From pastor’s desk on the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year A
On the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time the readings invite us to ponder on God’s generosity and the way God deals with human beings. First, a reading from the prophet Isaiah reminds us that God’s ways are very different than the world’s ways and that to which we are accustomed by nature. Isaiah speaks on behalf of God:
“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” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
While meditating upon these words we must be aware that God is utterly different than what we usually construe in our heads. We cannot even comprehend the smallest “feature” of God if we are not illumined by grace. The only way to learn God’s ways is to listen to God Himself. How do we do that? It is by following and listening to our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the fullness of revelation of God. As the letter to the Hebrews states, “in these last days, [God] spoke to us through a Son” (Heb 1:1-2). Regarding this belief, St. John of the Cross commented, "In giving us his Son, He spoke everything to us. He has no more to say."
When we follow Jesus unreservedly and imitate His ways, we come to the true knowledge of God who has created us out of love and destined for love. The only thing we must do is to follow Him and to live in Him while being fed daily with the Word and the Eucharist.
One of the basic truths of an authentically human development is that we learn by imitation. Yes, before we become creative ourselves, we must learn by imitation virtually everything we are able to do, beginning with simple behaviors like walking and using hands through language and the most advanced ways of being like art and music. This basic law of human development also applies to spiritual life. As children we learn prayers and fundamental moral principles until they become our own and permeate our entire life. However, none of this will happen unless we learn it from others. Ultimately, the way of God we learn from Christ who is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6).
So, by listening to Jesus this Sunday let us learn one important feature of God, God’s plenteousness. In the passage from Matthew we read how our Lord told the parable of the laborers who were paid an equal wage although each one of them worked different number of hours. In this parable Jesus communicates how good and generous God is towards us. He reveals that God does not calculate according to human standards. Rather, God always remains kind and merciful, even towards those who come “late” to faith.
Through this parable we learn two things. First, God showers abundant graces upon all of us, without showing any partiality. It does not mater from what backgrounds we come from, or what kind of socio-economic status we have; we are all dependent on His grace. The only thing we must do is to open our hearts and minds to receive what God has to offer without trying to bargain. That is the better way—let God endow us according to His infinite generosity.
Secondly, we must remember that we will never match God’s kindness. We only learn to be generous with each other through God’s “plenteous redemption.” Jesus teaches us that if we surrender to Him, we also become like Him: generous, kind, forgiving, merciful, all holy. The examples of that are the saints who entrusted their lives to Christ and the Blessed Mother and were never disappointed. So, trust God and He will do more for you than you can imagine.
Have a blessed week. God love you.
Fr. Janusz Mocarski, pastor