Deacon Tom Anthony

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 133

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.

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.

Reading 2 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.

Alleluia Cf. Acts 16:14b

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Open our hearts, O Lord,
to listen to the words of your Son.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

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."

 MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

All life is precious for it was all created by God and is part of His universe. From the smallest, seemingly insignificant micro-organism, to us who were created in His image. With, that, He dwells amongst us and through us He is revealed. We are inseparable  from Him. Even though this is the case, there is always the possibility that He can go unrecognized. Just as other relationships require attention, effort, and hard work, so does our relationship with God. The Prophet Isaiah points this out through a beautiful revelation: “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call to Him, while He is near.” It serves as a reminder to us that we have a level of responsibility to first recognize that God is amongst us and that we need to search for Him. If we do this, He will certainly be found because, not only is He near, but He is actually inside of us and next to us.

When we focus our attention on the God’s presence, our eyes are opened and we then become witnesses to His greatness and power. What was hidden is revealed: a new life and a new way of being. We can also come to the understanding that what was secret was not made that way by God in the first place, but was tucked away by our own actions and thoughts. In the beginning, God showed us everything and our reaction to this was to turn away, rejecting this gift of pure love. We chose instead to pursue what we thought was the best way to live our lives. Now is the time to abandon that way and embrace the Way of the Lord. When we do this, we are then able to comprehend His ways and thoughts.

Living with God immediately calls us to action. We can all feel this. We want to do good. We want to please Our Father. To do this, we go through the Son and make a commitment to Him. What we do here for Him benefits us at the same time. Each act of selflessness opens ourselves up to receive Jesus Christ more. There is no end to what we can accomplish or what can be experienced. As we are transformed by this new way of thinking, those around us will see what was hidden also and will react to it. All of this then becomes a shared experience.

As Christian, we are all workers for Jesus Christ. We are happy workers for we are cared for and loved. We invite others to work with us and to experience what we experience. It is that good and wonderful that there is no selfishness. We want to give it all away. There is no price nor competition. Nobody is better and nobody is worse. All work is appreciated and produces results. Equally, we will all receive that which is given freely. Then why do we work as hard as we do? Because it is a reaction to our relationship with Jesus Christ. We aim to please the Father and want to show that we love Him and all that He created. It is a gigantic, continuous thank you that echoes throughout creation.

The thank you starts on a personal level then builds a momentum as others join in the chorus. It then becomes a symphony of love. Just as in any symphony, all parts are necessary to achieve the final result which, in our case, is praise of love of the Father. The more we praise and love, the more that love will return to us. That is God’s ovation to us. The most beautiful part of this is that the symphony never ends. It only gets louder and better as well as the praise and love that comes from God.

Deacon Tom