parables-of-jesus

"As a deeply committed believer, I hold a personal conviction that Christians can and should serve as salt and light within the realms of politics and government. I believe it is not only desirable but essential and achievable for believers to have a positive influence in these areas."

"A member of the Church cannot abstain from his political commitment if he wants to be faithful to the command of Jesus to be leaven, salt and light for the society in which he lives."

"It has been said that Catholic education before the council lacked heart and after the council it lacked head. I hope we are well on our way to striking a balance in the catechesis of our young people today. Colleen Carroll Campbell’s critically acclaimed book The New Faithful offers hope and direction to those interested in striking this balance by examining the differences between Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers in terms of Catholic education and formation. Campbell argues that in order to find this balance, it is imperative to stay rooted in the deposit of faith handed on by the apostles, while at the same time allowing that faith tradition to remain relevant and be salt and light in the modern world. This is at the heart of orthodoxy. But if we are not careful, the salt may lose its flavor and the lamp may make its way under a bushel basket."

"Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.”"

"“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men."

"Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”"

"“He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?"

"The man believed that he owned his own soul, just as he owned his possessions, and his soul did not object. The dialogue he carried on with himself somehow took the place that dialogue with God, prayer, should have had. And he seemed to live well with his soul, because it agreed with him, because it accepted to stay within that perspective of life, filling the barns so that he could then enjoy everything. But now, since his soul is being asked back, the owner suddenly finds himself poor. His soul will have to stand naked before God. His barns are completely empty. The accounts no longer add up. [...] God's warning is a final act of benevolence for the frightened owner, the only one that still counts. He must change his relationship with God very quickly. God is his true wealth: for the sake of this good, he must renounce all other goods, and only those who surrender to it will discover God again. But God is not a granary. He is love that gives itself freely, as the Son showed on the cross. He gave himself to the last drop of blood: love, forgiveness, redemption. He will find this treasure again with the Father, but not as a hoarded good, but placed in the relationship of eternal self-giving."

"He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”"

"A man sowed seed in his field. This man knows what he wants, what he should expect and hope for. He holds the seed in his hand, he knows more or less what it looks like, without being able to say what will come from each individual grain. And he must drop the grains and entrust them to the earth, to the darkness, in order to see his hopes fulfilled. He must entrust their growth to God. God only wants him to sow, to perform an act about which he knows something, but certainly not everything. [...] Whether he tends to it, watches it or sleeps, the seed grows. It is like the Word of God becoming man: the Lord utters it, men gather it, it becomes suitable for the kingdom, so that it can return to the Father and the Father recognises it. A word that perhaps lies silent in a man and suddenly matures, so that it already contains within itself the fruits of action."

"A short parable, made up of a few words, like a tiny seed that nevertheless contains within itself infinite life. It is sown and makes the soil capable of the world, bearing fruit in eternal life. It has the patience to wait until everything is ripe and the sickle can be put to the harvest."

"Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold[b] was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. [...] “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”"

"The kingdom of heaven is like a king who wants to undertake a calculation. It is like the image of an inventory. It is time to settle accounts with the servants who have been entrusted with the king's wealth. Servants of God through Christ are those who have heard and followed his call to discipleship and who, because of their willingness to serve, have been assigned a task. And right at the beginning of this reckoning, a character is introduced whose guilt is so great that it cannot even be calculated. [...] The servant humbles himself before his master: he begs for patience and promises to pay. His words reveal his awareness of his guilt, his repentance and also his devotion to his master. It is the state of mind that arises when repentance and love meet: that of confession."

"The servant who, having just been saved by grace, does not want to forgive his fellow servant, is even more seriously at fault than he was previously for the sins he committed against his master. He denies his neighbour, and therefore God himself, the effectiveness that comes from grace. Every believer who refuses to reflect the grace that has been given to him is guilty in the same way. He becomes entangled in guilt much more deeply than before absolution. In fact, he has encountered love, recognised it in his temporary repentance, but denies it in his own conduct."

"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. :The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more. [...] “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’"

"While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’ “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’ “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’ “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’ [...] “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’ “‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’ “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”"

"Consider— We are born Not with purpose, But with potential."

"The gospel of St. Matthew told of the angry Jesus driving the merchants and money-changers out of the temple, knocking over the tables of the money-changers and spilling their coins on the floor. Jesus was not opposed to capitalism and the profit motive, so long as economic activities were carried on outside the temple. In the parable of the talents, he praises the servant who used his master's money to make a profitable investment, and condemns the servant who was too timid to invest. But he draws a clear line at the temple door. Inside the temple, the ground belongs to God and profit-making must stop."

"This man, who distributes his goods among his servants according to their abilities, knows and observes his servants from within. His departure – if that man is Christ – is the postponement of the time of his return. His servants remain in the country, with an idea of what they must do. They know their master, they know that if he has entrusted something to them, it is because he trusts their human energies, their reason and their ability to put all this to good use in his service. The servants must not underestimate their abilities by setting themselves limits “a priori” or by being satisfied with mediocre results. While their master is absent, they must work with his goods as if they were their own; his interests must coincide with theirs."

"This country owes an enormous amount to Wesley, who was of course a High Tory [Mrs Thatcher was a Methodist by upbringing]. He inculcated the work ethic, and duty. You worked hard, you got on by the result of your own efforts: then, as you prospered, it was your duty to help others to prosper also. The essence of Methodist is in Matthew 24 – the Parable of the Talents. You have a duty to make what you can out of your talents, and to assist others."

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."

"For the Lord established that children should respect their father; he confirmed the right of the mother over her children. Whoever honors his father atones for his sins; he who gives glory to his mother prepares a treasure for himself. Whoever honors his father will receive joy from his own children and will be heard when he prays. Whoever glorifies his father will have a long life. Whoever obeys the Lord gives comfort to his mother. He serves those who brought him to birth as he would serve the Lord. Honor your father in word and deed so that his blessing may come on you. For a father’s blessing secures the future of his children, but a mother’s curse destroys them at their roots. Do not rejoice at the humiliation of your father because his dishonor is no glory for you. For a man’s glory comes from his father’s reputation; a mother who is not respected is a disgrace to her children. My child, take care of your father in his old age, do not cause him sorrow as long as he lives. Even if he has lost his mind, have patience; do not be disrespectful to him while you are in full health. For kindness done to one’s father will never be forgotten, it will serve as reparation for your sins. In the day of adversity the Lord will remember it to your advantage; for just as ice melts in the heat, so will your sins melt away. The man who abandons his father is like a blasphemer; he who annoys his mother is cursed by the Lord."

"It is necessary, therefore, to prove clearly that in the Early Church, at least, Christianity was no whit behind other great religions in possessing a hidden side, and that it guarded, as a priceless treasure, the secrets revealed only to a select few in its Mysteries. But ere doing this it will be well to consider the whole question of this hidden side of religions, and to see why such a side must exist if a religion is to be strong and stable; for thus its existence in Christianity will appear as a foregone conclusion, and the references to it in the writings of the Christian Fathers will appear simple and natural instead of surprising and unintelligible. As a historical fact, the existence of this esotericism is demonstrable; but it may also be shown that intellectually it is a necessity."

"The lowest of these three divisions is usually called the Causal Body, for a reason that will be only fully assimilable by those who have studied the teaching of Reincarnation —taught in the Early Church—and who understand that human evolution needs very many successive lives on earth, ere the germinal soul of the savage can become the perfected soul of the Christ, and then, becoming perfect as the Father in Heaven, can realise the union of the Son with the Father. It is a body that lasts from life to life, and in it all memory of the past is stored. From it come forth the causes that build up the lower bodies. It is the receptacle of human experience, the treasure-house in which all we gather in our lives is stored up, the seat of Conscience, the wielder of the Will. p. 240"

"There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. [...] “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet."

"He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out. “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’[...] Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people."

"The vineyard workers had imagined that the vineyard where they had been sent to work for their master was their property; that everything in the vineyard had been made for them, so that they could enjoy life in that vineyard, forgetting their master and killing anyone who reminded them of him and their obligations towards him. “We do the same thing,” thought Nechljudov, 'living in the senseless belief that we are masters of our own lives, and that they are given to us for our pleasure. But this is clearly absurd. Because if we have been sent here, it is by someone's will and for some reason. Instead, we have decided that we live only for our own joy, and it is clear that we are suffering, just as the worker who does not do the master's will will suffer. And the master's will is expressed in these commandments. It is enough for men to put these commandments into practice, and the kingdom of God will be established on earth, and men will receive the supreme good that is accessible to them.""

"The vineyard survives everything. It is beyond change, wear and tear, and decay. It is an image of the fruit that the Lord desires and that must be harvested from the world. The work on people always remains the same. They must be purified, supported, helped to mature, so that they can work for God. But the Son, whom the vine-growers killed, the stone which they rejected, is Christ, who, precisely because he was rejected and precisely through his death, founds the Church and gives it the certainty of his assistance."

"The missions of the Old and New Covenants, with all their differences, are a service to the vineyard. Between them is the mission of Jesus, a mission of an incomparable kind, and yet a mission in the vineyard. A mission to admonish the vine-growers, to call them back to bring all the fruit of the vineyard to the Father. He will be killed, but from his death new missions will spring forth. All the envoys of the New Covenant work and labour at what the Son has made possible and opened up with his death, in participation in his filial mission."

"The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’” [...] Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear."

"For a moment, they [the apostles] can recognise themselves in the master's servants, looking at the world as they looked at the cultivated field. [...] And everything he says must ultimately have an impact on their successors and their apostolate, so that it is transformed into an attempt at full and genuine correspondence. [...] And if the Lord in the parable shows the judgement in advance, then their time of waiting, of patience, of having to be together with evil on earth, takes on a new meaning, which here below can never be fully understood, because understanding lies in the “acting” of the “Lord” on the day of harvest, at the end of their mission."

"“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him."

"This parable shows that there are no partial solutions. There is no possibility of helping out just for a moment, or pretending to work, or doing only part of the job. Yes must be yes, and it must be a complete yes to all the work that is required. No should remain no, but there is divine grace that in an instant can turn someone who has said no into a person who follows the Lord."

"Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’ “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’ “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ “‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. “The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’ “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’ ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. “He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’ “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”"

"The “children of light,” that is, those who have to communicate God's truth, would have something to learn from this administrator: that love is greater than truth, that truth without love is not really truth. That, therefore, the rules of the game that selfish people have set for themselves are not enough for real truth. The truth in Christ is love, and in order to remain in the truth, even Christian truth must always learn from love."

"There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. [...] The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”"

"Christianity is present, with its wonderful parable of the prodigal son, to encourage us to be forgiving and merciful."

"Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”"

"In today's parable, Jesus says that God will not keep us waiting long, but will respond “promptly” to those who pray to him. But then, we immediately ask ourselves, why do so many of our prayers go unanswered? This is a serious and painful problem for believers, and we must beware of easy and simplistic answers. Jesus knew well that sometimes the fulfillment of prayer can be delayed, or even not happen at all, at least in our eyes. That is precisely why he told the parable of the widow, urging us to “pray always, without ever tiring.” If we cannot understand why God does not hear certain prayers, we can at least understand what a disaster it would be if He heard them all, every time. How many people have later blessed God for not hearing them when they asked for something, seeing what it would have deprived them of."

"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”"

"Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”"

"What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches."

"The comparison between the mustard seed and the kingdom of heaven places the smallest thing directly in relation to the greatest thing, that which is not yet visible with the infinite that human beings will never be able to grasp, since its concept surpasses all their concepts. The parable therefore refers to the most radical distance."

"Furthermore, it is clear from the outset that the relationship revealed by the parable must be something definitive, that both things, the growing grain and the lowering sky, are made for each other. God the Father gives his heaven to human beings. As Creator, he has not abandoned human beings, but has shown them the direction in which they must grow so that he can finally welcome them. If the mustard seed is faith, then it will be very clear what the role of faith in man must be: to grow, like the seed from the earth, from the substance of God's invisible grace that he welcomes into himself."

"“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”"

"The main thing to highlight about the parable of the rich man is its relevance today; it shows how the story repeats itself today, among us, on two levels: globally and nationally. [...] Two characters, two worlds: the first world and the “third world.” [...] But the same contrast between the rich man and poor Lazarus is repeated, on a different scale, within each of the two groups. There are rich men who live side by side with poor men in Third World countries (here, in fact, their solitary luxury is even more striking, amid the general misery of the masses), and there are poor men who live side by side with rich men in First World countries."

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

"What is told in the parable fits such a pagan, the parable about the vineyard workers who misappropriated the vineyard and acted as if the owner did not exist; and insofar as he is brought up in Christianity, what they are reported to have said also fits him: “Let us kill the son, and the vineyard will be ours.” The life of every human being is God’s possession; the human being is his bond servant. But one cannot kill God; on the other hand, as is said, one certainly can kill the thought of him."

"More important than the fact that the workers who arrived first receive a higher wage is that they recognise the goodness of the Lord and know that they have no right to make demands of Him and that they must therefore be content with the grace of being able to serve Him. No form of envy should arise in the Church. It is true that the conduct of the master in this parable may seem hard to swallow for good Christians, since the principle of a “fair” proportion between work done and wages seems to be the criterion by which, in this world, a master's way of acting is considered just. All the more so when it comes to God! But grace is never within man's power to dispose of and calculate. Who could determine what God owes to a person who dies young or to another who recognises His call in old age? Man must imitate God, loving Him and not being petty."

"The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough."