Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 20, 2020

IS 55:6-9  PHIL 1:20c-24, 27A, MT 20:1-16A

Scripture

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?’

The Upset Applecart

• The status quo is being challenged
• Our way of thinking and need to be right has been debunked
• Like Don’t Rock the Boat

Grade 4 and the Ice Cream Sundae Bar: A Story

A Disliked Parable-The Vineyard

• We look out for our own interests
• I’m cheated if others get what I work hard for
• We have “borne the burden of the day.”

How the Owner Sees It

• Every human person plays a unique and vital role in building up the Kingdom of God
• No one should be left out, pushed to the wayside or forced to be idle.
• There is a great dignity in work – any economy should be focused on peoples’ value
• Economy is about persons not profits
• The owner wants every person to be loved and watched over

We Are Dependent

• We are dependent on the Lord – We walk with the Lord by our side day by day
• Remember the Our Father
• The Lord is a Promise Keeper

The Lord’s Love is Gratuitous

• It is 100% pure gift
• We cannot earn the Lord’s love
• The Lord does not look on us favorably because of what we do
• The Lord looks favorably on us because of who we are
• The Lord does not compare us to each other

The Lord’s One Concern

• That he be a source of help and healing to each one of us every day

Let Us Pray

• For the grace to be okay with this
• Let’s not let the Lord’s generosity upset our applecart

Questions for Reflection

• What impacted you from today’s Readings and/or homily?
• Does God’s generosity to others upset your applecart?
• What is your experience of God valuing your life?
• How do you experience God’s unique generosity in your daily life?

Live Connected

• Speak out loud of your experience of God’s generosity in your life and how you have been blessed