September 20, 2026: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16a
Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o’clock, the landowner saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.’ So they went off. And he went out again around noon, and around three o’clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o’clock, the landowner found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’ When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’ When those who had started about five o’clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying ‘These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’ He said to one of them in reply, ‘My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?’ Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Reflection
“It’s not fair!” shout the workers. “We were here first. We worked longer. We produced more. So, we deserve more.” And yet, the employer is generous and makes sure every worker has a “daily wage.”
Today, we might call this a living wage or enough resources to cover daily living expenses.
Catholic Social Teaching reminds us of the dignity of work and the rights of workers. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops states, “The economy must serve people, not the other way around. Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God’s creation. If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected – the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to the organization and joining of unions, to private property, and to economic initiative.”
In today’s gospel, Jesus reverses the typical mindset of work and wages. In the Kin-dom of Heaven, all have what they need to live, regardless of how much they produce.
How many people today work multiple jobs just to try to make ends meet? Is that fair? What about our ill, injured and disabled neighbors? Don’t they deserve access to necessary resources even though they cannot produce enough for our economy to value them?
As humans, we have the power to co-create with God and nature. Our capacity to create is a gift and a responsibility. When our capacities are exploited to enrich the few, we are unable to unlock the power of our innate generativity.
Action
Imagine an economy that serves people, that frees us from economic survival strategies and allows each of us to use our gifts in life-giving ways.
What kind of world could we create if all beings had all their fundamental needs met? What if our work could be more about participating in the work of God than man?
