Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

When we hear this parable, we often think of deathbed conversions. We think of the repentant thief crucified beside Jesus, or of someone who comes to faith very late in life. And perhaps something in us objects: they did not go through the difficult part of the Christian life. They did not spend years and decades struggling to be good and holy. They just slipped in at the last minute.

But notice where that interpretation leads us. The workers complain when payment is already being given out. If that payment represents eternal life, then the complaining workers would have to represent the saints in heaven.

And the saints in heaven do not complain. They could not cling to that resentment and know the perfect joy of God. They rejoice when their numbers increase. Another person welcomed into God’s presence is another reason for their happiness. So this parable is not about salvation in the next life. It is about how we are called to live here on earth.

A landowner knows his land. He knows when it needs to be worked, and he knows how many laborers the work requires. When he goes out early in the morning, he hires enough people to finish the job. So the surprise in the parable is that he goes back. Again and again and again, he returns to the marketplace and hires more workers. He keeps adding people he does not need.

He is not trying to finish the work faster. Neither is he doing what the world would tell him to do: get the most work for the least expense. He is being generous. The landowner has enjoyed success. He has enough to hire more people than the work requires. And he chooses to use what he has to provide for them.

The Gospel tells us that each worker receives a denarius, a full day’s wage, enough to buy food for three to five days. Even those who arrived late go home with money to help feed their families. The landowner’s goal is to feed his neighbors: to honor their dignity and help them care for their families.

So he keeps going back. He finds people who want to work, people looking for an opportunity to care for those they love. He gives them work, and he pays them. Out of his own abundance, out of the blessings he has received, he becomes a blessing to them. And that is the kingdom of God.

Jesus is not telling us that it is never too late to convert. He is telling us that it is never too late to be generous. The abundance entrusted to us has a purpose beyond our own comfort. It is meant to become a gift for someone else.

What would have truly benefited this landowner? A bigger house? Greater comfort? A larger inheritance for his children? None of those things would have given him what generosity gives him: the opportunity to grow in holiness by imitating God.

And that same opportunity is before us. We are called to place our gifts, our talents, our wealth, and whatever we have to spare at the service of our neighbor. We are called to show others the mercy and compassion of God.

Of course, the needs of this world can seem endless. We look at them and feel that whatever we could offer would be too little. But being unable to do everything is not an excuse for doing nothing.

One act of generosity will not solve the world’s problems. It will not repair everything that is broken. But it will build up the kingdom of God. It will build holiness in the soul. It will draw us, and those we serve, a little closer to the life of heaven.

We all have something to spare. For some of us, it is money. For others, it is time. For others, it is a talent we can place at someone else’s service. Whatever form that abundance takes, it is meant to be given, to be placed at the service of those who need it.

Our lives are not measured by how much we indulge ourselves. They are measured by how much we serve. Our God has given everything to us: his divinity, his life, his very body. Now we must decide how much of ourselves we will give back to him.