DAILY- HOMILY

SEPTEMBER 18, 2011
25TH SUNDAY WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – A

Is 55:6-9 / Ps 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18 / Phil 1:20-24, 27 / Mt 20:1-16

ISAIAH 55:6-9
Seek Yahweh while he may be found; call to him while he is near. Let
the wicked abandon his way, let him forsake his thoughts, let him turn
to Yahweh for he will have mercy, for our God is generous in
forgiving. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are not your
ways, says Yahweh. For as the heavens are above the earth, so are my
ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts.

PHILIPPIANS 1:20C-24, 27A
Brothers and sisters, Christ will be exalted through my person,
whether I live or die. For to me, to live is Christ, and even death is
profitable for me. But if I am to go on living, I shall be able to
enjoy fruitful labor. Which shall I choose? So I feel torn between the
two. I desire greatly to leave this life and to be with Christ, which
will be better by far, but it is necessary for you that I remain in
this life. Try, then, to adjust your lives according to the Gospel of
Christ. May I see it when I come to you, and if I cannot come, may I
at least hear that you stand firm in the same spirit, striving to
uphold the faith of the Gospel with one heart.

MATTHEW 20:1-16A
Jesus told his disciples this parable, "The kingdom of heaven is like
a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his
vineyard. He agreed to pay the workers a salary of a silver coin for
the day, and sent them to his vineyard. He went out again at about
nine in the morning, and seeing others idle in the square, he said to
them: `You, too, go to my vineyard and I will pay you what is just.'
So they went. The owner went out at midday and again at three in the
afternoon, and he did the same. Finally he went out at the last
working hour—it was the eleventh— and he saw others standing there. So
he said to them: `Why do you stay idle the whole day?' They answered:
`Because no one has hired us.' The master said: `Go and work in my
vineyard.' "When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his
manager: `Call the workers and pay them their wage, beginning with the
last and ending with the first.' Those who had come to work at the
eleventh hour turned up and were given a denarius each (a silver
coin). When it was the turn of the first, they thought they would
receive more. But they, too, received a denarius each. So, on
receiving it, they began to grumble against the landowner. They said:
`These last hardly worked an hour, yet you have treated them the same
as us who have endured the day's burden and heat.' The owner said to
one of them: `Friend, I have not been unjust to you. Did we not agree
on a denarius a day? So take what is yours and go. I want to give to
the last the same as I give to you. Don't I have the right to do as I
please with my money? Why are you envious when I am kind?' So will it
be: the last will be first, the first will be last."

REFLECTION
The parable in our Gospel today surely is not meant to teach us some
novel economic principle, nor does it offer us a new model for working
out labor contracts or agreements. The main point of the parable is
God's generosity and His freedom to go beyond ordinary human standards
even as this exercise of God's freedom also respects human practices.
And so the issue in the parable is not about human justice and
equality but about divine freedom and God's flexibility to enter into
or intervene in human affairs and deal with differing times and
situations in people's lives.

The parable allows us to see how God deals with us, His people. He
deals wi th us in a deeply personal way, according to our
circumstance, according to our times and needs. We are all called to
the same kingdom of God but shown different ways or paths to get
there, and in the end, we respond to the call and walk our own
particular path towards the kingdom according to our individual
choices.

We can always look to others, yes, and even perhaps compare notes with
them, but ultimately, the choices will be made by us, and the choices
are individual and personal choices. Thus, it is a futile exercise to
be endlessly comparing ourselves with others, and getting upset
because some fare better than us in certain aspects of life. Or become
proud in the process when we perceive others as lesser than ourselves.
Our primary task is to focus on our personal commitments with the Lord
and work on them as best as we could. And God, in his goodness, will
give us our appropriate reward.

And speaking of rewards, the parable does also tell us something about
receiving rewards. God does compensate us for our good deeds, but the
rewards are not ours to assign or determine. The measures are not ours
to dictate. It is still God's generosity that is the measure of
whatever reward we deserve. And we just trust that God is always
generous and fair. And as always, God's rewards surpass our
imaginings, especially for us, or for many of us, who frequently
report to his vineyard late.

Finally, we remind ourselves once again that in the vast vineyard of
our Lord, we all have our individual patches to tend. And at the end
of the day, that particular patch is what we and we alone as
individuals would be accountable to. We leave it to the wisdom of the
Lord the determination of whatever reward is due us.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of: Brian, Mary Ann, Kristen,
Debbie, Nancy, Gene, Eugene R, Frank, John C & Mrs C, Linda O
- Renan and Bong Lacida
- Jo Marcelo
- Wally Torres
- Mon Torres
- Monica
… for the personal intentions of
- Pauline
- Mary Wong
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Jun Lee
- Jonathan Salazar
Eternal rest grant unto them and may perpetual light shine upon them.
May they and all the dearly departed rest in peace.
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Bernie Talimban Jr.
- Birthday: Dra. Evelyn N. Almalel
- Birthday: Lydia Magudang
- Birthday: Orlando Magudang
- In Memoriam (+): Pedro Cabral
… for families who are in need of healing
… for world peace and reconciliation.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers
and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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