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📅 20 September 2026 | 👤 Fr Jackson D'Souza SJ
My dear friends,
Today the whole theme of our homily will revolve around two words: Call and Comparison.
I would like to begin with a small incident I witnessed during one of my visits. A father gifted two bicycles to his two sons. To the elder son, who was bigger, he gave a bigger bicycle. To the younger son, who was smaller, he gave a smaller bicycle. Initially, the younger son was very happy with his cycle. He was riding it joyfully. But the moment he saw his elder brother’s bigger cycle, his joy disappeared. He started grumbling, complaining, and desiring his brother’s cycle.
Now, the father knew very well what he was doing. He had given each son a cycle according to his capacity, according to his size and strength. The bigger cycle would not have been safe or comfortable for the younger one.
Is this not what happens in our own lives too? And is this not exactly what the readings of today are telling us?
We desire something, we want something, we aspire for something. But what we desire may not be fitting for us, according to God’s plan. As the Prophet Isaiah says so beautifully, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord.” (Is 55:8)
When we are called to serve in the vineyard of the Lord, in the Church, God calls us and gives us what is necessary for our mission. But we often spoil our happiness and our vocation by comparing.
This leads to the second reading, the Letter to the Philippians. St. Paul says, “Whether we live, we live for the Lord, and whether we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”(Phil 1:21)
Paul is not comparing his mission with others. His only focus is Christ. Whether in life or in death, Christ must be glorified. What a beautiful attitude!
We see this same spirit in the life of St. Ignatius of Loyola. He deeply desired to remain in Jerusalem and serve the Lord there. It was his personal dream, his holy desire. But the Lord pulled him out from there. God’s plan was different. Because he surrendered his own desire and accepted God’s call, he went on to establish the Society of Jesus. He gave prominence not to his own will, but to Christ. And so, whether he lived or died, the work of the Lord continued, the work of Christ continued, and Christ was glorified through him.
This is the grace of a true vocation - to accept what God gives and to be content in it.
And finally, we come to the Gospel, the beautiful parable of the vineyard owner. What do we notice?
The owner goes out repeatedly - early morning, at nine, at noon, at three, and even at five in the evening. He goes out personally and calls each labourer individually. He is not sitting at home and calling; he goes in search of them. This is our God. He comes in search of us. Every call is personal. Every call is filled with dignity.
And all of them agree to a wage and go to work. Initially, everyone is happy. They are happy to be called, happy to work, happy with the promised wage.
But what happens at the end of the day? They start comparing. Those who came first see that those who came last received the same wage. And their joy turns into grumbling. They begin to begrudge the generosity of the owner.
But the owner is very clear and very just. He says, “My friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. Why are you envious because I am generous?”
The lesson is profound. The problem was not with the wage. The wage was just and as agreed. The problem was comparison.
Comparison stole their joy. Comparison made them forget the dignity of being called in the first place.
God’s generosity cannot be measured by our human calculations. He gives not according to our hours, but according to His love. He gives not according to our merit, but according to His mercy.
Let us ask ourselves: Are we happy with the call we have received? Are we happy with the cycle God has given us according to our capacity? Or are we constantly looking at our brother’s cycle and grumbling?
Let us pray for the grace to accept our invitation with joy, to do our work faithfully without comparison, and to rejoice in the generosity of God.
Amen.
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