In both our Old Testament and Gospel readings today, we hear of God’s amazing generous gift of grace toward sinful people. In the story of Jonah, it is the people of Nineveh, a great city, who are given the grace of God’s Word to call them to repentance. And repent they do! And this makes Jonah both angry and jealous. In a different way, Jesus tells a parable of workers who are called throughout a day to work in a vineyard. The owner of the vineyard is so gracious and generous that he pays those who work just one hour the same that he pays those who worked all day. And those who worked all day are angry and jealous. Like the thief on the cross to whom Jesus says “today you will be with me in paradise”, God is generous with his gift of saving grace. How do we respond? Are we too, sometimes jealous even though we have received such grace? [Pentecost 17]