Those who say “it’s all about the journey” are only half right. The journey matters because we are going somewhere. If we want to get to the destination we desire — heaven and not hell — then the direction we travel makes all the difference in the world.

Whether we give our lives to Christ in infancy and never fall from grace, or experience a death-bed conversion after a lifetime of sin, salvation is a gift. This helps us to make sense of the parable of the workers in the vineyard we find in the gospel for this Sunday (Mt 20:1-16).

God has already forgiven all of our sins. He did that on the cross. It’s a done deal. We don’t need to earn His forgiveness. So why repent? Why go to confession? We do that in order to receive the benefit of God’s forgiveness, which is reconciliation.

Love means more than just getting along. Loving someone means being willing to tell them uncomfortable truths for their own good.

Does God ever deceive us? That question may enter into our minds this Sunday when we hear the prophet Jeremiah say, “You duped me, O Lord, and I let myself be duped” (Jer 20:7). It sounds like Jeremiah was being tricked or deceived, and that seems incompatible with the actions of a perfectly good and loving God.