There are times when Jesus, in his message to the disciples, and so to us, really goes against the grain, even to the point where we think to ourselves, I just can’t accept that, or this seems so unrealistic how would anyone be expected to pay attention to this message? I believe that this parable we just had proclaimed for us is a good example. Yet, we have to take this seriously because it forms a very important part of what it means to be a member of God’s Kingdom. In essence, we have to pray for the transformation of heart that will allow us to understand, and eventually embrace the importance of this message. 

This parable almost defies logic. Actually, it defies the logic of the world but it doesn’t defy the logic of the Kingdom. We think: “Under no circumstances must I allow myself to be cheated of what is my due.” These are the criteria for judging good and evil that instinctively lurks in all of us…in a dog-eat-dog world, I must NOT fall behind. But Jesus wants to change this way of thinking and way of living because it isn’t compatible with a kingdom where love rules. 

So, we have to change the context. The Kingdom of God is precisely that place of utter freedom and grace that no one can ever deserve. The reign of Christ is a life of pure gift poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit and uniting us, redeemed sinners (all of us!), into one single community of faith. 

I’d like to share with you this wonderful quotation from our favorite Gospel of Matthew scholar Father Simeon, to me this says it all:

“Why some arrive earlier and some later in the day, why some labor at this and some at that, why some appear to be more important than others, and, above all, why all nevertheless enjoy the same bliss: all of these questions that jar our calculating human logic must become submerged in the ocean of grace poured out over all of us.”

We are called to conversion of heart and to put on the mind of Christ. When we put on the mind of Christ, then we are already living in the Kingdom of God. So we have to change our instinctive private criteria so that we can embrace as our own Christ’s way of feeling, thinking and acting. This is how the peace of Christ will reign in our hearts.