Dear Saints,

“My friend, I am not cheating you.” So begins the gentle rebuke that utterly deconstructs the limits of our own imaginations, curtailed as they are by our selfish and envious understandings of “fairness.” Most of us instinctively recoil at the notion of equal pay for unequal work, but a deeper look reveals that God is not rewarding idleness here: it’s not that the latecomers have been unjustly enriched compared to the early birds, but that we’re all absurdly overcompensated.

Every one of us has been the recipient of divine love in ways we can’t begin to fathom, and well beyond our deserving. None of us could ever earn the mercy and generosity God lavishes upon us. At our very best, the love we return to him is a mere cupful of water compared to the ocean, so any complaint we might have about his largesse towards others is laughable. The only proper response is gratitude and awe.

Moreover, it is ours to imitate God’s generosity. If we lived by our ways, we’d alienate those who wrong us. We’d delay tithing until our bank accounts were impenetrable. We’d prefer vindication to unity. But the landowner teaches us differently. We’re called to be radical with our love today. May we set aside previous notions of what people are “due” and instead lavish love and generosity upon all those we encounter.

Christ’s Peace,

Father Daniel

δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ