25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

September 25, 2026

God’s notion of fairness is different from ours.

GOSPEL

Matthew 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."

REFLECTIONS ON THE GOSPEL

First Impressions by Jude Siciliano, OP

What businessperson would not find today’s parable intolerable? What about people who work for nonprofits, or church folk – hard-working, responsible people like us? Who wouldn’t find this parable unfair? Do we side with the workers who were hired first, those who worked all day? They were hard workers, and they grumbled. Can you blame them? “These last ones have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who bore the day’s burden and the heat!” Or, to put it more simply: “It’s not fair!” How would you rewrite this story? After all, we were taught to be hard workers and to expect fair pay for the work we do. Isn’t that the way we live? Isn’t that what we teach our children? Don’t hard-working students stand out in school and receive top grades? Don’t good workers receive better evaluations and promotions? Maybe we should put our hands over our children’s ears when they hear this Gospel! Otherwise, all our lessons about fairness might go right out the window. So, how would we rewrite the story? The foreman is charged by the landowner to, “Summon the workers and give them their pay.” These days, we might give the foreman a calculator. “Let’s see: a full day’s work – 100 percent pay. Nine hours – 75 percent. Three hours – 25 percent. And those who worked only one hour? Well, let’s give them 15 percent of a day’s wage. Just to be generous. After all, we are Christians, aren’t we?” But think about those people out there waiting to be hired. Think of the day laborers who stand outside places like Home Depot, hoping that a pickup truck will arrive looking for workers. Those hired first could be proud. They were the strongest and most able-bodied. Being chosen was a lucky break. They worked hard and earned their day’s wage. They had families at home who depended on them. So why did they grumble at the end when they saw that the last workers received the same pay? Didn’t they have any sympathy for those others who also had families depending on them? Didn’t those latecomers have the same desperate needs? And who were those hired last? The landowner asks them, “Why do you stand here idle all day?” “All day”—waiting to be chosen. Who doesn’t get hired right away? Who is left standing at the end of the day? Perhaps the elderly, the widows, the infirm, people with disabilities, injured workers, foreigners, or others who cannot compete with the strongest and healthiest. They may not be able to work as hard or as long as others, but they still need the money. They still have mouths to feed and families depending on them. Do we recognize ourselves in those disgruntled workers? We Americans have hard work and competition in our bones. We have learned to measure ourselves in relation to others: Who has more? Who does more? Whose clothes are the latest fashion? Whose computer is the newest model? Mark Twain once said, “It is not what I don’t understand about the Bible that bothers me; it’s what I do understand.” This is an easy parable to understand – and one of the most uncomfortable to hear. How often have we thanked God for our good fortune – for being born at this time, in this country, into our particular families; for our jobs, our homes, and the schools our children attend?We express gratitude, but lurking behind that gratitude can be the conviction that we deserve what we have. After all, we are the all-day laborers. We have worked for it. Mark Twain was right. Sometimes it is what we understand in the Bible that bothers us. What kind of God emerges from this parable? A persevering God—a God who goes out again and again, five times, and never gives up inviting people into the vineyard. A generous God—a God whose generosity goes beyond our sense of fairness and justice. A universal God – a God who calls everyone to work, including those whom others might consider the least capable or least deserving. What rule of measurement does God use with us? According to this parable, God is guided by grace. Grace is a free, undeserved, unearned gift. It can seem unfair, unsettling, illogical, and completely unexpected. But for those of us who come here week after week to hear the Scriptures, God’s ways should not come as a complete surprise. We have heard other stories in which God acts in the same way. A shepherd leaves the ninety-nine sheep in the wilderness to search for the one who is lost. A woman who has ten coins loses one, searches all day until she finds it, and then calls her friends and neighbors to celebrate. A father welcomes home a son who has squandered his inheritance in dissolute living. He embraces him, barely gives him time to apologize, and throws a party for him. What kind of behavior is that? It doesn’t make sense – not according to ordinary human calculations. When I lived in Raleigh, North Carolina, I visited death row. I became friends with a man named Henry. When he was younger, Henry had lived a very dissolute life. But during his later years, he began reading the Bible and praying. Cynics sometimes suspect such “prison conversions.” A couple of years before he died, Henry became Catholic. I heard his confession on the day he was executed. So many years of his life had been wasted, unlike the lives of those who had worked faithfully and responsibly. Yet at the end of his life, Henry was offered mercy – and he seized it. In a manner of speaking, he was one of those hired at the last hour. But he got in. Who knows what the next life is like? Use your imagination. Jesus is there. Peter is there. Mary is there. Catherine and all the well-known saints are there. And perhaps, among them, is Henry. How do we know? We don’t. But this parable invites us to trust in the incalculable mercy of God. It reminds us that we cannot measure God’s grace in terms of wages, merit, or our human notions of justice. God’s generosity colors every divine thought, word, and deed. Lest we get the impression that we can simply sit back, do the minimum, and expect a generous reward at the end, the parable calls us to something more. We were created in the image and likeness of God. Therefore, our lives should reflect that image to the world: persevering in goodness, welcoming the least, and being generous beyond measure and in unexpected ways. That is the God who created us. That is the God who shines through these parables. And that is the God who invites us into the kingdom and says: “Have a good look around. See how I treat the least. Observe how I act with generosity in unexpected ways. Now go and do likewise – whether you think they deserve it or not.”

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Quotable

At the center of any work dynamic there should be neither capital, nor market laws nor profit, but the person, the family and their well-being.” — Pope Leo XIV, December 18, 2025

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Justice Bulletin Board by Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS, Director. Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice Ministries, Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral Raleigh, NC

Only, conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ. —Philippians 1:27

In four different letters, Paul advises Christian followers on proper conduct. In Colossians 1 and Thessalonians 4, he names a list of ways the Christian should be, including “in every good work bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1: 10) and “aspire to live a tranquil life” (1Thess.4: 11). This flies in the face of modern society that urges us on for more stuff, more extreme actions, more emphasis on the superficial, more, more, more… Are you caught up in this kind of world?There is another way. It is called contemplative living, and anyone can choose to live this peaceful way, just as you choose to live in a frenetic way of more and more. We have a group called Just Pray-ers that uses Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton. Thomas Merton converted to Roman Catholicism while a student at Columbia University. He entered the Abbey of Gethsemani, a community of Trappist monks , and that led him to profound changes in his self-understanding. This ongoing conversion impelled him into the political arena and he became a strong supporter of the nonviolent civil rights movement of the 1950’s-1960’s, which he called "certainly the greatest example of Christian faith in action in the social history of the United States." The Bridges series leads participants on a journey toward spiritual transformation. Inspired by the monastic tradition, Bridges is specifically formatted for the lay person through prayers, readings and questions. Come away to a world God envisions. We have just started the series again, once a month on the third Wednesday, 7-8:30PM. You do not need to study ahead or even have the booklet. The tranquil life is possible amidst the hustle and bustle of daily life. To join in these stand-alone sessions, contact: socialconcern@hnojnc.org .To whet your appetite for a contemplative way, think about these words from Thomas Merton: Either you look at the universe as a very poor creation out of which no one can make anything, or you look at your own life and your own part in the universe as infinitely rich, full of inexhaustible interest, opening out into the infinite further possibilities for study and contemplation and praise. Beyond all and in all is God. (July 17, 1956).

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Faith Book

Mini-reflections on the Sunday scripture readings designed for persons on the run. “Faith Book” is also brief enough to be posted in the Sunday parish bulletins people take home.

From today’s Gospel reading: 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."

Reflection: God’s generosity is not measured by our calculations. God does not give love, mercy, or grace according to what we think someone deserves. The parable reminds us that God’s goodness is not a limited supply that we have to compete for. Another person’s blessing does not diminish ours.

So, we ask ourselves:

• When have I found myself comparing what I receive with what someone else receives? What does this reveal about my attitude toward God?

• Is there someone whose good fortune or blessing I find difficult to celebrate? Can I ask God to free me from envy?

• Who are the “last” people in my community or in my life? How might Jesus be inviting me to see and treat them differently?

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The Narrative Section of the Fifth Book of the Gospel

(from the USCCB)

The first part (Mt 19:1–20:34) has for its setting the journey of Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem; the second (Mt 21:1–23:39) deals with Jesus’ ministry in Jerusalem up to the final great discourse of the gospel (Mt 24–25). Matthew follows the Marcan sequence of events, though adding material both special to this gospel and drawn from Q. The second part ends with the denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees (Mt 23:1–36) followed by Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem (Mt 23:37–39). This long and important speech raises a problem for the view that Matthew is structured around five other discourses of Jesus (see Introduction) and that this one has no such function in the gospel. However, it is to be noted that this speech lacks the customary concluding formula that follows the five discourses (see note on Mt 7:28), and that those discourses are all addressed either exclusively (Mt 10; 18; 24; 25) or primarily (Mt 5–7; 13) to the disciples, whereas this is addressed primarily to the scribes and Pharisees (Mt 23:13–36). Consequently, it seems plausible to maintain that the evangelist did not intend to give it the structural importance of the five other discourses, and that, in spite of its being composed of sayings-material, it belongs to the narrative section of this book. In that regard, it is similar to the sayings-material of Mt 11:7–30. Some have proposed that Matthew wished to regard it as part of the final discourse of Mt 24–25, but the intervening material (Mt 24:1–4) and the change in matter and style of those chapters do not support that view.

This, in its entirety, is Chapter 19, which is skipped the current liturgical cycle A  (probably because it is covered by year B or C)

Marriage and Divorce.

1* When Jesus* finished these words,* he left Galilee and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.
2Great crowds followed him, and he cured them there.
3a Some Pharisees approached him, and tested him,* saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?”
4* b He said in reply, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’
5c and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?
6So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate.”
7* d They said to him, “Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss [her]?”
8He said to them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
9e I say to you,* whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery.”
10[His] disciples said to him, “If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”
11He answered, “Not all can accept [this] word,* but only those to whom that is granted.
12Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage* for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it.”

Blessing of the Children.*

13f Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them,
14g but Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
15After he placed his hands on them, he went away.

The Rich Young Man.*

16h Now someone approached him and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”*
17He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good.* If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
18* i He asked him, “Which ones?” And Jesus replied, “ ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness;
19honor your father and your mother’; and ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
20* The young man said to him, “All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?”
21j Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect,* go, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
23* Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.
24k Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
25* When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, “Who then can be saved?”
26l Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”
27m Then Peter said to him in reply, “We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?”
28* n Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life.
30* o But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.

Commentary:
* [19:1] In giving Jesus’ teaching on divorce (Mt 19:3–9), Matthew here follows his Marcan source (Mk 10:2–12) as he does Q in Mt 5:31–32 (cf. Lk 16:18). Mt 19:10–12 are peculiar to Matthew.

* [19:1] When Jesus finished these words: see note on Mt 7:28–29. The district of Judea across the Jordan: an inexact designation of the territory. Judea did not extend across the Jordan; the territory east of the river was Perea. The route to Jerusalem by way of Perea avoided passage through Samaria.

* [19:3] Tested him: the verb is used of attempts of Jesus’ opponents to embarrass him by challenging him to do something they think impossible (Mt 16:1; Mk 8:11; Lk 11:16) or by having him say something that they can use against him (Mt 22:18, 35; Mk 10:2; 12:15). For any cause whatever: this is peculiar to Matthew and has been interpreted by some as meaning that Jesus was being asked to take sides in the dispute between the schools of Hillel and Shammai on the reasons for divorce, the latter holding a stricter position than the former. It is unlikely, however, that to ask Jesus’ opinion about the differing views of two Jewish schools, both highly respected, could be described as “testing” him, for the reason indicated above.

* [19:4–6] Matthew recasts his Marcan source, omitting Jesus’ question about Moses’ command (Mk 10:3) and having him recall at once two Genesis texts that show the will and purpose of the Creator in making human beings male and female (Gn 1:27), namely, that a man may be joined to his wife in marriage in the intimacy of one flesh (Gn 2:24). What God has thus joined must not be separated by any human being. (The NAB translation of the Hebrew bāśār of Gn 2:24 as “body” rather than “flesh” obscures the reference of Matthew to that text.)

* [19:7] See Dt 24:1–4.

* [19:9] Moses’ concession to human sinfulness (the hardness of your hearts, Mt 19:8) is repudiated by Jesus, and the original will of the Creator is reaffirmed against that concession. (Unless the marriage is unlawful): see note on Mt 5:31–32. There is some evidence suggesting that Jesus’ absolute prohibition of divorce was paralleled in the Qumran community (see 11QTemple 57:17–19; CD 4:12b–5:14). Matthew removes Mark’s setting of this verse as spoken to the disciples alone “in the house” (Mk 10:10) and also his extension of the divorce prohibition to the case of a woman’s divorcing her husband (Mk 10:12), probably because in Palestine, unlike the places where Roman and Greek law prevailed, the woman was not allowed to initiate the divorce.

* [19:11] [This] word: probably the disciples’ “it is better not to marry” (Mt 19:10). Jesus agrees but says that celibacy is not for all but only for those to whom that is granted by God.

* [19:12] Incapable of marriage: literally, “eunuchs.” Three classes are mentioned, eunuchs from birth, eunuchs by castration, and those who have voluntarily renounced marriage (literally, “have made themselves eunuchs”) for the sake of the kingdom, i.e., to devote themselves entirely to its service. Some scholars take the last class to be those who have been divorced by their spouses and have refused to enter another marriage. But it is more likely that it is rather those who have chosen never to marry, since that suits better the optional nature of the decision: whoever can…ought to accept it.

* [19:13–15] This account is understood by some as intended to justify the practice of infant baptism. That interpretation is based principally on the command not to prevent the children from coming, since that word sometimes has a baptismal connotation in the New Testament; see Acts 8:36.

* [19:16–30] Cf. Mk 10:17–31. This story does not set up a “two-tier” morality, that of those who seek (only) eternal life (Mt 19:16) and that of those who wish to be perfect (Mt 19:21). It speaks rather of the obstacle that riches constitute for the following of Jesus and of the impossibility, humanly speaking, for one who has many possessions (Mt 19:22) to enter the kingdom (Mt 19:24). Actual renunciation of riches is not demanded of all; Matthew counts the rich Joseph of Arimathea as a disciple of Jesus (Mt 27:57). But only the poor in spirit (Mt 5:3) can enter the kingdom and, as here, such poverty may entail the sacrifice of one’s possessions. The Twelve, who have given up everything (Mt 19:27) to follow Jesus, will have as their reward a share in Jesus’ (the Son of Man’s) judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Mt 19:28), and all who have similarly sacrificed family or property for his sake will inherit eternal life (Mt 19:29).

* [19:16] Gain eternal life: this is equivalent to “entering into life” (Mt 19:17) and “being saved” (Mt 19:25); the life is that of the new age after the final judgment (see Mt 25:46). It probably is also equivalent here to “entering the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 19:23) or “the kingdom of God” (Mt 19:24), but see notes on Mt 3:2; 4:17; 18:1 for the wider reference of the kingdom in Matthew.

* [19:17] By Matthew’s reformulation of the Marcan question and reply (Mk 10:17–18) Jesus’ repudiation of the term “good” for himself has been softened. Yet the Marcan assertion that “no one is good but God alone” stands, with only unimportant verbal modification.

* [19:18–19] The first five commandments cited are from the Decalogue (see Ex 20:12–16; Dt 5:16–20). Matthew omits Mark’s “you shall not defraud” (Mk 10:19; see Dt 24:14) and adds Lv 19:18. This combination of commandments of the Decalogue with Lv 19:18 is partially the same as Paul’s enumeration of the demands of Christian morality in Rom 13:9.

* [19:20] Young man: in Matthew alone of the synoptics the questioner is said to be a young man; thus the Marcan “from my youth” (Mk 10:20) is omitted.

* [19:21] If you wish to be perfect: to be perfect is demanded of all Christians; see Mt 5:48. In the case of this man, it involves selling his possessions and giving to the poor; only so can he follow Jesus.

* [19:23–24] Riches are an obstacle to entering the kingdom that cannot be overcome by human power. The comparison with the impossibility of a camel’s passing through the eye of a needle should not be mitigated by such suppositions as that the eye of a needle means a low or narrow gate. The kingdom of God: as in Mt 12:28; 21:31, 43 instead of Matthew’s usual kingdom of heaven.

* [19:25–26] See note on Mk 10:23–27.

* [19:28] This saying, directed to the Twelve, is from Q; see Lk 22:29–30. The new age: the Greek word here translated “new age” occurs in the New Testament only here and in Ti 3:5. Literally, it means “rebirth” or “regeneration,” and is used in Titus of spiritual rebirth through baptism. Here it means the “rebirth” effected by the coming of the kingdom. Since that coming has various stages (see notes on Mt 3:2; 4:17), the new age could be taken as referring to the time after the resurrection when the Twelve will govern the true Israel, i.e., the church of Jesus. (For “judge” in the sense of “govern,” cf. Jgs 12:8, 9, 11; 15:20; 16:31; Ps 2:10). But since it is connected here with the time when the Son of Man will be seated on his throne of glory, language that Matthew uses in Mt 25:31 for the time of final judgment, it is more likely that what the Twelve are promised is that they will be joined with Jesus then in judging the people of Israel.

* [19:30] Different interpretations have been given to this saying, which comes from Mk 10:31. In view of Matthew’s associating it with the following parable (Mt 20:1–15) and substantially repeating it (in reverse order) at the end of that parable (Mt 20:16), it may be that his meaning is that all who respond to the call of Jesus, at whatever time (first or last), will be the same in respect to inheriting the benefits of the kingdom, which is the gift of God.

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Four Things the Poor Are Not

From a homily delivered at Memorial Church Sunday Mass.

In the wake of the parable everybody loves to hate, (The Laborers in the Vineyard, remember?) there were a lot of discussions this week about the vineyard owner. Was he just? It depends, I guess, on how you define justice. Distributive justice asserts that the community has an obligation to provide the basic necessities of life to all who need them, unless there is an absolute scarcity of resources. If there is an artificial scarcity because too few have too much at the expense of those who have too little to survive and thrive, then this is a violation of justice. In a country built on meritocracy, this theory of distributive justice is not only annoying, it hits at the heart of what we have been conditioned to believe. For most of us, the questions are real and difficult: Does someone have a right to a share in the wealth of this country simply because he or she lives in it? Who, exactly, owns the earth or its water or oil? Well, the parables of Jesus constantly walk around the issue of justice, often in ways that startle, confuse or anger us. Jesus had quite a bit to say about individual selfishness, and about political and social structures in which the rich prey on the poor. For Jesus, justice was not necessarily about giving people what they deserve, but what they need. One way to distance ourselves from the changes we ought to make is to distance ourselves from those who deserve better, just because they are humans like us. What follows are reflections that force us to look at the poor more honestly: The poor are not always needing only charity, but are needing justice. Charity is a great first step. It bridges the gap between what is and might be. It rescues people from hunger, homelessness and despair. Justice, however, insists on fidelity to relationships, and those relationships are with all of our fellow human beings, not just those closest to us.  Justice, unlike charity, is not something we do out of the kindness of our hearts; it is something we do because we are obliged to respect the dignity of all human persons and to work to change unjust political, social or economic structures which keep the poor in poverty.

 The poor are not always very visible

We must go out of our way to find those who need assistance. Often, those who lack the basic necessities of life are so ashamed of their condition that they try to look like everyone else. For every person who begs outside of a grocery store, there are perhaps ten times that number who sleep in their cars, or send their children off to school without breakfast, or who go without medical attention or prescription drugs, or a warm coat or shoes that actually fit. The vast majority of the poor suffer and worry alone. Helping the poor is not always rewarding: When you read Charles Dickens, you sometime might get the impression that the poor are universally noble, so it comes a a shock to the system to discover that reality is not like novels. Sometimes people who live in poverty are angry. Sometimes they have just given up. Sometimes they are dishonest and take advantage of the system. But most are not like that. Often we use the few bad examples as an excuse to do nothing. Bishop Kenneth Untener put it this way "When you help the poor you always receive more than you give--but it may not seem that way at the time." The poor are not different from us: They laugh and cry, get angry and rejoice, worry and love, just we do. They care for their families just as much as we do. The following is a poem written by a woman living in poverty with her children:

My Name is not “ Those People”
I am a loving woman, a mother in pain, giving birth to the future
where my babies have the same chance to thrive as anyone.

My name is not “Inadequate.”
I did not make my husband leave us—he chose to,
And chooses not to pay child support.
Truth is though, there isn’t a job base for all
Fathers to support their families.
While society turns its head, my children pay the price.

My name is not “Lazy, Dependent Welfare Mother.”
If the unwaged work of parenting, homemaking and community
building was factored into the gross national product, my work
would have untold value. And I wonder why my middle-class sisters
whose husbands support them to raise their children are
glorified—and they don’t get called lazy and dependent.

My name is not “Ignorant, Dumb, or Uneducated.”
I live with an income of $621 with $169 in food stamps. 
Rent is $585. That leaves $36 a month to live on. I am such a genius
At surviving that I could balance the state budget in an hour.

My name is not “Lay Down and Die Quietly.”
My love is powerful and my urge to keep my children alive 
will never stop. All children need homes and people who love them.
They need safety and the chance to be the people
they were born to be.
The wind will stop before I let my children become a statistic.
Before you give in to the urge to blame me,
the blame that lets us go blind and unknowing
into the isolation that disconnects us, take another look.
Don’t go away.
For I am not the problem, but the solution.
And my name is not “Those People.”
—Julia Dinsmore

“Unless you love, the poor will not forgive you for the bread they take from you.” —St Vincent de Paul

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ENCOUNTER CHRIST REFLECTIONS & MEDITATIONS

Preparation for the Session

Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025

Presence of God: Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence.  Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Freedom: Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Consciousness: Where am I with God?  With others in my life? What am I grateful for?  Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret?  I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt.  God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life. (2-3 minutes of silence)

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Opening Prayer

From the First Reading for the 25th Sunday A 

Isaiah On Authentic Fasting That Leads to Blessing

Is this not, rather, the fast that I choose:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking off every yoke?
Is it not sharing your bread with the hungry,
bringing the afflicted and the homeless into your house;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own flesh?
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
If you lavish your food on the hungry
and satisfy the afflicted;
Then your light shall rise in the darkness,
and your gloom shall become like midday;
Then the LORD will guide you always
and satisfy your thirst in parched places,
will give strength to your bones
And you shall be like a watered garden.

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Companions for the Journey

Adapted from “First Impressions” 2011

“I will give you what is just.” Each of the laborers would need a day's pay to feed their families. Each day, as day laborers, they would have gone out looking for work—day by day—standing around, hoping to get hired, needing to get hired—all along, thinking of the hungry mouths back home. So what pay would be “just”? These are tough economic times. We have many unemployed and those who do have jobs are working very hard every day. But even if the times weren't as difficult, still we admire hard workers. We don't admire shirkers, for we seem to have an innate sense of what's fair. If a person has a job to do, they should, we believe, do it properly and then receive fair compensation. So today, when we hear the parable of the vineyard workers we tend to identify with and take the side of the "all-day workers." These are they who say, "We bore the day's burden and the heat." Who hasn't worked like that or, right now, has a job that feels like that? When those, in Jesus' parable, who worked the whole day, see what the latecomers have received, the same pay but for only an hour's work, they go to the owner of the vineyard and make their complaint. "These last ones worked only one hour and you have made them equal to us." It's as if the owner broke a contract he made with them and they are indignant. I think there was a contract—it was in the owner's mind all along. Because, as the day wore on and he kept going out to hire still more laborers, he stopped naming the salary he would give them. He tells the first group, hired at dawn, that he would pay the "usual daily wage." When he told the next group to go and work in his vineyard, he doesn't mention the pay, but merely says, "I will give you what is just." After that, for the next groups, again the pay isn't mentioned, just the instruction, "Go into my vineyard." So, there are hints early in the parable that something different is afoot. I think the owner planned all along to pay all the workers a full day's pay because they were day laborers. All were needy and vulnerable were some standing around, still waiting for work towards the end of the day? We are not told that they were the lazy ones who casually came out late in the day looking for a little work. Probably they were still without work because the strongest and youngest would have been hired first. Those not hired earlier would have been the  elderly, disabled, children and women too -- except perhaps, for the very strongest. In our world there is the dictum, "A fair day's pay for a fair day's work." At most of our workplaces there are work evaluations done periodically and the productivity of an employee is reviewed regularly. Raises are based on merit. Often there is a union scale and minimum wage to protect workers. When it works, you get just pay for an honest day's work. But Jesus isn't talking about our labor and pay policies. It's not a parable about how we are to treat employees. He isn't telling us to pay people for doing only a little work. Rather, he is describing how God acts towards us; how things are in the "kingdom of heaven" where God's influence is felt and God's power is at work. In the kingdom of heaven, judging from today's parable, the guiding principle is generosity and it is given with no little element of surprise. How could those minimal workers have even hoped for a full-day's pay? You arrive at a friend's house for dinner, ring the doorbell and when the door is opened a crowd of your closest family and friends are there to shout, "Surprise!" It's your birthday. That's not something you planned for; maybe you don't think you deserve all the fuss. But there it is a party for your benefit, "Surprise!" I don't know about you, but I'm not a superstar performer for the Lord. The bottom line is that while I try to do my best, I don't want to be judged just by my accomplishments. There are days of hard work with their successes.  But there are other less-satisfying days, when I would not like a measure taken of the day's achievements for the Lord. Some days I invest less effort in what I must do and there are times, I know, I could have done a lot better. What about those other times in our lives we would like to forget, when we should have made different and better choices? But we didn't. How is all that going to be evaluated at the end of our lives? We are the recipients of such generosity from God. Jesus first of all paints a concrete picture of what grace is like. If we, who hear this parable today, are awake to what is being offered us again at this Eucharist, then we would have to conclude, "How can I be as generous to others, as God has been to me?" A woman was interviewed on television. She was chosen as a "heroic mother," who single-handedly raised a large family. All her children did very well in life and turned out to be good adults with good jobs and families of their own. Hers was a story worth acknowledging and celebrating. The person interviewing her, as if to get some formula that others could imitate to achieve successful families, commented, "I suppose you loved all your children equally, making sure they all got the same treatment." "No," she said, "I love them. I love them all, each one of them. But not equally. I loved the one that was down till he got up. I loved the one that was weak until she got strong. I loved the one that was hurt until he was healed. I loved the one that was lost until she was found."  What's it like in God's world? What is the kingdom of heaven like? It's like a mother who loves all her children according to their need, and loves them until they become who they were created to be—and then continues to love them. We have asked God for forgiveness and believe we have received it today—whether we think we deserve it or not. The parable has taken flesh in our lives. We who have experienced love may think we are not worthy of it, but we are blessed by it nevertheless. The parable has taken flesh in our lives. We have done a small deed for someone, or some group, and the good effects in their lives are out of proportion to our efforts for them. We have known the parable in our lives. Late in our lives we awake to God's presence and goodness. We wish we hadn't let so many years go by unconscious to the God we have now come to know. We have known the parable in our lives. If we have a notion that God thinks and acts like us, today's parable should dispel that thought. But the God Jesus reveals didn't begin to exist with the opening verses of the New Testament. Our Isaiah reading should convince us of that. The prophet makes it quite clear that God does not act or judge the way we do.We tend to cling to past wrongs done us and keep a mental list of those who have offended us.  We conclude that God will treat them similarly—it's only fair, we proclaim. But God's graciousness, Isaiah tells us, is unbounded and beyond human reckoning.  While we might conclude that God measures out grace and forgiveness according to our standards of justice, by what we determine a person deserves, the prophet reveals a God who shatters human standards beyond all our reasoning and expectation. We ourselves might not feel deserving of such a bountiful God, still, today's scriptures invite us to put aside any false humility we might have and become truly humble by saying "Yes" to our generous God's offer of forgiveness and love. With empty hands we come receptive to the generous gift God is offering us at this Eucharist; a meal that unites us in love with our God, the source of all life and holiness, unearned but nevertheless present at this moment to us.

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Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion? Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions which follow

Reflection Questions:

Do I see this parable as a story of human need or as a story of rank unfairness?

I think of a time when I was bothered or annoyed by a situation in which someone was unfairly the recipient of generosity.
Have I ever been criticized for giving someone else a break?

Have there been times when I have considered myself more deserving than others?
Have I ever felt unappreciated by those around me?

We live in a meritocracy. How does our culture conflict with this parable?

What does this parable say about the day laborers in Jesus’ time, about what would be a payment “that is right”
What does this parable say about God?
I describe God’s sense of fairness as Iunderstand it.

What is the economic situation for day laborers in our current society?
Have I ever been one or hired one?

What is the state of economic security, food security, health security and education security in our country right now?

Do I measure a person’s worthiness by how educated she is, how hard she works, how long he has been in this country, whether he has earned my respect or forgiveness?

Do I know of anyone who takes no joy in work, finds no dignity in work, works only for the money it produces to supply what she or her family needs to live?   
What in our society contributes to this joylessness?

What does it do to a person’s dignity when he cannot work, especially in this country?

What effect does social injustice have upon the world?  
How do I see social justice principles affecting our national policies toward the poor in our country and in other parts of the world?
What is the difference between charity and justice?  
Is one more important than the other?

How is the kingdom of God different from the systems/values we encounter on earth? 
Do I want always to be judged according to strict justice? 
Or do I want to leave room for mercy? 

Do I ever feel like the workers who were hired at dawn and had worked all day? 

What do I do with my resentments? 

Does it bother us more when bad things happen to good people or when good things happen to bad or undeserving people?

From Fr Daniel Harrington, S.J.:
Have you ever been the recipient of someone’s unexpected generosity? 
How did you respond?

Do most of us make God over in our own image, and do we have problems when God’s actions or words as translated through Jesus do not match the image we have created? Examples (The Prodigal Son, Mary and Martha, lost sheep, etc.) ?

Do I think of the “kingdom of God” as something we earn after death through sacrifice and good deeds?
Do I think of the “kingdom of God” as God himself who is pure love and nothing else?
Do I think of the “kingdom of God” as the world’s values transformed by love and compassion for others?
How has my religious tradition influenced my understanding of the term “kingdom of God”?

Are there “bad” people in heaven?

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Closing Prayer

Don’t forget to provide some prayer time at the beginning and at the end of the session (or both), allowing time to offer prayers for anyone you wish to pray for.  

From New Seeds of Contemplation, by Thomas Merton:
Kyrie
Keep me, above all things, from sin.
Keep me from loving money, in which is hatred
From avarice and ambition that suffocate my life.
Keep me from the deadly works of vanity
And the thankless labor for pride, money and reputation

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For the Week Ahead

Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today's session: Are you envious because I am generous?

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Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
I consider the problem of envy. The older brothers of Joseph, Cain, the elder son in the parable popularly known as the Prodigal Son, countless wicked stepmothers--all suffered from envy. Envy begrudges another what we think we lack or feel we deserve. It has a terrible and sometimes paralyzing effect on us. We cannot think rationally, we cannot act rationally.  Sometimes we cannot act at all, but seethe with resentment. Other times the corrosive emotions of anger and despair drive us to harm the object of our envy in some way. As a child, we may have struck another or taken something from him that he loved and destroyed it.  As older and more subtle adults we use the weapons of gossip, criticism, cynicism and indifference to wound those we envy. I think about someone in my life of whom I was envious. Why? Was it deserved? Were frustration and despair a part of the picture? Did I have trouble admitting that my feelings toward this person were caused by envy?  Did I feel inferior to this person? Unfairly treated by life? Defeated by my own limitations? Did I devalue in my own mind what this person had in order to make myself feel better? How did I resolve the problem? Was I ever the object of anyone else's envy?  Did I feed into it in any way? I pray to God for the clarity of vision to recognize and root out envy in myself, and to recognize and change behaviors which may cause people to envy me.

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:
)Adapted from “First Impressions”, a service of the Southern Dominican Province, by Fr. Jude Siciliano) Listen…I want to tell you a story…My name is Benjamin. I was there—I was in the vineyard that day…hired at the last hour, I could not believe the blessing! How could he have known how desperate I was, walking the marketplace since dawn in the heat, praying that I would not have to go home to my children empty-handed. But no one would hire me…Please forgive me for what I am about to tell you, but you see, I used to be a tax collector. It was despicable work, cheating my own people, and over the years I came to despise myself, although the money fed my children and family. But I can no longer hurt my people, and two weeks ago resolved to seek honest work. How I regretted my past then! No one would hire me…they spit in my face and laughed at my need.  My children are hungry, and today I promised my wife that if I did not find work I would relent and return to my shameful employment. And so you cannot imagine my joy when the owner of the vineyard gave me a chance.  And to be paid a full day’s wage! This is beyond my dreams. It has been salvation for me and for my family.  And now I must go to them…What might have happened if the other, resentful laborers had known this story? What if they had bothered to come close enough to ask Benjamin and the other latecomers why they had been in the marketplace all day—and learned it was “because no one hired us”? Can you picture them wanting to help this brother who is trying to start a new life—and spontaneously reaching into their pockets to share their hard-earned wages? Perhaps they would even realize that their “usual daily wage” is neither “usual” nor “theirs” at all—but is a gift from the ever-generous vineyard-owner…a gift to be shared. Their resentment could turn to rejoicing that they and their fellow workers really have been given all they truly need. How easy it is for us, initially, to identify with those disgruntled, angry laborers. After all, we live in a culture that teaches us: “Survival of the fittest!  It’s mine, I earned it! I worked hard for this, I have a right to it!” We live in a world torn by the violence of competition and misunderstanding, as we battle over money and power, land, culture, images of God. We worry about our national security, our economy, and we too easily turn to violence to protect what we grasp. My possessions. My land. My God. It is easy to feel threatened by the “other”— the foreigner, the different, the marginalized.  Matthew’s community was apparently no different in this regard.  A Jewish community only recently joined by Gentiles, they had to learn that their generous God welcomed the outsider, the latecomer, and called the stranger to be brother and sister to the community laboring in the vineyard of the kingdom. The Gospel invites them, and all of us, to allow our God who knows all hearts to open our heart to the other—and to transform our perception. From entitlement to gratitude…from resentment to rejoicing…from anger to understanding. Thich Nhat Hahn, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, tells us: “When you understand, you cannot help but love. You cannot get angry. To develop understanding, you have to practice looking at all living beings with the eyes of compassion. When you understand, you love. And when you love, you naturally act in a way that can relieve the suffering of people.” What would our world be like if we responded to God’s invitation to know and welcome the stranger? If we each could reach out and come close enough to know the stories of the marginalized people in our church, our workplace, our society? What stranger, what latecomer are you invited to open your heart to, today?  And what mystery of transformation might our generous God work in that sharing?

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:
For a lot of time in the Church, this parable about the laborers in the vineyard was NOT about laborers at all, but about who was reallly a true Christian in the early Church, or about God’s mercy towards those who repented of their sins later in their lives, or about converts who came into the Catholic Church as older adults, or even about “deathbed coversions”.  We were told very forcefully that these people would get into heaven eventually, after having paid the price for their sins in purgatory. The message was that we were not to be resentful that these latecomers would be in heaven, because God’s justice made sure that everything was “fair”. Apart from the theological problems inherent in that theory, there is the big problem that we were ignoring the real social justice issues that Jesus was referring to, mostly because it was uncomfortably political. Even though Pope Leo XIII wrote an encylical in defense of laborers, that was a minority melody compared to the emphasis on getting into heaven. I remember a pastor who was sent to minister to Stanford before we were allowed to function on campus, and his assignment was a sort of punishment for the fact that he was a political activist, openly supporting the farm workers.  The priests in El Salvador during their civil war were severly disciplined if they got involved in politics on the side of the rebels. In more recent years, there has been a renewed understanding of our obligations in justice to those who lack the resources they need to thrive. The question for each of us is whether we retreat into the comfortable threoretical question of who is worthy of God’s love (which actually requires little of us but tolerance) as opposed the uncomfortable questions about economic fairness and economic justice also inherent in this story: Who is worthy of enough to live on? Who is worthy of  migrating here in search of work and becoming an American? What does a wealthy society like the USA actually owe to underdeveloped nations? What, in a capitalistic society, do the owners (shareholders) owe the workers? What do we have to give up in time, talent or treasure to ensure social justice for those less fortunate? Each of us has to figure this out for ourselves. After praying with this gospel, where do you stand?

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Poetic Reflection

Some of us may need an attitude adjustment about how we value money and others’ needs for basic necessities. This poem by Wendell berry, a former Stanford Stegner Fellow who just died a few weks ago, is a wake-up call.

We Who Prayed and Wept
We who prayed and wept
for liberty from kings
and the yoke of liberty
accept the tyranny of things
we do not need.
In plenitude too free,
we have become adept
beneath the yoke of greed.

Those who will not learn
in plenty to keep their place
must learn it by their need
when they have had their way
and the fields spurn their seed.
We have failed Thy grace.
Lord, I flinch and pray,
send Thy necessity,

—from Selected Poems