25th Sunday A
GOD’S WAYS ARE HIGHER
My dear friends in Christ, when you walk out of the house and look to the sky, it seems so far away, if you look across the ocean, it seems endless, if God is that far away, access to him will be near impossible at least for most people. Yet, God says, that is how far his ways and thoughts are from ours. However, he assures us that he is near as the prophet reveals. In Christ, we have been introduced into God's thought and ways. This is why Christianity is focused on the life of Christ, as the model for us all. He came to live with us, as the Word of God, in order to make us into sons and daughters of God. He teaches us therefore, to go beyond the ways of the world and to rise to the level of the Sons and Daughters of God.
First reading (Isaiah 55:6-9)
This passage written in the time of exile in Babylon, focuses on the coming liberation of the people of Israel and the glorious fulfilment of God’s promises, in line with the entire message of Deutero-Isaiah (Chapters 40-55), often referred to as the Book of Comfort. Isaiah in this short passage invites the people to seek the Lord who has come near. Though they cannot go up to the Temple, the place of God’s abode in their midst, God is ever near, even in their land of exile, suffering and oppression. Isaiah exhorts the people to turn to the Lord. “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts.” The prophet sees this metanoia as an invitation to the mercy of God, which abounds in abundant measures. He knows with certainty that God will ‘abundantly pardon.’ Isaiah then introduces a second voice, here God speaks, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways… For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” This is a very encouraging message from the Lord. There are times when the sinner thinks that turning back and returning to God might entail punishments, as we find in human justice, this passage however assures of the willingness of God to readily pardon sins. God’s justice is not the same as human justice. This is where the gracious behaviour of the vineyard owner in the gospel comes to play.
Second reading (Philippians 1:20-24.27)
In this passage, Paul the Apostle to the Gentiles, expresses his absolute surrender to the will of God for him. He says, “Christ will be honoured in my body, whether by life or by death.” One may just go into Paul’s prison to understand why this is true. He is more than an ascetic. Going by his experiences, he may have had a little more time to reflect on the troubles he had gone through, in the proclamation of the Gospel and to look again and again at the marks left on his skin by the brutality shown him in the many times he had been flogged and the scars sustained from the shipwrecks and near death experiences he had gone through for Christ. He bears these patiently as ‘marks of honour,’ just like a soldier is proud to wear his medals. That Christ will be honoured in his body is therefore a statement of total dedication to furthering the glory of the Lord no matter what it takes.
There is however a dilemma thrown up in his mind, while he wishes to work on as an Apostle which he calls, “To live is Christ,” he considers death as a gain, “To die is gain,” as that will bring him to his reward— the longed-for meeting with the Lord face to face in the new kingdom. Rather than make a choice, Paul leaves the choice to God. He knows that to remain in the flesh as an Apostle is more necessary for the sake of the flock, but if it were to be for himself, “My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.” He makes one more appeal, “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ.” In Paul we find an Apostle who thinks in the way of God, one who allows the Lord to determine his life. Like Jesus is the garden, this is an example of total abandonment to the will of the Father, “Let your will be done.”
Gospel (Matthew 20:1-16)
The African Bible gives this parable the title, “The Kingdom is a Gift.” This no doubt captures the generosity of the Vineyard owner but more importantly the generosity of God who gives us the kingdom gratuitously.
The parable opens with “The kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard.” This is a common thing in a farming environment in the planting and harvesting season but particularly when it comes to harvesting perishable goods like grapes from the vine. At such a time, the landowner might have to hire more hands when he sees that those in the farm may not be able to finish the job in time, to avoid the grapes wasting away. This of course may not be as frequent as used in the parable. This farmer had an agreement with those who were hired in the early hours of the day, about 6.00am for a day’s wage—1 denarius each— and sent them off to his farm. But while the job was going on, he kept returning to hire more hands at 9.00am, 12.00 noon, 3.00pm and then just before the close of work by 5.00pm. Up to this stage, no one complained and no one saw anything wrong with what the land owner had done till the close of work by 6.00pm.
The conversation between the land owner and those who were hired by 5.00pm calls us to reflection, “Why do you stand here idle all day?” “Because no one has hired us.” They were not there because they were not willing to work but because there was no one to hire them. The land owner knew like anyone else, that it will be difficult for them to survive the next day with their families without a job today, as many labourers survive day by day on what they earned. He therefore showed pity by hiring them even at the eleventh hour.
Its now time to pay and the landowner instructed that payment begins from the last comers and still, there was nothing wrong and no one complained. The late comers were paid a day’s wage, so also were those who came by 3.00pm and 12.00 noon and 9.00am. There was still no complain. Those who came early then expected that they will get more if those who did only one hour job got a day’s wage, they were wrong, they got the same amount—a day’s wage. For that reason, they grumbled at the landowner, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” They were just being human. May be they would not have complained if they didn't know how much the other guys were paid. But God’s gifts are usually in the open. It is not uncommon to see people who mistaken the gratuitousness of God to others as injustice. But the truth of the parable is seen in the reply of the vineyard owner who said, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong, did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go…Am I not to do what I choose with what belongs to me?”
Those who grumbled saw only their own pains of working throughout the heat of the day, yet the vineyard owner saw beyond their immediate pains to the pains of their fellow workers who, if left without work or pay, will also affect their dependants. He chose to be generous, they cannot claim to have earned a day’s wage because they came at the late hour. This is grace at work. The grumblers remind us of how difficult it can be sometimes to understand the justice of God—a justice that is always tempered with mercy. We can feel envious of the good fortune of others and say, “It’s unfair, they do not deserve it.” We might even take the path of the elder brother in the story of the prodigal son who will not rejoice at the return of his brother and was angry his father was throwing a party in his honour. How are we different from non-believers if we stoop that low?
Israel is often seen as the vineyard of the LORD, (cf. Isaiah 5; Psalm 80:9ff.)and if this parable is seen from that perspective, those who are sent to harvest as Apostles and missionaries must also learn that their reward is the same. We are destined for the same reward the Apostles got for preaching the good news. Faithfulness to the time of reward is important. Those who have practised the faith for many years and those who have just come into the faith now, are destined for the same reward. It’s a matter of Grace. The hymn “Amazing Grace,” was written by a man John Newton, who had been a slave trader and had been involved in the inhuman treatment of his fellowmen, he later became the servant of a slave trader where he also got the treatment of a slave, after his rescue, his journey home on the sea encountered a terrible storm that almost sank his ship until he called out to the Lord; he described himself as a wretch who deserved nothing but punishment but found pardon with God who raised him to a position of trust.
We live in a society where people are priced and payed what they are worth. We often rate people according to what they have or own too. But with God, people get even what they do not deserve, that is why it is GRACE and not MERIT. We have come to God now, let us open ourselves to his mercy. We really do not deserve most of what we get from God. May the Lord not treat us according to our sins. Let us be generous towards others as well. Let your love flow to all just as the heavenly Father causes his sun to shine on good and bad alike.
May the Lord bless you abundantly by opening His channel of Grace to you. May He give you a generous heart in your dealings with others. Amen. May the Almighty God bless you, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen
Have a wonderful week.
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