Black and white

A PANDA was overheard telling a tourist: "All right, you may take my picture, but I want it in black and white."

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In today's Gospel (Mt. 20, 1-16), we hear of the laborers who grumbled over the equal payment their landowner paid each one of them at the end of the day, regardless of whether they worked for 10 hours or 1 hour only. They demanded that everything be black and white. From the human point of view, the landowner was unfair. Yes, we look around us, and we often feel that God is unfair. Why does evil seem to prosper, and the good seem to suffer? Why do we not win our battles when we are so sincere? Why is it taking so long for our worthy causes to succeed? These questions and complaints are valid, but we must remember that, with God, we can only plead, not dictate.

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I am reminded of the story about a man who, when he saw his friend from afar, called out to him in a loud voice. After someone gave him a set of binoculars, he began whispering his friend's name. In our younger and stronger days, perhaps, we may have often shouted at God and even cursed Him; but in our mellow years, especially when we are near the end, we can only look at Him, pleading for mercy and asking for forgiveness for the times we thought we knew more and cared more than He did. As we experience trials, disappointments, failures and setbacks, may we not forget that God is not plain black and white. He is that, but He is much more than that. Let us not dictate to God the limits of our eyesight. He sees more, much more than meets the human eye.

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As far as today's Gospel story is concerned, we do not see a black and white but a multicolored picture: yellow is the color of the idle laborers; blue is the color of those who grumbled at the landowner's manner of compensating them for their labor; red is the color of those who got angry at the landowner; green is the color of the envious laborers; and, of course, gold is the color of the generous landowner. What is your color? And what is your true color in the problems that confront us today?

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The parable about the landowner should remind us to be grateful. That we were hired at all, that He made us a part of His life, His work and His plans, all these are gratuitous and generous acts of God. The problem comes when we begin to focus on what we deserve, what we have earned and what is ours by right. On the human level, these questions are a must, but on the divine level, these questions must be replaced by trust.

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Trust is so important, especially in a world that has become so cruel and unjust. As much as possible, without surrender, we must continue to believe that there is a just God who will punish the evildoers and will reward the good. But believing this, we must go one step further by believing that this just God is also a loving and merciful God. Whew! Boy, it is not easy to understand the ways of God! No wonder, many refuse to follow His way and His leadings. Again, the key word is trust. If we have not learned to trust God, we have not really learned much in life.

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I admire people who are very organized and who get things done by sheer hard work and talent. But I admire more such people who always leave room for the divine in their achievements and plans. As we work for the good of the earth, for social justice among peoples, and for the spread of the Gospel, let us not forget God the beginning, the sustenance, and the end of all these human endeavors. If we leave out the divine, we may become proud, and if we are proud, we may become discouraged by failures and delays, or worse, we may become angry, bitter, vain and empty.

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"Ora et labora." Pray and work. This is what the organizing committee headed by Ella Sanchez followed to make "A Day of Healing with Jesus Through Mary" at the Ultra last Sept. 11 truly a success. There are two adjectives that best describe the group: corporate and desperate. Shouldn't we all be corporate in the sense that we leave no stones unturned by our hard work and talents, but also desperate, that we need to cooperate with each other and continuously storm the heavens with our prayers? Some 6,000 people went home that day, filled with healing and hope, so blessed by the presence of the Korean visionary Julia Kim, and super blessed by the presence of Jesus, the greatest healer in the Eucharist.

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A word of thanks, too, goes to Fr. Ondoy Espuelas, SVD, the different organizations and the Gothong family who made the "healing Mass" possible at the Sacred Heart Parish, Cebu City last Sept. 12. Yes, we can achieve a lot, and make our Father in heaven smile above if we learn to cooperate, work corporate, and pray desperate.

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Inviting you for the "Walk with God" to Manaoag on Oct. 8, starting at 6 a.m. from Urdaneta, Pangasinan.

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Inviting you to a pilgrimage to Naju, Korea Nov. 9 to 14. For particulars, please call +63 2 913 0388/911 1394/+63 9212 866810.

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A moment with the Lord:

Lord, help me to learn how to cooperate, how to work corporate, and how to pray desperate. Amen.

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