Skip to main content

25th Sunday of Ordinary Time 2014

When we talk about the Sacrament of Penance, we generally think about what is right and what is wrong… what is a sin and what isn’t a sin.  But our readings for this coming Sunday don’t so much focus on what is right or wrong in God’s eyes, but rather on what is fair in God’s eyes.

The Word for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Isaiah 55:6-9
Psalm 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18
Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a
Matthew 20-1-16a

We open with a reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah… in this case, from the closing chapter of Deutero or “second” Isaiah.  This comes from a point in Israelite history where the people have been released from their Exile in Babylon.  The Lord has shown them great mercy and forgiveness, and freed them from exile.  But why?  They broke their covenant with God and they were punished.  Why now take them back?  By our human standards of fairness, this is difficult to understand.  Because, as the prophet tells us, for those who turn to the Lord, he is always near.  The people have changed their ways and turned back to the Lord.  God understands that we may find such mercy and forgiveness impossible, but he reminds us through Isaiah, “your ways are not my ways.”  Like a loving parent trying to teach a child, God is asking us to trust him on this.  Stay near and follow my example.  Our Psalm for this Sunday continues this theme as we sing “The Lord is near to all who call upon him.”

Our Gospel from Matthew continues on this theme of fairness and forgiveness.  In order to help us better understand God’s idea of fairness, Jesus, the master teacher, gives us the Parable of the Landowner.  At first reading, it seems easy to side with the laborers who were in the field all day.  If the landowner pays a full day’s wage to those who only worked a few hours, it only seems fair in our minds that those who worked longer should get even more.  But in order to truly grasp the impact of this teaching you need to dive deeper into the story and see the larger implications.  As a follower of Christ, our human sense of fair-play has to be completely put aside.  We need to recognize that our sense of what is fair is often coming from a place of selfishness  (I worked in the field all day, I deserve more).  God is saying, “no, you don’t”.  True love comes from a selfless place… putting others first.  As the parable suggests, we shouldn’t envious of God’s generosity.  Instead we should revel in it.  Not only does this parable speak well to the passage we read today in Isaiah, it’s teaching runs deep through the Gospels.  While this particular parable is unique to the Gospel of Matthew, its lessons can also be found in the familiar parable of the prodigal son (which is found only in Luke’s Gospel).

For our second reading we leave behind our long study of Paul’s letter to the Romans and turn to Paul’s letter to the Philippians.  In today’s passage Paul teaches us that our bodies are magnified by Christ, whether by life or by death.  But this creates a conundrum for Paul and causes him some lament.  He sees life with Christ, either here on earth or after death, to be a gain.  So which to choose?  As you read this passage it seems as Paul is longing for death… not surprising since he is sick and in prison.  Death would bring him closer to Christ, but yet he also sees that his continued work here on earth is a benefit and can also bring him close to Christ.  It is a challenge for him, and for us, but his final message is clear… we need to conduct ourselves in a way that is “worthy of the Gospel.”  Even the blessed Mother Theresa wrote of her moments where she felt God had abandoned her, but she, like Paul, continued to serve the Gospel.  It’s a reminder for us, that no matter  how we feel, we much continue to serve the Gospel… and if we do, as our Psalm reminds us, when we call, God will be near.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

25th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle A

For anyone who is a parent, or anyone who’s had to mediate a dispute among children, you likely have confronted the phrase “But that’s not fair!”  How many times in your life have you uttered that phrase?  Even as adults we have a tendency to equate “justice” with “fairness.”  But here’s the thing – what is “just” may not always be “fair,” and what is “fair” to one person may not always be “fair” to the other.  Our readings this week deal with just that problem, the difference between what we think is fair and what God thinks is both fair and just. The Word for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time Isaiah 55:6-9 Psalm 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18 Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a Matthew 20-1-16a We open with a reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah, in this case from the closing chapter of Deutero or “second” Isaiah.  This comes from a point in Israelite history where the people have been released from their Exile in Babylon.  The Lord has shown them great mercy and forgiveness by freeing them from th

3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle B

Our readings this week focus on a core theme that runs through Jesus’ ministry – repentance.  There is no sin so grave that cannot be forgiven with true contrition and a return to God.  This was the message that John the Baptist proclaimed, and the message Jesus continued to proclaim as he took up his own ministry.  This theme not only runs through the gospels but is one of the major themes that binds the entire Bible into a cohesive volume.   The Word for the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 Mark 1:14-20 Our first reading comes from the book of Jonah.  The story of Jonah is well known in both Jewish and Christian circles, yet for all its popularity, we only hear it in the Sunday Liturgy this once.  For this reason, many Catholics only have a passing familiarity with Jonah’s story.  They know his name and that he was swallowed by a large fish (or whale), but that’s about it.  In our passage this week, God asks Jonah to go through

33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle A

God the Father has endowed us with many gifts.  Not only does scripture recommend that we give thanks for these gifts (as in our readings from Proverbs and Psalms), but it recommends that these gifts must be put to use for the greater good and the love of God. The Word for the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 Matthew 25:14-30 or 25:14-15, 19-21 We open with a reading from the book of Proverbs.  This book falls within the category of “wisdom literature” in the Bible.  Like its other wisdom book counterparts, it is a collection of wise sayings used as a type of “catechism” to teach right living in the eyes of God.  Proverbs is thought to originate during the period of the Israelite monarchy but doesn’t reach its final form until the post-exilic period.  Our passage for this coming Sunday gives us the example of the value of a “worthy wife,” and how we should honor that value.  “Wisdom” in this period is considered mo