Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 133
Reading 1
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
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
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
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Open our hearts, O Lord,
to listen to the words of your Son.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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,
We learn through Sacred Scripture that God is constantly calling us to repentance and redemption. This goes for everyone, all those who live and have lived. There is also a warning within the words,
“Call Him while He is near.”
Regarding presence, God is everywhere and permeates throughout His creation. The question of nearness comes about because of the state we could find ourselves in. In fact, the following question could be a very good one to initiate a spiritual reflection of sorts on the status of our relationship with Him:
“How near are we to God.”
The nearness is not one that God always chooses. We are infused with a soul, a spark of divinity, which indicates that we are created in His image and are His children. It is by our own actionsand where we choose to focus our attention that indicates the nearness of God. There might be times where God withdraws His presence for us, but these times are for a specific purpose, including spiritual growth and an enrichment of our faith. Beyond that, we have full control of our relationship with Him.
A good question to ask is,
“How is your relationship with your personal Jesus?’
Personal Jesus sounds just exactly what it is. With our personal Jesus, the one we pray to and listen to, we can call out to Him, when He is near and we are in right relationship with Him. We do not have to go anywhere. Our personal Jesus will respond if we are seeking Him, giving us what we need and want, It is guaranteed that, when we call to Him, there will be a response. This response might come in different forms, so we then must recognize the form it is coming to us in, then we have to react to it. Many will ask how do we recognize something that is so broad-based and general? This is where a reliance on Jesus and the receiving of the Holy Spirit comes into play, along with an opportunity to pray in our room; unlicking a flow of love and support that eventually leads to a massive spiritual experience..
A relationship with our personal Jesus puts all of us on a level playing field. No one is better than the other and, as Christians, we are pursuing the same things. We constantly have one leg in this world (God’s Creation,) and one that is rooted in the spiritual realm with God. Seeing this, it can be argued that each will affect each other in a particular way through two interactions: one with Jesus, and the other with everyone else. We have the capably of being the closest of friends to both Jesus and everyone else we come into contact with. It is our approach that matters and the willingness to have Jesus dictate the terms of our conduct. When others witness our surrendering to the will of God, it will have a profound effect on them and , God willing very soon, have an effect on us.
To all those who make it a point to embrace God and humble themselves in this world, will bear much fruit and have their hearts lifted. We cannot do the right thing, pray, and do things in the name of God without experiencing the positive influence it will have on us. Acknowledging these things, and striving forward to find God will always put ourselves in a better place. Everything, I mean everything, gets better when God is factored into the equation.
It doesn’t matter when we come to God. It doesn’t matter when we hear His voice It only matters that we do. Our suffering and pain, usually self-inflicted, will be lifted and a new life will be revealed to us. A new life with our God. A new life with Jesus.
Deacon
Tom
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