THE CALL, NOT THE CLOCK
Isaiah 55:6-9; Psalm 145; Philippians 1:20-24, 27; Matthew 20:1-16
The first reading gives us the key to understanding today’s Gospel: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord” (Isaiah 55:8). Human beings naturally calculate, compare and measure. We ask: Who came first? Who worked longer? Who deserves more? But God does not operate according to our limited calculations. In God’s vineyard, it is not merely about man-hour; it is about grace-hour. God sees what we cannot see, knows what we do not know, and works according to a wisdom greater than ours. Therefore, Isaiah says, “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6). Do not postpone your relationship with God. Seek Him now, because this life is the time of decision, conversion and grace.
Jesus illustrates this through the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Some were hired early in the morning, others later, and some at the very last hour. Yet the landowner gave them what he had promised. The early workers became angry because those who worked less received the same wage. But the landowner reminds them that he has not cheated them: “Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?” (Matthew 20:13). The issue, therefore, is not injustice but generousity. The first workers were thinking in terms of contract; the landowner was acting out of generousity. They calculated hours; he considered grace. God doesn’t pay by the clock; He pays by the call. Some workers were early, some were late, some were idle; but all were eventually called. It is better to be a late-comer than a never-comer.
1 The vineyard belongs to God, not to us. It is a VINEYARD, not a WHINE-YARD. We must stop whining about who came before us, who receives more attention, who was promoted, who was blessed, or who seems to have an easier life. The Owner of the vineyard decides how He distributes His generosity. It is His vineyard, not our view-yard. We are workers, not owners. We should therefore serve God without entitlement. The moment we begin to think, “I have done more than this person, so God must give me more,” we have moved from service to calculation.
2. The work defines you, not the clock: God did not call clock-watchers; He called workers. He is not looking for people who merely count their hours; He is looking for people who tend His vineyard. Some workers stood idle in the marketplace because nobody had hired them. But notice something beautiful: God went looking for them. Men may overlook you in the marketplace, but God can still locate you. You may think you are late in life, late in ministry, late in marriage, late in your career or late in your service to God. But God’s call is not cancelled by your delay. You are still hireable in the hands of God. The important thing is not how early you started, but whether you will answer when God calls.
3. The wage is not merely payment; it is grace or if you want “gracement”: If salvation were simply payment for the number of hours we have worked, then none of us could boast. We are all beneficiaries of God’s mercy. The first workers received what was agreed; the last workers received generousity. This reminds us that eternal life is ultimately a gift of grace. We work in God’s vineyard, but we do not earn God as though He were our debtor. Everything begins and ends with grace. As St Paul says, “To me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Our greatest reward is not earthly recognition but communion with Christ and eternal life.
This is why Jesus concludes: “The last will be first, and the first last” (Matthew 20:16). God’s kingdom overturns many of our human calculations. The world says, “First come, first served.” God says, “Serve faithfully and leave the reward to me.” The world says, “Compare yourself with others.” God says, “Look at me.” The world says, “You deserve more because you have done more.” God says, “Can I not do what I choose with what belongs to me?” (Matthew 20:15).
The greatest danger in the Gospel is therefore not coming late; it is becoming envious. The early workers were not angry because they were cheated. They were angry because somebody else received generousity. Envy is, as St Thomas Aquinas describes it, sorrow over another person’s good. We sometimes do the same. When our neighbour is blessed, we become uncomfortable. When another person succeeds, we ask, “Why him?” When someone who came after us receives what we desired, we begin to question God. But another person’s blessing is not your loss. God’s generousity to another person does not reduce His generousity toward you.
We must also learn to trust God’s wisdom when we do not understand His ways. Isaiah tells us, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). We see only today; God sees eternity. We see the moment; God sees the whole journey. We know the event; God knows the purpose. Therefore, when God’s ways do not make sense to us, our response should not be envy or resentment but faith and trust.
Do not envy the person who started early, and do not despise yourself because you started late. The thief on the cross was an eleventh-hour convert, yet Jesus promised him Paradise (Luke 23:43). Your story is not finished. You are still in the marketplace, and the Owner is still calling.
So, seek the Lord while He may be found. Enter His vineyard while there is still time. Work faithfully without comparing yourself with others. Celebrate God’s goodness to your neighbour. And when you do not understand His ways, remember: God sees what you cannot see.
Prayer
O God, whose thoughts are higher than ours and whose mercy is greater than our calculations, help us to serve you faithfully without envy or comparison. Give us the grace to answer your call whenever you call us, and lead us finally to the reward that never ends, eternal life with you. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Fr. Daniel Evbotokhai
