Fairness

A priest called his sister for a chat. She was in the midst
of feeding lunch to the kids, and he could hear all of the normal
sounds of children eating lunch in the background. Suddenly, a huge
squabble broke out and the priest could hear his two nephews
shouting at each other and their mother: “That’s no fair! You have
more cake than me!” “That’s because I cleaned my room better than
you did!” “That doesn’t matter! Mom! David got more cake than
me!”
It sounded as if the melee would come to blows. Mom
intervened very quickly, taking away dessert from both of them and
sending both of them to their rooms to the joined shouts, “That’s not
fair!”
We spend a lot of time concerning ourselves with what we
believe to be fair in life. We are quick to demand our “fair” share of
things. Unfortunately, in our quest to have at least as much cake as
our brother, we end up ruining fairness for everyone. Christ calls us
to embrace the vision of the generous vineyard owner in this
weekend’s Gospel. He calls us to rejoice in the good fortune of
others, and their being enabled to realize their dreams, instead of
lamenting our own losses and slights. Frankly, God’s sense of
generosity, love and forgiveness strikes us with an extravagance that
offends our own sense of “fairness.”
Trusting in the goodness of God actually frees us from what our
time clocks, scales, yardsticks and computer print-outs determine for
us as being “fair.” It also enables us to realize all that we have
received and how much God has truly blessed us. Thus, it compels
us to experience the true joy of sharing our treasure with all those
who have not realized such blessings in their lives! Besides this, God
loves all of us equally. The challenge for each of us is to embrace
with love the particularity of our lives. God, help us to stop
comparing ourselves to others, so that we may recognize the
uniqueness You so love!