The Bells of St. Mary’s
The Church of the Immaculate Conception
Twenty – Fifth Sunday In Ordinary Time September 20, 2020
From Rev. Fr. Anthony Ekanem, MSP
It is unfair
We hear this very often, 'this is not fair,' especially when things do not go the way we expected. Sometimes we wonder why, get upset and even question why life is very fair.
The story of the workers in the Vineyard seems to us very unfair when we listen to how the master treated those who came last. This Gospel from Matthew 20:1-16, causes most people, whoever has had to work for a living, a little bit of upset. And rightly so. The generosity of God portrayed in the story goes beyond our human standard. It supports what the prophet Isaiah says about our Lord's mercy in the first reading: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts about your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9). Just notice how vast the difference between God's ways and our ways, between God's thoughts and our thoughts, illustrates in the Gospel that our God's generosity utterly transcends human generosity.
Today, we hear a fantastic parable of the landowner who hires workers for his Vineyard throughout the day, some at sunrise, some just before evening. What are our reactions? "Are you envious because I am generous?" This parable was aimed at the Pharisees. These legalistically minded men were critical of Jesus because He befriended sinners and outcasts. The moral lesson in this story is that Jesus faces up to His critics and shows them what God is like: God is generous and full of compassion for the poor and the outcast. In that respect, the parable is similar to that of the prodigal son.
Note, we are those workers who are called to follow Christ into the fields and make disciples of all nations. We may have been privileged to be called at an early age, middle age, or old. The question now is, why are we upset at the master's choice of payment?
As Christians, we are all called to this mission. To use the words of St Paul and Isaiah, may we magnify Christ in our bodies (Philippians 1:20) as we call upon the Lord in our midst.
Please take a look at how Jesus flips our expectations of success upside down in the parable. When the Lord rewards his team, he values more than outer appearance. Jesus prizes the heart. He is open-handed with the late - bloomers. Indeed, God's ways are not our ways.
Also, note that the prophet's opening statement is "Seek the Lord while He may be found, call Him while He is near." (Isaiah 55:6). The eleventh - hour people in Jesus' story were not idlers. They waited there and wanted to work. But it was just that nobody had hired them. Imagine how they felt as the day drew to a close. They felt rejected, useless, hopeless. The idea that any employer would care to take these people on at the eleventh hour, and pay them a full day's wage, was unthinkable. Yet this is what the owner of the Vineyard did. Here is the main point of the parable.
How does that influence the way that you feel about the marginalized?