Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jan 15 2025

God as Giver: Generous or Unjust?

If you ever felt you have not gotten what you deserve for all that you have done, or that others have been given more than they deserve for the little that they have done, this Gospel is not going to please you. It is hard not to line up with the grumblers, complaining that those who worked all day should not be given the same as the eleventh-hour crowd. Where’s the justice in this?

Isaiah sets the stage for hearing the Gospel when he calls us to seek and call on God for what we need, especially mercy and forgiveness. But the prophet recognizes that God’s response to this request may baffle us, especially when such overabundant mercy is shown to others.

Jesus is not telling a tale about being fair, or offering a lesson on just wages. He is teaching that God’s rule is marked by generosity, especially to the last and least, the overlooked, the undervalued, the unwanted, those judged as not very capable. This master calls all to do what they can do. For some the work will last longer than for others. But all will be rewarded.

So, be generous as God is generous. We see an example of this in Paul’s willingness to stay working with the early communities. While the Philippians were easy to love, he also ministered to the cantankerous Corinthians and the “stupid” Galatians (Paul’s own words) who were turning away from the gospel he preached to them. Paul heard the call to act differently with these different groups of people.

Consider/Discuss

When are you being asked to be generous rather than “just”? • Is there another way of thinking about justice than how we usually think of it, that is, as getting what we deserve?
Have you known God’s splendid generosity, going beyond anything you have “deserved”?

Responding to the Word

We pray that we might be able to enter into God’s compassion toward those who come later and do less. We pray that we might be able to mirror the generosity of God during the coming week if an opportunity arises.

Jan 15 2025

Scripture Study for

The prophecy of salvation that is read today includes a call to worship and a call to conversion. The prophet describes the sinfulness of the people. There is a pattern of sin here, not merely isolated offenses. Still, the prophet assures them that God will be compassionate toward them. On the one hand are wicked thoughts and the way of the scoundrel; on the other hand are compassion and forgiveness. This oracle both exhorts sinners to turn away from their evil lives and assures them that having turned away they will enjoy the salvation of God.

Paul shares his own inner struggle regarding life and death. Although the decision to live or die was probably not in his hands, it is his attitude toward these options that is of importance here. Paul does not consider death a way of escaping the misfortune that he may be suffering. Rather, he weighs the religious and ministerial advantages of both living and dying. At issue is the extent to which Christ will be glorified through Paul’s continued life or his death. Though he prefers dying and being with Christ, he can see advantages for himself either way. Still he is willing to postpone the joyful union with Christ for the sake of his ministry.

The parable read today is particularly startling. It does not seem fair to pay all of the laborers the same wage regardless of the amount of time they put into the work. Still, all received exactly the amount for which they had contracted. The paradox of the narrative is seen in the payment policy of the owner of the vineyard. The justice with which he pays the laborers is superseded by his generosity. What is almost scandalous here is the fact that he is most generous toward the workers who were unwanted by others. The parable shows that the reign of God is based on generosity, not merely on human standards of fairness.

Jan 12 2025

Expectations Turned Upside Down

In a tight job market, ideal candidates may be handpicked—those with the best grade point average or the most personable smile, those who carry themselves as though they came from money, those with perfect teeth. The others don’t even get called for an interview, as if implicitly sending the message, “Don’t bother; we’re not hiring your kind.”

Who got picked early in the morning in Jesus’ vineyard story? A savvy winegrower would probably have told his foreman to choose the younger men first: the tall, the sturdy, and the strong—that is who we want to work in our fields. Who waited all day and got picked last? Maybe it was the old. Maybe it was the one-armed or the crippled. Property owners who sought for success might suggest to these workers, “Don’t bother; we don’t need your kind.”

This parable reminds me of gym class. We used to pick teams. (Do schools still do that?) I hate to admit it, but as a super-athletic kid, it was a buzz to be selected first. Maybe these guys who had worked all day in the vineyard carried that same swagger: “I’m good, I’m tough, I was picked first to work. And who are these losers? And why are you paying them the same wage as me?”

Jesus flips our expectations of success upside down in this parable. When the Lord rewards his team, he values more than outer appearance. He prizes the heart. He is open-handed with the late-bloomers. Certainly God’s ways are not our ways. Imagine God saying, “You, you, and you—you are wanted. You, you, and you—you are chosen.” Can you hear it? “Who, me? You want me?” God says, “Yes, yes, and yes! Good salary. Great benefits. I do want your kind. Come!”

Consider/Discuss

When have you been picked last (or first) for something? What did that feel like? How did that affect how you saw yourself? How does that influence the way that you feel about the marginalized?
“God wants you. God has chosen you.” Does that statement land differently depending on the successes that life has dealt you? Do the privileges that have come your way or the hardships you have endured affect how you see God’s innermost desire for you?

Living and Praying with the Word

Jesus, you continually chose surprising friends. The broken, the outcast, the unwanted—they all found a home in you. Your way of seeing people turns our imagination upside down, for your ways of measuring are not what we are used to. When we are stuck in certain patterns of thinking about the values of success and power, change our hearts. Help us to be merciful as you are merciful.

Jan 12 2025

Scripture Study for

The reading from Isaiah suggests that even after the Babylonian exile had ended, Israel (or some of it) still struggled to be faithful to God. While there are no limits to the mercy of God, who is generous in forgiving, that forgiveness must be sought through repentance. God does respond to evil and one must not delay in repenting. Thus the insistence that one must “seek the Lord while he may be found” (Isaiah 55:6). Yet hope lies in the fact that God does not calculate forgiveness as we do. As merciful as sinful human beings are capable of being, God is more merciful. And in situations that human beings would find completely unforgivable, God’s forgiveness for those who repent is unbounded.

Paul is writing to the Philippians from prison, stating that his imprisonment and suffering have “turned out rather to advance the gospel” (1:12). His fervent hope is that no matter what happens, Christ will continue to be glorified in him. He would like to die, so that he can be with Christ (and end his suffering). On the other hand, if he lives he will be able to spread the gospel, teach, and support other Christians. He has learned to be content either way. The exhortation to conduct themselves in a way worthy of the gospel leads into the next section of the letter, in which he will address some divisions within the community.

Contemporary audiences of the parable of the workers sometimes fail to notice that those who did not work until the end of the day had not deliberately avoided labor; no one had hired them. All of the workers in this parable lead a precarious existence, not knowing from day to day if they will make any money to feed their families. The owner of the vineyard, in paying all of the workers a day’s wage, is paying them not according to how much they have worked, but according to how much they need. The parable emphasizes the generosity of God’s kingdom, in which everyone’s needs are met, regardless of their ability or good fortune. God cares more about mercy than fairness.

Jan 06 2025

The Bottom Line

The word “mammon” is Aramaic and means property, not only money, but also any possession. More than twenty-five years ago, Fr. John Haughey, S.J. wrote a thoughtful book entitled The Holy Use of Money: Personal Finances in the Light of the Christian Faith. He described the condition of “mammon sickness” as having three interrelated aspects: running after things, a numbness in our relationships, and a divided consciousness regarding God.

Today’s readings invite us to take our spiritual temperatures to see if we are suffering from a low-grade, or even a more severe, case of “mammon sickness.” The prophet Amos rails not simply against dishonest business practices in buying and selling, but more importantly how pursuing wealth can diminish honoring God on the Sabbath and lead to “trampling upon the needy and destroying the poor of the land.” The prophetic voice shouts out to proclaim God’s love and care for the poor; wealth can exclude such love and care from our daily lives.

The parable Jesus tells and the sayings that follow call for more consideration than space allows, but note that the master’s seeming admiration is for his steward’s “prudence” or “shrewdness” in using money to make friends. Jesus then contrasts how the children of this world deal with their own kind more astutely than the children of the light. Succinctly put, use mammon to help others. There can be a holy use of money, to care for those most in need, thereby giving glory to God.

Consider/Discuss

Do you see mammon/money as seducer or sacrament?
God or mammon—whom do you serve? How do you know?

Responding to the Word

God of justice, you are our true wealth and you have entrusted us with the goods of all creation. May we use them wisely and work to see that all have a just share in them. Form us into just and generous stewards, modeled after the image of your Son.