Rev Jean Gilberte, Deacon
In the parable of the land owner who paid the same wages for someone who worked probably 12 hours and the other only 1 hour. I use to think how unfair that was. But the land owner thought it to be totally fair especially when every worker had agreed to work for the wages that was told to them. Jealousy set in, didn’t it? Then the person who worked more hours for the same pay started to feel that he was cheated out of more money.
Jesus would tell us that circumstances are not always fair, life is not always fair. Who decides if something is fair or not? Is it our neighbor, is it us, is it God? So who makes that decision? How do we live in a world that seems not always fair? If Jesus came today, he would advise us to love ourselves and by doing that, we would find justice and fairness and be treated well. For if we deny ourselves self-love, others will not treat us fairly because we do not treat ourselves with fairness. Jesus spent his life teaching everyone self-love for that was how he lived. By loving who he was while on earth, he was able to love all. Jesus lived by example. He would ask us how do we see ourselves? Is it with love and tenderness or with harshness and not thinking we are deserving. If we do not see ourselves as deserving then injustice will come our way.
We are told to honor ourselves as God honors us and to care for ourselves. If we can do that, then we won’t care what people say or do. If we don’t care about ourselves, we might find ourselves to be in a state of anger, or lack understanding. We might be living a life of
sadness, unhappiness. But if we treat ourselves well, we will reap all the just rewards. Can you imagine a world where everyone loved themselves and wanted the same for all. It would be a world filled with peace.
Jesus came to let all people know that God loves us, hears our cries for help. Jesus would say that God’s world is just. Make choices; make positive choices with God in our heart and soul. That is where the help comes from. Jesus again would say, “change our attitude’ and see all the miracles that’ll come forth because of that change.
At the end of Jesus’ parable, it said “the last will be first and the first will be last”
I will explain it this way as it was explained to me:
There was a man huddled in a corner and there were other people all around him. He is first in line to get food but because he didn’t feel he deserved the food (sounds as if he had very low self-esteem) he hid in a corner letting everyone go before him. Because of the lack of self-love, he did get to the place early but ended up eating last. He placed himself last God did not do that nor anyone else. We are all deserving of first place as we are all first in the eyes of God.
God’s message; Jesus’ message is always the same, for over 2000 years and for the next 2000 years, “love ourselves as God loves us.” Then, peace will exist throughout the world. How beautiful will that be.
God bless all of you.