Reflection by Rev. Leonard N. Peterson
Per usual, I prayed to the Holy Spirit on the bright June day for an introductory metaphor for today’s Gospel. What He gave me will sound strange, but, of all things, He gave me to imagine “The Hope Diamond.” In case you don’t know it, you can actually see this large and storied gem at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., well-lit and behind thick safety glass. This last is just in case you were tempted.
Its story includes the fact that King Louis XIV of France once wore the large blue-tinted gem on a ribbon around his neck. Much later, an American heiress once had it set in a diamond necklace. You can have the fun of learning more.
For my purpose here, I want to make a comparison of this unique gem with the dazzling generosity of God. Perhaps that’s why the Holy Spirit did what He did. This quality of God is beautiful beyond any description I might use for a gemstone. The jewel, after all, is just a creature. We are to focus on a beautiful aspect of our Creator.
The Scriptures tell us of the Lord’s generosity in several ways, but today we can focus on how He instructed the Hebrew people to drop their prejudice and include the Gentile peoples in the embrace of the Covenant that He first made with them. His decision must have caught most Jews by surprise. We know that many of them contested it.
In today’s “Parable of the Hired Workers,” the workers represent such Jews when they ask, “Is it fair that the same wage we earned be given to latecomers?” You see, among other things, they had to learn that God’s decisions, especially those made with generosity, surpass human ways of thinking. Just think about that in the context of Judgment Day. Wouldn’t we all want God to be generous?
Meanwhile, it will be our personal generosity that is looked at on that awful Day as a major component of God’s decision about our future. But even here and now, we have no reason to panic. We should, however, take a healthy Sunday pause to consider our current lifestyle from the perspective of generosity. Let the truth hurt if it does.
Over my long wait for the necessary surgery to finally happen and relieve me of chronic pain, I was the recipient of so much generosity that I will never forget it, especially the prayers. (Many of you readers and hearers did this, I know.)
So be generous, my friends, and stay that way. A generous God is watching us. Bid Him to smile in appreciation of your diamond-like generosity and the gift of hope it brings.
Here’s a closing thought: “He who gives only when he is asked has waited too long.” — E. C. McKenzie
Rev. Peterson’s Reading & Gospel Summary
Reading I: Isaiah 55:6-9
An appeal to seek the Lord’s forgiveness as the long Babylonian exile is ending. God’s mercy is too marvelous for sinners to comprehend.
Reading II: Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a
Paul does not hide his preference for martyrdom, since he knows that death is the door to eternal happiness. The outcome of his trial he also knows is entirely in God’s hands.
The Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16a
The parable focuses on God’s generosity. Israel’s long labor and fidelity lead to the Gentiles being included in the Covenant. Readers must know that God’s decision here is not unfair, but generous, as He includes the late-arriving Gentiles as equal to His chosen people.