This week, the stock market had it's biggest daily drop since the September 11th attacks. Some people are even afraid of an extended recession also known as a depression. This week's Gospel talks about the employer who unlike the stock market, always pays up. That employer is God.
This week’s readings are about how God calls us. The 1st reading describes what we are called to do. The Gospel, talks about how, when, and by whom we are called. Finally, the 2nd reading, tells us how to respond to the call properly. This picture also reminds me of the face we often make when God tells us that we have to STOP sinning.
Reading 1
Is 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.
God Calls
Isaih says that God calls us to forsake our wicked ways and to turn to the Lord. Quite simply, that is the fundamental command that God gives us. That is the fundamental call of all Christians. Jesus said “if you love me, you will keep my commandments.” So many Christians, especially those who want to take their faith up a level are asking, “what does God want me to do?” More fundamentaly important than any charitable work, is God’s demand that we keep the commandments. Immediately after speaking the fundamental mission of the believer, Isaih talks about forgiveness. Why is that? Why is forgiveness such an important part of God's call to us?
Why does lack of forgiveness prevent us from answering God’s call? First of all, does God not ask us in his central prayer to forgive us as we forgive those who trespass against us? Forgiveness is an indispensable party of daily, Christian life. Lack of forgiveness, is a not just a speed bump, but an impenetrable WALL between us and God. We can't answer God's call if we don't forgive because lack of forgiveness shows mistrust in God. How can we have a relationship with God if we don't trust him? We can't!
In the Lord’s prayer, we are told to forgive those who trespass against us. That includes forgiving OURSELVES! When we sin, we sin against God and we sin against ourselves. Our sin makes us afraid and angry. WE become angry towards ourselves and God. We fear ourselves and we fear God. Forgiveness allows us to rely on God’s mercy as Isaih says in the first reading. Forgiveness frees us of the anger and fear that sin creates. Isaih goes on to say that God’s ways are much greater than ours. His mercy and forgiveness is much greater than ours. We have serious difficulty forgiving ourselves and others. God’s mercy is so great that we can call on him for help. Once we take that step, we are well prepared to accept God’s call. We put our trust in the Lord and we give up our unnecessary baggage (unforgiveness).
God calls us to to turn away from sinfulness, and towards him. He asks us to forgive ourselves and others as we rely on the mercy of God. If we don’t do this, we cannot answer God’s call to us. Now let's look at the call from God.
Gospel
Mt 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,
the landowner 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,
the landowner 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.”
The Gift of Salvation
This gospel is about how God offers salvation to all. Jesus uses this parable to teach this important lesson about God. Those people who the landowner calls are those standing in the streets. These people are probably not the most powerful people in the city. These are the people who are desperate and perhaps the less desired workers. It is not that these workers are great that they are offered wages. It is because of the landowner’s generosity. Just like the landowner, God calls and offers wages (salvation) to everyone. Salvation is free of charge- even to lowly sinners like ourselves.
So God calls everyone at different times in their lives. Some people have been living holy lives since birth and there are some who answer God’s call late in life. All are recipients of God’s same generous salvation . That is an important message in this parable. Equal wages in this gospel reminds us that we are not saved by God because we have done anything to earn it. We all get salvation (the same wage) because God offers it to us because of his generosity.
Some of the workers complain because they thought they would get more. This is very similar to the Gospel account in Luke 9:46 where the disciples are arguing over which one of them was the greatest. Jesus says, “the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest." It takes real humility to admit that all we have comes from God and the salvation and forgiveness we have received from God comes free of charge. So, no matter how good our behavior is, and when God calls us, we are not better than anyone else.
Now, that we know that God saves us for free, what is he calling us to do?
Reading II
Phil 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.
How to Answer the Call
Paul says that to answer his call is to “conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the Gospel of Christ” or to do what God (the landowner) says. So God is asking us to answer his call by obeying his commandments. In Matthew 5:19, Jesus says that : whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. God's calling as described in this week's readings is very simple. We need to follow the commandments. We have to love God, and each other- that is our calling.
The Point
· God is calling ALL of us to turn away from sin, and turn to the Lord
· It is impossible to turn to the Lord without first asking God forgiveness and forgiving others as well as ourselves. Forgiveness shows that we believe and trust in God’s mercy
· In God’s call, he offers to save us. He does so free of charge. No one who receives God’s forgiveness and help is greater than another.
· God calls us to obey his commandments.
Real Life
This week, I was talking to my mom and she told me that she had been going to church for 30 years and never really had faith in God. That didn't really surprise me. I have been concerned about my mom for a long time now. I don't think she's ever been to confession and this has been a big concern of mine for a long time. After all, what will happen to her soul if she does not reconcile with God before her death? She is my mom, and I want her to go to heaven!
On Sunday, she listened to a priest talking on television about the faith, and she felt her eyes being opened to God. She asked me and my dad some fundamental questions about the faith and said that she was very happy and finally felt like she was understanding God better.
I was so happy because I had been praying fervently for her for the last year, and yesterday, she took a big step towards God and towards heaven without anyone forcing God down her throat. It’s true that God does call some people at “the end of the day” but, we must persist in prayer until the end our lives and even after we die. We must ask God to help us trust in him and turn to he “who is generous and forgiving”.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 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.
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