A Cycle – 25^th Sunday in Ordinary Time 23

Mt. 20:1-16a

My thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways (Is.55;8). 

Did you ever ponder the miracle of creation? Think about how the earth tilts on its axis and by doing so we have four seasons.  How the earth’s position from the sun is so precise we have this amazing planet.  Or how about how oxygen is created by the very nature that surrounds us. Could this earth and the universe be created without a master design behind it all?  It is no wonder the word of God tells us our thoughts are so far from God’s we cannot grasp the fullness of what God is offering us.  Perhaps that is a greater problem for us than we have ever considered.  Why? Because we want to understand the things that are beyond our understanding.  That leads us to an intellectual pursuit and move on without further thought.

It is no wonder the psalmist tells us be still and know He is God. Be still, empty ourselves and just be in the presence of God. Allow the Holy Spirit to open our minds and hearts to understand.  Paul tells us “…who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him.  Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 2:11). With the Spirit gifting us with understanding, we can gain insights into the mind of God.     

The parable we hear today is telling us how God’s mercy works and yet our response is disbelief.  How can it be fair for one to receive what others worked hard to earn? But let us move from the vineyard to our experiences of God’s mercy. We do not believe it is fair that the person who molested your child can receive mercy without punishment.  That if that person at the last hour of their life asks God for forgiveness it is given to them.  It is hard to comprehend how God can embrace a serial killer if they repent and ask for forgiveness and receive the same reward as Mother Theresa.  We believe sin must be punished and the greater the sin the greater the punishment should be.   

We cannot even get past our sin and embrace the forgiveness won for us by Jesus? We continue to hold onto the guilt for past failings and sinfulness. How can we ever offer forgiveness to others since we have trouble forgiving ourselves?  God has given us the means to not only embrace forgiveness but also to understand how mercy has no limits in its application.  Paul emphasizes that fact when he wrote, “Now, we have received, not from the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God” (1 Cor.2:12).  Paul is telling us we can understand mercy and why it is so freely given to us.

Paul is telling us a spiritual truth; we need to get past measuring our own righteousness by the lack of righteousness in others.  We need to listen to the Spirit given to us by God and allow the Spirit to change our hearts.  We can get past our human nature and begin to understand how God desires “all to be saved,” the righteous and the unrighteous.

Let us once again listen to the inspired words of Paul so that we can not only understand the things of God but begin to live according to the will of God.  “A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Cor.2:14).  It is no wonder the workers in the parable of the vineyard are upset. They appraise the situation according to the mind of man. The owner of the vineyard is acting foolishly because of His generosity.  It is not fair that one who worked only two hours would receive the same pay as the one who worked for 12 hours.  It is not fair that the drunk driver who killed your spouse should not condemned to hell for their sins. 

This parable and Paul insights should make us question our understanding of what God intended when He offers us forgiveness and mercy.  Our quest needs to go beyond the act of mercy and forgiveness.  It should be a quest be to experience the generous gift of mercy from God.  This means we must experience forgiveness in a manner that allows us to feel not only our sin but also our guilt removed. 

Why is it so many individuals on their death beds are asking forgiveness for sins committed years ago and confessed repeatedly?  Is it because we doubt mercy can be given without punishment?  With doubt comes uncertainty and with uncertainty we will never understand God’s mercy.  The parable of the workers in the vineyard tells us we believe there must be a penalty due for anyone who fails to work to please God as measured by how long they have been pleasing God.  We have failed to understand the desire of God who has consistently told us “…he removes the guilt of our sin” (Mic.7:18).    

We must put on the mind of Christ and that demands we put on a new way of thinking. We must stop judging others sinfulness and focus on feeling the freedom of forgiveness of our sins.  If we believe the scriptures are the inspired word of God, then we must accept the fact that we can begin to not only embrace forgiveness, but we must offer forgiveness as well.  We have been told by God the Holy Spirit will reveal all things to us.  We can change and put on the mind of Christ and be like Christ to others.  God revealed that to Paul, and it inspired him to write, “For who knows the mind of the Lord, that He will instruct us.?  But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16).