25th Sunday in Ordinary Time(Cycle A, Year I)

Community Word
Jesus enlightens the hearts of those who trust in God’s ways.

Theme:
Our hearts are enlightened when we respond to God’s grace with gratefulness.

Promise:
“The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.”(Ps 145:18)

Reflection:
In the ‘Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard,’ the landowner goes out to hire laborers starting at dawn and during different times of the day.  We can presume that he would be choosing all the healthy, strong and abled persons he needs to work in his vineyard for one whole day.  As he goes out later, he sees some people standing around, and yet he still hires them to work.  We can think of them as the elderly, sickly and disabled; not that they refused to work early, but because no one has hired them due to their limitations. At the end of the day, he gives those who worked the whole day their whole day pay. But he also gives the same wage to those who work for shorter hours. Those who are hired early murmurs and complains about being unfair. The landowner tells them that he did not cheat anyone, but he is paying out of the generosity of his heart. He has actually paid the laborers not according to their work, but based on their needs. Not according to what they deserve, but because he is simply a generous landowner.

God is the landowner in the parable and we, His people, are the workers who are being invited to work in His vineyard – the building of His Kingdom. We are called by Christ through the gospel at various stages of our life. Some of us labor long and hard in building the Kingdom of the Lord when we heed His call early or at the prime of our life. Others accept His call in their middle or old age, when their health starts to wane and cannot offer to do as much as they want to. But all of God’s laborers are treated with fairness and generosity. The truth is that by His grace, all of us receive not merely what we deserve, but what God sees as our needs, even beyond what we expect. When we are willing to serve God and spread His gospel to others, we are recompensed not for our human effort, but we are measured by how much we have loved and cared for those who needed our help.

The theme for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time tells us: Our hearts are enlightened when we respond to God’s grace with gratefulness. Knowing and understanding the magnanimity of God when He pours His graces upon us, we should truly be grateful to the Lord for only He sees our hearts. We should continue to fix our eyes on the wonderful works He has done for us and be thankful for these blessings, instead of being envious of His generosity towards others.  Remember what the Lord is telling us, “…My grace is sufficient for you…” (2 Cor 12:9a). Let us keep our hearts burning with the desire to remain in communion with God, realizing how undeserving we are, yet benefiting from the Lord’s free gift (grace) to us.

There are many who are still standing around waiting to be invited to know the gospel of Christ. To them, we need to preach the gift of salvation we received from Jesus our Savior that brought us unsearchable riches and abundance. We need to make known to them the manifold wisdom of God and the revelation of His eternal purpose, by encouraging them to join our community where they can worship the Lord and fellowship with us. The intensity, dedication and devotion to accomplish this mission will surely be challenged by circumstances and various obstacles. In those times when we are trapped in hopeless situation, we can always cry to God for His grace of encouragement, strength and perseverance, and He will surely hear us.

We just need to believe in His promise for us this week, “The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth,”(Ps 145:18). Let us sense His presence with joy, knowing that He is there with His love and generosity. He is God Almighty ready to help us through. Let our hearts feel His grace in every circumstance of our life.  As St. Augustine wrote, “in the end, everything is grace.”

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, by Your amazing grace You have welcome us into Your kingdom.  As workers in Your “Vineyard” make us work diligently and gratefully in the remaining time we have on earth. Lead us by Your Holy Spirit to do whatever we are called to do, out of a genuine faith and spiritual enthusiasm.  Remind us that Your grace is timeless and You give to us what we truly deserve. Teach us to be thankful in whatever circumstances we are in and not begrudge the blessings of others. In Jesus name. Amen.

Reflection Guides:
1.Feeling that you are more faithful and prayerful, do you sometimes perceived that God is unfair to you and you deserve more than others? How do you overcome these feelings?

2.Knowing that God’s grace (blessing, favor, kindness) is His generosity to the undeserving, how does this affect your relationship with God and your neighbor?

This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
September 24, 2017 (Sun)-Is 55:6-9 / Ps 145:2-3, 8, 9, 17, 18 / Phil 1:20-24. 27 / Mt 20:1-16
September 25, 2017(Mon) – Ez 1:1-6/Ps 126:1-6/Lk 8:16-18
September 26, 2017(Tues) – Ez 6:7, 8/12, 14-20/Ps 122:1-5/Lk 8:19-21
September 27, 2017(Wed) – Ez 9:5-9/Tb 13:2-8/Lk 9:1-6
September 28, 2017 (Thur) – Hg 1:1-8/Ps 149:1-6, 9/Lk 9:7-9
September 29, 2017 (Fri) – Dn 7:9, 10, 13, 14/Ps 138:14-5/Jn 1:47-51
September 30, 2017(Sat) – Zec2:5-9, 14, 15/Jer 31:10-13/Lk 9:43-45

“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ.  Read your Bible daily!”