Fr. Jorge Miró shares with Exaudi readers his commentary on the  Gospel of Sunday, September 20, 2026,  entitled, “Are you going to be envious because I am good?”.

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The Word of God  we proclaim today  presents us  with a perplexing parable: that of the laborers in the vineyard.  Perplexing, because  it breaks with our logic.  That is why the first reading began with this verse from Isaiah, which we must continually remember: “  My ways are not your ways, neither are your thoughts my thoughts.”  The Lord’s logic is not like ours.

The Lord’s logic is the logic of  grace ; ours is the logic of meritocracy: we have to earn everything, we have to “buy” everything, because that’s how we’re used to living in the world. Everything has to be earned. Everything has to be bought with money, or with effort, or with whatever.

It is an invitation to conversion, to move from the logic of  merit to the logic of  gratuity , which is the secret of the Kingdom of God.

In being Christian,  everything is  a gift  from the Lord, who loves you;  everything is  grace  that precedes man,  everything is a work that the Lord, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, must do in you .

And that  you  must welcome . It may seem like little, but it is not.

It is recognizing  that everything  you have and everything you are  has been  freely given, and  that the true protagonist  is not you , but the Lord. It is recognizing  that God’s method is  humility : to reach heaven is  by descending .

The  central message  is encapsulated in the Lord’s response:  Are you going to be envious because I am good?

And the other key to the parable is that the Lord says to the laborers:  go also into my vineyard and  I will pay you what is owed .

And what is owed?  What does God owe you and me?  Well, nothing, He owes us nothing.  Elsewhere in the Gospel, Jesus says: “  When you return from work, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty .’” Living in gratitude is key to the Christian life.

The opposite is to live in Pharisaism. Pharisaism takes its toll on God.

God  loves you and invites you to live life as a love story with Him.  Then,  instead   of the envy of the resentful,  the gratitude of the one in love  who has received far more than they could have hoped for will spring from your heart .

Come Holy Spirit!  (cf. _ Lk_  11, 13).