I have everything. What more could I want?

25^th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Is 55:6-9; Ps 145; Phil 1:20-24,27; Matthew 20:1-16a

In the vineyard
It is good to know from early morning already that I will receive my denarius

This parable in today’s Gospel really makes you stop and think. The reaction of the workers who complain to the landowner is, on one level, understandable: in human terms, if you’ve worked all day, you expect more than the one who came at the last minute.
But the real sting in the tale is this: what about those who have received everything from God – heaven itself – and still look with resentment at those who arrive late and receive the same gift? If I already possess everything, what more could I possibly want?
Hidden in such envy is a painful truth: the person has never really discovered the beauty of the Gospel. The vineyard of the Lord was experienced not as the threshold of heaven, but as a weary obligation. Goodness, truth, justice were not loved for themselves, but endured for the sake of reward.
And if that’s the case, would such a person even be happy in heaven? Would heaven feel like joy, or like one more restriction against what they secretly desire?
This is why Jesus says, “the last will be first, and the first last.” Those who haven’t yet understood that good is truly good still have a journey of purification ahead before they can fully rejoice in God’s generous love.