Christ himself is the generous landowner in this parable, and the lesson he wants us to learn is that his generosity goes beyond even our widest comprehension. This is why in the First Reading God tells us “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways.” To pay these hired workers a full day’s wage for only a few hours of work is the epitome of generosity. There is no other reason for it; he does it simply because he is generous; he is deeply concerned about these men and capable of helping them. Palestine’s day laborers at that time had no steady work and no steady income. They were hired on a day-to-day basis. The workers still waiting to be given work late in the day were probably resigned to another hungry evening for themselves and their families. Only a man with a truly generous heart would take the trouble to put them to work with only an hour remaining till sundown. And only an extraordinarily generous man would pay them the full day’s wage! That’s Jesus. Jesus Christ is extraordinarily generous; the history of salvation is the story of his boundless giving. First, he gives life, then after original sin, he gives hope for salvation, then with the Incarnation he gives redemption, and finally, to those who faithfully work in his vineyard, he gives everlasting heavenly bliss. And it doesn’t stop there. Strictly speaking, we deserve none of those gifts. And yet, just as the landowner gave the laborers real work to do in his vineyard, even if the reward far outweighed the work, Christ too allows us to make a real contribution to the eternal happiness of ourselves through prayer, self-sacrifice, and service. Jesus Christ is a volcano of generous love.