Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Catechism Links [1]

 
CCC 210-211: God of mercy and piety
CCC 588-589: Jesus identifies his compassion to sinners with God’s

“Parable of The Laborers In The Vineyard”
By Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn 1637

Readings for Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary: [4]
 
Reading 1: Isaiah 55:6-9
 
Seek the Lord while he may be found,
call him while he is near.
Let the scoundrel forsake his way,
and the wicked his thoughts;
let him turn to the Lord for mercy;
to our God, who is generous in forgiving.
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 above your thoughts.
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Commentary on Is 55:6-9
 
This passage begins with an exhortation to seek the Lord through prayer (call him while he is near), and to repent from sinful ways, asking for God's forgiveness.  The author captures the perfection of God's thoughts (and of Christ's actions prophetically), expressing the perfection of God contrasted with the fallen and sinful nature of mankind. The passage is taken from what is known as “Deutero-Isaiah,” that part written after the Babylonian exile. Using words common to the Old Testament (see Amos 5:4, and Psalm 9:11), the prophet exhorts the people to return to God. The essential paradox of God’s presence is explained: “God is transcendent yet near enough to help; man is helpless yet expected to act energetically, the ways of God are exalted yet required of man.” [5]
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18
 
R. (18a) The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The Lord is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

The Lord is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The Lord is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The Lord is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

The Lord is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The Lord is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
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Commentary on Ps 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18
 
Psalm 145 is a hymn of praise and thanksgiving. The psalmist echoes the exhortation in Isaiah 55:6, to seek the Lord actively in the final strophe “The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.”
 
CCC: Ps 145:3 300; Ps 145:9 295, 342
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Reading II: Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a
 
Brothers and sisters:
Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.
For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.
If I go on living in the flesh,
that means fruitful labor for me.
And I do not know which I shall choose.
I am caught between the two.
I long to depart this life and be with Christ,
for that is far better.
Yet that I remain in the flesh
is more necessary for your benefit.
Only, conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ.
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Commentary on Phil 1:20c-24, 27a
 
St. Paul writes to the church at Philippi during his imprisonment somewhere, in danger of death. In these verses he contemplates his own martyrdom. While death is seen as a return to Christ which the apostle desires, his mission and continued service is seen as being united with Christ’s life on earth. This passage concludes with an exhortation to the Philippians that they might live lives worthy of Christ.
 
“Every Christian is linked to Christ through baptism (cf. Rom 6:5) and this union is strengthened by the Eucharist (cf. 1 Cor 10:16-17). A believer, therefore, should aspire to identify with Jesus to such an extent that he can say with the apostle, ‘it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me’ (Gal 2:20).” [6]
 
CCC: Phil 1:21 1010, 1698; Phil 1:23 1005, 1011, 1021, 1025; Phil 1:27 1692
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Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16a

Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard.
Going out about nine o’clock,
he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard,
and I will give you what is just.’
So they went off.
And he went out again around noon,
and around three o’clock, and did likewise.
Going out about five o’clock,
he found others standing around, and said to them,
‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’
They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’
He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’
When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,
‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay,
beginning with the last and ending with the first.’
When those who had started about five o’clock came,
each received the usual daily wage.
So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more,
but each of them also got the usual wage.
And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,
‘These last ones worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’
He said to one of them in reply,
‘My friend, I am not cheating you.
Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
Take what is yours and go.
What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?
Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?
Are you envious because I am generous?’
Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
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Commentary on Mt 20:1-16a
 
The parable of the Laborers Hired Late continues the dialogue from Matthew 19:30: “the last will be first, and the first will be last.” The inference here changes slightly: in Matthew 19:23-30 the Lord referred to those who would follow him into eternal life, while here he broadens the scope to imply that those called later to faithful service, discipleship, would receive the same reward as those first called.

“’Discipleship’ is not a specialized vocation within the general Christian calling. Rather, all are called to the kingdom, and discipleship is the lived, existential means of arriving there, of existing there. The Gospel knows no secondary category of Christians, that of ‘mere believer’ in contrast to that of ‘ardent disciple’.” [7]
 
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Reflection:
 
Scripture today gives a unified call to come to faith in God and Christ.  Taken out of context, one might believe the Gospel parable of the Laborers Called Late might be seen as an invitation to procrastinate in responding to that call.  After all, why commit to the difficult path our faith requires if those who turn to an easier path and come late to faith will receive the same reward as we who strive to follow that path through most of our lives?
 
There must be reasons beyond the promise that comes at the end of the journey.  One of these is shown in St. Paul’s ethical debate about whether he should embrace death so he can be with Christ sooner, or if he should stay the course on earth, continuing his zealous efforts to proclaim the Gospel.  His conclusion – God’s gift of life is to be cherished in spite of the fact that at its conclusion the faithful receive the bliss of the heavenly kingdom.
 
What is it then that makes life worth living?  It is clearly not the excesses of the hedonistic goals society seems to embrace.  This lifestyle and world-view lead to spiritual death.  If wealth is what is to be pursued, there will never be enough, and even when great wealth is accumulated, those who achieve it find it an empty promise, a hollow shell with no life, no warmth, no peace.  No, life does not find fulfillment in “things.” 
 
Neither does life find fulfillment in labor, even labor for a worthy cause.  Fulfillment comes from an inner peace, and inner peace comes from the satisfaction of knowing that one is valued, supported, and protected by God.  It comes from knowing that nothing can take that peace from us while we remain in a lived relationship with God through Christ.  And when we enjoy that peace, in communion with others similarly motivated and infused, the resonance of their peace enhances our own.
 
Looking at those laborers who came late we see that indeed they will receive a reward for their labor.  Placed in the context of faithful service however, those who have labored long have received the rewards of their labor in the sense of fulfillment one finds in doing good things well. To put it another way, who would find their life’s experience better, a person who lived most of their life as a slave or one who lived their life free?
 
It is spiritual peace and the joy that flows from that motivates us to take up the mind of Christ as soon as we can, and maintain it throughout our lives.  While those who come late may receive the same reward, we who stay on the path longer derive greater joy in the promise fulfilled.
 
Pax
 

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[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The Picture Used Is “Parable of The Laborers In The Vineyard” By Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn 1637.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] Jerome Biblical Commentary, © 1968 Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 22:49, p. 380.
[6] The Navarre Bible: “Letters of St. Paul”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 431.
[7] Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word Volume III, Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, © 2012 pp. 229-30.