Two-Minute Reflection by Paul Jensen for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2023.
“Where in your life do you think things are unfair? Do you know the facts? Are you unfairly attributing negative intent to others?”
- Two-Minute Reflection Transcript
Two-Minute Reflection Transcript
Author: Archdiocese of Brisbane
While in Alice Springs recently on Monday the 7th of August, I went for a morning coffee to celebrate my birthday. The place was deserted. I finally found an open café and while I enjoyed my small long black with one extra shot, it cost $6.15! Ouch, I grumbled, unfair. I then remembered it was ‘picnic day’ a public holiday in the Northern Territory. This café was gracious enough to remain open and were applying a fair public holiday surcharge to the coffee. This fact changed my outlook. When we feel psychological discomfort, we often attribute negative intent to others, you know, ‘they’re being unfair’ without knowing the facts.Matthew’s parable has the workers employed at the beginning of the day grumbling that it was unfair of the landowner that those employed at the end of the day received the same pay as them. Now look, their concerns sound reasonable on face value, but they didn’t know the facts. Namely, that the landowner was very generous and fair and wanted full employment for all. So, the landowner negotiated the same daily wage independent of when the workers were employed. So, where in your life do you think things are unfair? So you know the facts? Are you unfairly attributing negative intent to others? Today’s readings remind us that God is extravagantly generous and fair to all. Knowing that, we’re encouraged then to gather the facts, humbly discern our responses before leaping to unnecessary judgement.