I don’t suppose I am alone in initially reacting to this story with a puzzled sense of outrage at its apparent injustice. The landowner hires workers for his vineyard at intervals throughout the long day, finding them idle in the market place because no one has offered them work. With the first hired at dawn, he agrees to pay the usual daily wage. With those hired three hours later, he promises to pay what is just. Those hired last of all had barely worked an hour but received the same pay.

Haven’t we all wondered if the parable of the landowner is a story about the Lord, why was the Lord so unfair? But in reality he had not broken any promises he had simply been extraordinarily generous to those who have not worked for him very long. Then one day it dawned on me that I was one of the recipients of that extraordinary generosity. The parable of working in the landowner’s vineyard surely stood for being one of Jesus’ followers in our world. Having lost my faith in student days, I had been “idle” for 25 years before a sense of incompleteness and the example of a friend led me back into the vineyard of Jesus Christ. I was nearly 50 when I became a member of the Catholic Church. It’s about me, I suddenly realised. That generosity – it’s what he’s done for me! He offers me the same gifts, of his love, of his Spirit, of his promise of resurrection, of seeing him face to face in heaven – the same gifts as he gives to those who have known him all their lives. Praise him!

He does not, I realised, measure out his love according to our deserts – it is not his nature. Nor is it in our power to be deserving of more love than anyone else. What a mean and calculating way of thinking, our human reckoning suddenly seems to be, beside the absolute and unconditional love of God! Indeed his ways are not our ways.

Kathleen Shann has found healing and consolation from the Lord in the scriptures.

Many years ago I was deeply depressed. I was sick and overworked and had no friends and no one to talk to. I felt worthless and it seemed that no one cared. I had a large family to look after so there was nothing I could do but keep plodding along. I kept praying to the Lord to help me, remembering always that Jesus suffered loneliness and exhaustion on the cross. One day while praying the Lord gave me the following passage which really helped me.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? As it is written, “For thy sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35ff)

Another time I received a passage of scripture which reminded me of my grandmother’s advice “count your blessings”. She also brought up a large family in difficult circumstances.

Finally, bretheren, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you.. I can do all things in him who strengthens me.”
(Philippians 4:8-10, 13)

By the grace of God, all these problems are in the past for me and I now have many friends and have learned to trust God and know my own weaknesses.

Judy Fox from Henley remembers when the Lord used Psalm 131 to speak to her.

I was in tears as I felt my daughter in law was being too bossy. I ran down the street crying out to God and praying. That night I was falling into a worried sleep. And these numbers came into my head – 131. The next morning I looked up psalm 131. “I hold myself in quiet and silence like a little child in its mother’s arms, like a little child so I keep myself” (ps 131.2). In my words this was “Shut up and trust God”. It was amazing how the numbers 131 were shining out in my head and I knew as I read the psalm that it was definitely for me!

Margaret’s whole spiritual life was changed by a passage from Ezekiel

As a life-long Catholic, I went to Mass every week and mumbled a few prayers most days as a kind of insurance policy. However, this had little impact on my every day life and although I believed in God, I was sure he was only interested in the “good guys” and I certainly was not one of them.

Although I was materially comfortable, my life was actually pretty empty. I felt dead inside, as though I had a stone where my heart should be which prevented me from really loving my family. I was astonished one Sunday at Mass to hear: “I will take away their hearts of stone and give them hearts of flesh” (Ezek 36:26). I began to pray in earnest and on the 17th February 1985, whilst praying at home, I had a powerful inner vision of Heaven. I sensed the presence of Jesus and heard these words, “This is your Father and he loves you.” For the first time I knew without doubt that God is real and that he truly does love me just as I am and I don’t need to “earn” his love. There and then I asked Jesus to take charge of my life as I had made a mess of it so far. I started to read my bible every day and developed a hunger for prayer and the things of God.

God’s word says, “Does not my word burn like fire.. is it not like a hammer shattering a rock?” God’s Word certainly shattered the hard shell that surrounded my heart and brought me new life and healing. Scripture is always fresh like the manna God sent daily to Moses and the people in the desert. Just recently I noticed for the first time, the beautiful words in Psalm 107:19-20 “Then they called to the Lord in their trouble and he rescued them… sending his word and healing them.. In addition to changing us, scripture has the power to heal us also. I know now that God desires a living relationship with us, and in addition to the sacraments, scripture reading forms an essential part of my prayer life if I am to hear what God wants to say to me.