Twenty-Fifth Sunday Sept 18, 2011

Isaiah 55:6-9  Ps 145  Phil 1:20-27 Matthew 20:1-16

1. Isaiah 55 is famous for its invitation to come to the table of plenty. It is an invitation to come without money and without price. It is a reading we hear at the Easter Vigil. It has been introduced in today’s reading for the second part of that message of Isaiah. The prophet tells us God says, “my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways.”

 We have been created in God’s image and likeness and hence our thoughts should be lofty and divine. This will be especially so if we are rooted and grounded in Christ. Unfortunately, we tend to shape God in our image and likeness. We impose on our image of God a veneer of our own pettiness and meanness and tight-fistedness. In reality, God is generous and compassioned, slow to anger and abounding in mercy. God   is continually a God of surprises. We will see that in the Gospel Parable today.

We deny God a sense of generosity. We blame God for all the disasters around us.

• I stopped believing in God!  How could there be a God when my mother has got cancer? My mother has always been so good.
• I stopped believing in God!  There are so many scandals in the Church. The Pope should be accountable.
• I stopped believing in God! How could there be a God with so many Hurricanes and Tsunamis that have destroyed Haiti, Japan, Sri Lanka to name only a few places?

God is a common and natural scapegoat for every natural disaster, common cold and tragic sickness. And so Isaiah tells us that God’s ways are not human ways.

2. Our second reading from St. Paul puts things in their right perspective. Paul was writing when he was in Prison, probably in Ephesus. From this prison, Paul would write some of his controversial letters: to the Philippians, to the Galatians, to the Corinthians. This letter shows Paul in a state of tension. He is expecting to be put to death. In hindsight, we know this was not true. He was released and continued his work of preaching the Gospel. But as he is writing the letter, you can feel his tension.

• Being spared life, would give him an opportunity to preach the Gospel
• Being put to death, would allow him to enjoy his eternal reward.

And so Paul would say, “If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. Whether we live or die, it is for the Lord.”

3. In this light, the problems mentioned above: fatal sickness like Cancer and Lou Gehrig’s disease, church scandals, Tsunamis and Hurricanes – we can face all these with courage, because whether we live or die, it is for the Lord. We get courage, hope and strength to face triumphs and tragedies, which are part and parcel of our human lives.

 It might be a different story for family and friends who see their relatives suffer and face death. It might be a different story when we face the reality of loosing our loved ones in days, weeks, or months. Strangely enough the one’s who are dying have a clearer vision and they are ones who give us (who continue to live) – they give us hope and strength.

Our Gospel is a story of God’s generosity told under the parable of an Owner of the Vineyard who was generous in an unusual way. We are used to thinking within the box of “what is fair and right and just.” The owner thinks outside the box. He is willing to look at the worker and see his condition and give him more than what he is due.

In human terms this story is described as unjust and unfair. Our union workers would absolutely repudiate this behaviour. We would have strikes because things do not go our way. We have seen that earlier this year in the Riots in Britain and in our own country of Vancouver, when the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup.

But as Isaiah tells us in our first reading, “God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, and God’s ways are not our ways.” The beauty of this situation is that

• -       if we work things the way God does
• -       if our generosity goes beyond what is expected,
• -       if those who have, shared with those who have not, even when they do not deserve it,

It will always benefit both parties. It will always be a “win-win” situation.  It is only our selfishness and meanness, which prevents joy and happiness for both the individual and the community. Would that the Holy Spirit renew our hearts and give us a generosity which surpasses all understanding, human understanding!

Real life story:  Last week, Joe, a self employed man was looking for help in his small enterprise. He put an ad in the papers and had several applications. A man came to him who looked promising. He was honest and up front. He said he was unemployed because he had leukaemia and no one wanted to hire a person who was ill. However, he had a family to support. He also had the skills for the job and was willing to work hard.

 Joe turned him down. But then thought about it, thought about the family. Joe decided to give him, the man with leukaemia, a chance. It was the best thing he did. The man had the skills. He was a cheerful worker. He brought a new sense of enthusiasm to the other three that worked on the job. Furthermore, he did more work than Joe himself. What a blessing to both Joe and the employee.