). These words from the prophet Isaiah will guide us to understand our gospel today. God’s way are not our way, God’s mathematics is not our mathematics. He’s logic is not our logic.

Anybody who hears the gospel today may think that the landowner is really unfair especially to those hired early in the morning. In our present world where all work must be compensated, we find the landowner unfair to those hired at 6 AM. They have the right to receive more than to those who worked for just an hour.

But in reality, the landowner was actually fair to all laborers, because they all agreed to be paid the minimum wage. There is no guile here. It was done in good faith. What made the early workers furious were envy - that they were not the lucky recipient of the landowner’s generosity. Jesus explicitly mentioned it, “Are you jealous because I am generous?” (Matthew 20:15).

When I was in Montaban Relocation Site in Rizal, we used to distribute Christmas goodies for the poor, I remember a man who used to complain a lot each time we distribute goods to the people. He always irritated us. But he never complained when he was first on the queue or when he received more than the others. The laborers in our gospel are like that. They are protesting because they felt shortchanged. Envy plays a big role here. We complain when we are at the disadvantage but we care less when we receive the bigger and better portion of the pie.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus instantly promised the reward of heaven to one of the thieves, “I promised you that today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Some of us who are working hard to be good to achieve the reward of heaven might protest, “That’s not fair. He is stealing heaven. He did nothing to merit heaven.” We might even say, “If this is the case, we should eat, drink be merry carelessly and commit sins. Why strive to be good and holy in our younger years when God can easily forgive us later and reward us equally?”

We failed the see the point of the gospel. The gospel gives hope to those who are not working for God’s vineyard for many years. But God does not condone such idling, of course not. The gospel should bring us to a realization that it is never too late for anyone to return to God and work for his vineyard. And yet some would still insist that God is unfair to those who are faithful to Him, and gives favor to the sinners.

A theologian once said, “We sinners and martyrs may find themselves together in the presence of God because God looks at us equally but the degree of happiness might vary. Aside from being in God’s presence, what make people happy in heaven are their thoughts that they did for something for God and for their fellowmen during their earthly life.”

A bench warmer player who did nothing for the team in winning the much coveted championship title will still go to Europe with his teammates as a reward. But when the players start remembering and recalling those momentous plays, crucial breaks and difficulty in winning the championship, the players who played and fought hard for the team will be the happiest. They have stories to tell and be proud of to their friends and families. Bench warmers have nothing to share.

But I am not here to prove that God is just to everybody or to console those who are working in the Lord’s vineyard that they should not envy the late workers or those who are not working for the Lord. The gospel today wants us to purify our motivation in serving God. We don’t serve the Lord to merit material graces or to inherit heaven. We serve the Lord out of love because He has given us a lot and bless us a lot with many graces. As St.Ignatius of Loyola would say, "To give and not to count the cost." I remember Tita Glo, a volunteer in New Bilibid Prison, she said, "When one is genuinely serving God, he or she should not expect anything in return, even the words thank you."

The workers who complain are echoes of the elder son’s complaint in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The sin of the elder was envy. He failed to identify himself with the father’s joy of a returning son. The father reminded the elder son of what love is: To be happy that his younger brother is back home. What made the elder son envious was the thought that his younger brother does not deserve such warm welcome and lavish banquet, while he himself, a very faithful son, did not receive any reward from the father… not even a single goat!

And so the Father said: “My son, you are always with me and everything I have is yours. But we have to celebrate and be happy, because your brother was dead, but now he is alive, he was lost, but now he has been found” (Luke 15:31).

To love is to think of the welfare of others. Those who know how to love are genuinely happy when others are happy.


Fr.Willy M. Samson,SJ
Sacred Heart Chapel
Ateneo de Zamboanga University

Instant Ginatan

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
Matthew 16:21-27


When I was in Hollywood, a Filipina offered an instant “ginatan halo-halo” for merienda. Having been away from the Manila for five months, the thought of ginatan halo-halo thrilled me. But the taste of this instant ginatan was a big disappointment. It was far from the taste of real ginatan. Indeed, instant products are not always good. Unfortunately, our world is turning into the culture of instants, short cuts, quick fix, and convenience stores. Modern technology is giving us a painless, easy and lazy life. Majority would say, why make it difficult and complicated when technology can make it simple and quick? In the process, we lost the value and wisdom of sacrifice and suffering.

In our gospel today, Jesus revealed the secret formula of his future glory: He must go to Jerusalem, suffer greatly, be killed, and on the third day be raised (Mt.16:21). But it was the antithesis of the disciples’ idea of “glory.” So Peter corrected Jesus, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” Peter couldn’t accept that suffering and sacrifice are necessary ingredients in Jesus’ assent to glory. Peter couldn’t think a suffering Saviour. And so Jesus rebuked him, “Get behind me Satan, You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” And Jesus gave his triple conditions to discipleship to correct Peter’s wrong notion of sacrifice and suffering, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” (Mt.16:24) There is no instant glory in following Christ. We need to take the road to sacrifice and suffering to attain fullness of life and salvation.

Fullness of life and salvation can only be achieved through sacrifice, self-denial and hard work. Not through shortcuts or any instant solution. They are the fruits of our hard labour, perseverance and faithful carrying of our daily cross.

When Jesus scolded Peter with the words, “Get behind me, Satan!”... Jesus’ is directly commanding Peter to resist the devil’s deceiving temptation – take shortcuts, avoid pain and suffering, run away from the cross and self-indulge. But life is not like that. It has its own challenges, failures, misgivings, detours and delays. When these things happen, self denial and sacrifice become our way of engagement. And we gain a lot from them.

One of my friends required his newly graduate son to work as an all-around helper in their bakery. The son resented the idea at the beginning. He felt humiliated but followed his father’s decision. As a worker, the son learned how to relate to people and learned the value of hard work. After six months, his father made him the new manager of the bakery.

In his desire to protect Jesus from suffering, Peter failed to see the importance of sacrifice in God’s plan of salvation. Self-denial is necessary. No sacrifice, no glory.

If you want a happy family, then sacrifice.
Spend more quality time with your family.

If you want to pass the board exam, then sacrifice.
Go to the library and read read read.

If you want good health, then sacrifice.
Avoid your favorite junk food and exercise daily.

If you want beautiful garden, then sacrifice.
Toil under the sun and soil your hands.

If you want fruits in your backyard,
then plant trees now and wait for years patiently.

If you want delicious ginatan, then sacrifice a little.
Prepare your own coco milk. Cook it slowly.
It may take a while but it’s worth all the wait and effort.

Today’s Gospel calls us to take the same road with Jesus: “Whoever wishes to come after me he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24). St. Paul also exhorts us to run hard to win the race: “Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable garland, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:25-27).

No to shortcuts and instants.

In heaven, only fruits of hard labor and sacrifice are recognized. And they don’t serve instant ginatan there.


Fr.Willy M. Samson,SJ
St. Joseph Parish