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This is the third Sunday we have a parable set in a vineyard. Vineyards are places where both labor and love take place. Biblically speaking, vineyards are where you earn your keep by working hard, and they are places of romance and courting. Labour and love. These three last Sundays have given us stories of labour but not so much love. You may recall the parable from a couple of weeks ago of the vineyard owner who hired labourers at ...

As you just heard, the tax collectors and prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of us. If this was a parable to be taken literally, I would be encouraging you all to work for Revenue Canada or to don fishnet stocking and hang out on street corners. The underlying message, nonetheless, is to be taken seriously. Jesus is addressing the chief priests and the elders, those who are supposed to be doing it all correctly, yet find themselves at the back of the line. ...

There are two things to keep in mind when we try to grapple with this parable (Mt. 20:1-16).  Firstly, Matthew is writing for his faith community that is a mixture of Jewish Christians and Gentile (non-Jewish) Christians. The Jewish Christians know that their faith has come down to them through the centuries beginning with Abraham, Moses, and all the great prophets. It is a long-standing and rich relationship with God who selected them as the Chosen People. The Gentile Christians, by contrast, are seen as late-comers to the ...

In the first reading, the Book of Sirach poses a question to us, and I do not think it is just a rhetorical question. Does anyone harbour anger against another, and expect healing from the, Lord? The answer unfortunately, is: of course! I know lots of people, including myself, who want God’s healing mercy for themselves but who also want punishment for others. Our logic goes something like this: that person over there, by their sin, has crossed a line that I have not crossed. And ...