TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
20 SEPTEMBER 2020
Those
who heard this parable from the mouth of Jesus must have sympathized with the
day laborers who had worked an entire 12 hour day under the hot sun. It is not fair that they receive the same pay
as those laborers who worked for only one hour.
And to be honest, we share that same sympathy today. How could any employer sustain a healthy work
force using these tactics? The answer is
simple: none!
And that is
exactly the point of the parable. As
Isaiah reminds his people, God’s ways are not our ways. The kingdom of heaven, which Jesus has been
proclaiming for weeks, is very different from the kingdom in which we currently
live. In the kingdom of heaven, the
essence of a person is not determined by how much he or she works or how much
he or she has earned. The essence of a
person is determined by the fact that God has made us in his image. God offers his grace, a generous share in his
life, not because we have earned it or deserved it. God invites everyone to respond. It does not matter to God when we respond to
that invitation – whether at the beginning of our lives, when we reach middle
age, or just before death.
The fact
that we are gathered in this church or participating on line indicates that we have
responded to the Lord’s call. We are
working to embrace the kingdom of heaven already present in our midst. We work to respect the dignity of all people,
unborn or born, rich or poor, whether they are immigrants or citizens, and
members of all races. As the Body of
Christ, we also work to be instruments of God’s gracious invitation for others
to embrace the kingdom of heaven and join us in this work.
Please
watch this video for the Annual Bishop’s Appeal. Our support of the Appeal assists Bishop Rhoades
and those who work with him in the work of evangelization, of spreading the
good news of the kingdom of heaven in our midst.
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