Today’s first reading is Isaiah 55:6-9:
6 Seek ye the Lord, while he may be found: call upon him, while he is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unjust man his thoughts, and let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God: for he is bountiful to forgive. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are my ways exalted above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts.
Recently, several Protestants have sent me messages stating:
“Bread and wine cannot become flesh and blood.”
“The Catholic Church is lying to you. Saints cannot hear our prayers.”
“Jesus did not mean it when He told them to forgive sins. Men cannot forgive sins.”
“Mary could not be born without original sin because the Bible says all have sinned.”
“You don’t have to be baptized to be saved.”
“There was no official organized church in the New Testament.”
“Jesus was the son of God, but not God.”
“The pope has no authority and is an agent of Satan.”
“Christians are bound by the same dietary and sabbath laws as the Jews.”
“True Christians must obey all of the laws of Moses.”
Consider today’s Gospel:
Matthew 20:1-16
1 The kingdom of heaven is like to an householder, who went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. 2 And having agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing in the market place idle. 4 And he said to them: Go you also into my vineyard, and I will give you what shall be just. 5 And they went their way. And again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did in like manner.
6 But about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing, and he saith to them: Why stand you here all the day idle? 7 They say to him: Because no man hath hired us. He saith to them: Go you also into my vineyard. 8 And when evening was come, the lord of the vineyard saith to his steward: Call the labourers and pay them their hire, beginning from the last even to the first. 9 When therefore they were come, that came about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. 10 But when the first also came, they thought that they should receive more: and they also received every man a penny.
11 And receiving it they murmured against the master of the house, 12 Saying: These last have worked but one hour, and thou hast made them equal to us, that have borne the burden of the day and the heats. 13 But he answering said to one of them: Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst thou not agree with me for a penny? 14 Take what is thine, and go thy way: I will also give to this last even as to thee. 15 Or, is it not lawful for me to do what I will? is thy eye evil, because I am good?
16 So shall the last be first, and the first last.
The Douay Rheims explains:
[15] “What I will”: Viz., with my own, and in matters that depend on my own bounty.
Why would I compare these two verses? Because today’s Gospel is very hard to understand in human terms. It seems exceedingly unfair. That those who had labored all day would be paid the same as those who had barely worked an hour offends our human sensibilities. Yet, we know that God is fair and just. As the Douay Rheims mentions, it is all His and and He can do with it as He pleases. To put it more simply God can do whatever He wants. He could give to the gentiles the salvation He promised to the Jews without demanding of Christians that they follow Jewish law. He could give power to the Apostles, and through them to priests today, to turn bread and wine into His flesh and blood, to forgive sins, etc. He can grant eternal life to the saints and enable them to hear our prayers. He can also demand that we be Baptized to be saved. We don’t have to understand or even like it. If we could fully understand God, He would not be God!
Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, A Daily Catholic Devotional, Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings July - December, 2026 It is Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GRGY1D15
A Daily Catholic Devotional, Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings January - June, 2026 It is also available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GDK16N45
and
Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK
His podcast is The Uncensored Catholic https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-uncensored-catholic