God Does Not Think the Way People Do.(Sermon/Homily for 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A 24th September 2023

God Does Not Think the Way People Do.(Sermon/Homily for 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A 24th September 2023

Isaiah 55:6-9. Psalm 145:2-3,8-9,17-18. Philippians 1:20c-24,27a. Matthew 20:1-16.

Theme: God Does Not Think the Way People Do.

The message of today's Gospel may confuse us. Looking at the Gospel from the human point of view, it appears that the owner of the vineyard was unjust, especially to those who were first invited to work in his vineyard. The first reading puts us on our guard against trying to pull God down to our level.

The prophet Isaiah tells us in the first reading, "For my thoughts are are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isa.55:8-9). God's thoughts are not our thoughts. But his thoughts are far from ours as heaven is far from the earth.

In today's Gospel, Jesus told his disciples the parable of the vineyard. In Palestine, it was customary for workers to assemble at daybreak in the squares of cities and towns, where farmers and vine growers would hire them for a day's work. The hours of the day mentioned in the parable would equal 6 a.m., 9 a.m., and 2 noon, 3 p.m., and 5 p.m. Work ended at 6 p.m.

He made a contract with the first men he hired at 6 a.m. to work the full day for a denarius. This was the standard wage at the time. The workers who came after 6 a.m. did not demand a contract (they could not, as part of the day was gone), but the hirer promised them a just wage.

The hirer told his steward to call the workers together and to pay first the ones who had worked for only one hour. This was done so that the full-day workers would see those who had worked only one hour getting a full day's pay. Had they themselves been paid first, they would have gone off and not noticed what happened. They felt they should get twelve denarii if those who had worked only one hour got a denarius. The hirer shows there is no injustice. They got their full day's pay as agreed upon. If he gave a full day's pay to those who hadn't worked a full day, this simply was generosity on his part. The money was his to do with as he pleased. He was not unjust to those who grumbled. Hence, he said to them, "Take what belongs to you, and go; I choose to give to this last as I give to you.l Am I not allowed to do what plI choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge me for my generosity?" (Matt.20:14-15).

While those who worked for a reward in today's Gospel got disappointed, St. Paul, in the second reading, did not work for a reward. Even though he knew that he had worked harder than anybody else (1 Cor.15:10). His reward was the ability to love what God gave him, and that is all that mattered to him. He tells us, "Christ will be honoured in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Phil.1:20).

God's ways are not ours. The Lord does not mean the parable in today's Gospel in labour relations. He wants us to understand that his grace is a pure gift. No one is worthy of his graces. Whoever is called to follow Christ as a youth does not, thereby enjoy precedence over someone called during maturity or in life's final moments. People who are near death should not think it is too late to follow our Lord. The day's wages for every person are God's graces. That gift will always be infinitely greater than whatever anyone has done in life. The greatness of God's plans for us is always superior to our short-range, human designs. Hence, our Lord concludes, "So the last will be the first, and the first last" (Matt.20:16).

Concerning work, our Lord becomes very concerned when He realises that we are idle. We are created to be productive; that is who we are. When we do not engage in something positive, the devil engages our minds and eventually influences our actions. Hence, the Lord is always trying to get each person engaged to be productive in his vineyard, living an ideal (productive) life, not an idle life.

May God engage us in his work of evangelization and reward us with the gift of eternal life through Christ our Lord. Amen.