Would you rather have a boss who was fair, or generous? I think many of us, given that choice, might opt for fair. Generosity is great, and we like generous people, but when it comes down to it that’s all a bit arbitrary. We’d rather know where we stand, and what to expect. Generosity is fine within limits, but we wouldn’t want to be dependent on someone’s generosity, and it can go too far - we speak of being generous “to a fault”, or worry that people might take advantage of someone’s generosity.
So we have a rather ambivalent attitude toward generosity it seems. As long as it doesn’t get out of hand it’s fine, but we need to keep it within reasonable bounds. When it comes to managing our affairs with other people this seems good to us. It’s important that we know what to expect, particularly when it comes to our income. We don’t want to be in a position where we’re dependent on someone’s whims as to what we get paid. Dependability, and fairness, are really important to us, and if it comes with the occasional bonus that’s great.
In dealing with “the affairs of this world”, as Scripture often puts it, that’s all very well. But today’s readings tell us that God doesn’t work that way. He really is a terrible boss - you never know what you’re going to get. Even worse, you never know what someone else is going to get. Do I get what I deserve? Do others get what they deserve? How can we operate in that world, a world where bad people just get forgiven, where I work hard to feed my family and someone else just gets handouts.
How we organize our society is down to us. How we balance fairness vs generosity, compassion vs retribution, my needs vs the needs of others. But Isaiah (55:6-9) and Jesus (Matt 20:1-16a) both warn us that God doesn’t work by this calculus - his ways are not our ways. God’s ways aren’t a model for how we design our pay scales or our welfare system. But when we do that we should bear in mind that God’s ways revolve around love and forgiveness. We cannot love or forgive as he does, but if we exclude that possibility from our relationships with other people, we risk excluding ourselves from a relationship with him.