Today\u2019s readings remind us that if we want to understand God\u2019s outlook on life we need to not only understand the depths of his love and generosity, but imitate them.<\/p>\n
In today\u2019s First Reading we\u2019re reminded that the Lord\u2019s thoughts and ways are miles above our own. He is always close to us, just like a loving parent whom we can always call. He is not just close to the just, but to \u201cscoundrels\u201d as well, ready to help them turn away from their evil ways and thoughts. He is generous in forgiving. Pope Francis on more than one occasion has reminded us that the Lord never tires of forgiving us; rather, we tire of seeking his forgiveness. He will forgive anything for which we are truly sorry. Anything. It\u2019s our limited human attitudes on love and generosity that make us doubt that sometimes.<\/p>\n
In today\u2019s Second Reading St. Paul reminds us that the generosity of Christ is not just something to admire, but to imitate. Paul had every right to hope for a heavenly reward at the end of his life: being with Christ. He longed for it. However, he also knew his flock still needed him. He still had work to do on earth. His flock can show gratitude for him \u201cputting off\u201d Heaven for their benefit: by showing that his generosity was worth it. The way we show Our Lord that his generosity was worth it is by conducting ourselves in a way worthy of the Gospel of Christ, just as Paul encourages his flock to do today.<\/p>\n
In today\u2019s Gospel Our Lord reminds us that it doesn\u2019t matter when we start to help to extend the Kingdom of heaven, but that we extend it. We\u2019ll be rewarded fairly, even generously, for our labors, and we shouldn\u2019t fall into envy if it seems someone has had an easier time of it or came late to the party. In Jesus\u2019 time a day\u2019s wage was exactly that: it enabled the worker to live for a day. There was not much surplus wealth, and charging someone interest for borrowing something was a sin known as usury. The workers who came late to the vineyard needed a full day\u2019s wage in order to provide for themselves and for their families. Anyone who is trying to support their family through a part time job knows it is not the same as a full-time job.<\/p>\n
The landowner is helping people who really need it. An attitude of envy sees someone else\u2019s gain as our loss. We should be thankful for the ability to earn a living for ourselves and our families, and be grateful when someone else in difficulty receives a little help too. We\u2019ve all been the recipients of a disproportionate love and generosity on the Lord\u2019s part, no matter how long we\u2019ve served and followed him. The grace of our salvation, which we receive at baptism, was not merited by us in any way whatsoever. Most of us were drooling, happy infants when our parents brought us to the baptismal font. The workers hired in today\u2019s Gospel weren\u2019t entitled to getting work, no matter what time of day they started working.<\/p>\n
Sometimes we think the Lord must be very measured and calculating in his generosity, but nothing is farther from the truth. He is constantly trying to be generous in our regard. We don\u2019t see it sometimes because his generosity is rebuffed. His generosity is not conditioned by our actions or selfishness. If we really want to share Our Lord\u2019s outlook we need to show that same liberality in our generosity. Commit one senseless act of kindness this week. Don\u2019t condition it by what outcome you foresee, whether the recipient deserves it or appreciates it. It\u2019s not an investment; give expecting nothing in return.<\/p>\n
Readings:\u00a0Isaiah 55:6\u20139; Psalm 145:2\u20133, 8\u20139, 17\u201318; Philippians 1:20c\u201324, 27a; Matthew 20:1\u201316a.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today\u2019s readings remind us that if we want to understand God\u2019s outlook on life we need to not only understand the depths of his love and generosity, but imitate them. In today\u2019s First Reading we\u2019re reminded that the Lord\u2019s thoughts and ways are miles above our own. He is always close to us, just like … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[179,45,15,91],"class_list":["post-2531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-cycle-a","tag-ordinary-time","tag-sunday","tag-twenty-fifth-week"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p65qtw-EP","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2531"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4070,"href":"http:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2531\/revisions\/4070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fathernikola.org\/liturgy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}