A Reading from the Holy Gospel According to Matthew
Jesus said to his disciples: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
(Matthew 20:1-16)
Fr. Columba’s Sunday Homily for Exodus Men
As they say, “Compare and despair.” These workers would have been fine if no one else had been hired. They would have done their work, gotten their pay, and said, “That’s great. I did an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. I’m really happy. I’ll go home to my wife and kids. They’re going to be delighted. I hope I get the same work tomorrow, maybe if I play my cards right.” But when other guys come in, the drama begins. They compare themselves. And Our Lord pays the last first—intentionally. Why does he do it on purpose? He wants to sift us. He wants to test us. He wants to bring out the glory, but also purify us of that not-so-glorious stuff. And out it comes.
Brothers, in the moment of pressure, we want to be like Jesus: How would Jesus react in that situation, and how do I react in that situation? It’s a great test. If I compare myself, it’s because I don’t have my eyes on gratitude. I don’t have my eyes on the Lord. I have my eyes on the man beside me, on my neighbor. And then I get locked into drama, politics, and particularly envy. At the end, the householder says, “Is your eye evil because I am good?” Envy sees the good as evil.
We’re looking at the Lord’s goodness and generosity. What would Jesus have done? He would have said, “That is incredible. This man’s willing to pay them a whole day’s wage for doing one hour. What an amazingly generous man. Can I have my denarius? Thanks very much.” The act of the householder is a revelation of his generosity at heart. It has nothing to do with people having lost anything. If Our Lord were the one witnessing it, he would definitely have rejoiced. But envy does the opposite: I see my brother receive something good, and it makes me sad. It’s like we’re trapped in thinking of scarcity, where the whole mindset is “there’s not enough.” We think there’s a limited amount of resources to go around, and if others get some, we might go hungry. Therefore, it’s dog-eat-dog.
Yet it’s fascinating that God’s inviting us into something greater. He’s inviting us to rejoice in the good, to stay free and focused. There is no limit to his goodness. There’s a limit to how much corn there is in the world. There’s a limit to how many natural resources there are. But there are some things there’s no limit to, especially with God. There is no limit to his goodness. There is no limit to his providence. So if we stay focused, we can be liberated from this thing inside us, from which so much viciousness comes. It says in Scripture that it was through the envy of the devil that sin entered the world. And it says in the Acts of the Apostles that envy was the cause for the persecution against Paul and the early Church.
This is huge, brothers: If we desire true freedom, when we start comparing, thinking we’re being stolen from—maybe it comes out as anger towards God or bitterness—let’s catch ourselves and take our eyes off the comparison and onto him. Instead, let’s say, “Okay, but what is this person doing that is good?” Let’s just stop and not get whipped up.
I have a friend who is hyper-competitive. When he had his first son, he was the proudest dad in the world, even though the kid was really young. Anytime the kid did something good, in sports or anything else, it would make him really proud. He would tell me, “I’ve always been so competitive, but when it comes to my son, I have this burning desire that he always be better than me. Not to push him or control him, I just want the very best from him, and I believe he’s capable of so much.” When it came to his son, all competitiveness was gone. He had no problem handing over the first place to his son. This is our Father’s heart. He wants to give you, brothers, the very kingdom. So we don’t have to worry: We are not going to get left out. Praise the Lord.
