St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia
Expectation is a double-edged sword. It can really enhance a great moment when we look forward to something with eager anticipation and our expectations are met or even exceeded. Think about the last time you looked forward to a movie that was coming out and, when you went, it blew you away and you walked away saying, that was as good or better than you expected. That gives us some joy, some satisfaction.
But, expectation can also be the greatest obstacle to happiness. Imagine going to a football game and expecting what you normally experience at a play. Or biting into a tofu burger when you expected beef. Or going to mass and expecting a pep rally. In each case, you are going to be disappointed. Not only will you not get what you were expecting, you will completely miss out on another kind of good thing, a different kind of happiness, a new form of joy – so it’s a double loss.
Yes, expectations are useful, but also dangerous. This parable features a vineyard owner who hires temporary workers to pick the grapes. Before dawn, he finds some workers and promises them a denarius, so let’s say $10 an hour. But, he needs more workers and so goes out looking 4 more times, but this time he only promises a “just” wage without specifying a number.
What ends up happening is that some guys work a 12-hour shift, while some work 9, 6, 3, and even one hour. Then comes payday and some bad expectations. Imagine if you spent 12 hours working for a rate of $10 an hour. If you knew that going in, you’d be standing line expecting to get paid $120. But then, the guys who worked one hour – one hour – are at the front of the line and you see them get $120. Now, $10 an hour isn’t the worst thing in the world, but $120 an hour is phenomenal. If you saw something like that, what would you expect to happen when the boss man got to you with a wad of cash in his hand?
That’s where these workers are at this moment, but, to their great dismay, the foreman only counts out $120. What would you do? If we’re honest, we’d probably say the same thing as these workers, “that’s not fair!” Unfazed and without missing a beat, the boss reminds the workers of the contract: $10 an hour, no lies or deceits here. You knew going in that was what I planned to pay you and that is what your expectationshould be. Justice and fairness have absolutely nothing, zilch, squat to say about a man choosing to give away extra money and this landowner reminds the workers of that.
He also asks an interesting question: “are you envious because I am generous?” In Greek, it literally says “is your eye evil because I am good?” The word “eye” is crucial because of what it implies. This landowner is good and generous, but envy has warped the perception of the workers. They have gotten their vision distorted and allowed their expectations to change. Now, they not only don’t have the satisfaction of getting paid a fair wage, but they are actually upset at getting paid justly and on time. Not only that, but they completely miss something much more valuable than a paycheck. Think about it. There are a few things about this story that don’t add up.
There are some strange details that are cluing us in, giving us a hint that the landowner is up to something other than find guys to pick grapes. Then there is the way he handles the payment. Why pay the last guys first? Surely, he would have realized that the 12-hour guys would be annoyed about him paying them so much. So why let them see? Why not pay the 12-hour guys first, let them walk away, and then pay the other guys? No fuss, no envy. No one has to know what anyone else makes. That’s what most companies do now. Why invite the trouble?
Why? Because he wants these men to see his generosity. He wants to challenge their expectations and to give them a chance to see the world in a different way. Instead of cold, hard calculations about justice, he wants them to see that these men need a daily wage to make a living. He wants them to see that the only reason they weren’t working all day is because they didn’t have the chance. He wants them to see that, even though the amount of work they do is different, they are equal in dignity.
This parable is not about the money. Jesus is not teaching business owners to pay everyone the same regardless of the work they do. This is a parable, a metaphorical way of teaching us a deeper truth about the kingdom of Heaven. The truth is, anyone who is working for God when they die will get eternal life. If you are super-saint for 70 years, you live forever in heaven. If you convert in the last 3.5 seconds of life, you live forever in heaven. Why? Because God is generous and merciful. We should be generous and merciful too.
But these men in the parable miss the lesson in generosity because they are blinded by false expectations. Be careful about your expectations. Sometimes, they are good, but far too often they are actually the problem. So, how do we manage our expectations then? Simple, don’t form expectations unless they are given to you by someone who is reliable and knows what they are talking about. We often form expectations based on the past. That works most of the time, but everything and everyone in this world is changing, so the future will sometimes be different from the past. If you form expectations based on the past, hold on to them only lightly and be ready to adjust them.
We often form expectations for no good reason, based on our imagination. Ask any priest and he’ll tell you; People come up with some bizarre expectations for weddings, funerals, or any number of other Church-related and even some non-Church-related things. They get mad and then never have the chance to experience what the Church does offer. A double loss.
Finally, we often form expectations because people tell us something. They might hype up a movie or talk up a particular food. If they’re exaggerating or lying, we’ll be disappointed. Sometimes people will tell us certain things about God or religion and we’ll believe them. They might be sincere, but far too often, they are simply wrong through ignorance or misunderstanding.
So, yes, we can and should have certain expectations about God and the Church. But, we should only form those expectations based on trustworthy and knowledgeable sources. Even priests and bishops lie and get things wrong, but that doesn’t mean nothing is true. I can tell you to expect this much: God is merciful and generous, expect him to be merciful and generous. His thoughts and ways are far above our own, so you should also expect his mercy, his generosity, and his love to shatter your expectations. Go to work for God in his vineyard, trust that he will not only be fair, but exorbitantly generous, and then, expect to be surprised… surprised by Love.
