25th Sunday Ordinary Time September 24, 2023

Readings: Is 55:6-9;Phil 1:20-24,27; Matt 20:1-16a

In today’s gospel we hear of a harvest in which some workers put in more work than others. When pay time comes, they are all treated equally and the early birds among them begin to complain and grumble. Why do the workers in the vineyard complain and grumble whereas the workers in the family farm do not? The answer is simple. One group of workers is made up of family members and the other of unrelated individuals drawn from the wider society. The norms of behavior, of contribution and reward, in a family are different from those in the wider society. The big question that the parable poses to us in the church today is, “Do we see ourselves as family with a common purpose or do we see ourselves as a bunch of individuals, each with their own agenda? We call ourselves brothers and sisters. Why then do we often see and treat one another as rivals and competitors?

For the early-bird workers who ended up being reprimanded by the landowner it was all a business affair. Their working in the vineyard was preceded by a well spelt-out contract regarding their wages: a full day’s work for a full day’s pay. The latecomers were less legalistic in their approach. They took the job trusting in the landowner’s word of honor.

 God’s logic is different from ours, and so is His Divine Will from our finite and limited human will. We must always remember that GOD ALWAYS KNOWS MOST AND BEST if at times discouragement sets in due to unanswered prayers or to the presence of suffering and evil in the world which we see in our daily life. The attitude of a Christian must always be: LORD, I TRUST IN YOU! IF THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT, THEN THIS IS WHAT I WANT. MAY THY MOST HOLY WILL BE PRAISED AND GLORIFIED.

Fr. Terry.