DAILY- HOMILY: 09/18/11

DAILY- HOMILY

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Sunday, September 18, 2011

25TH SUNDAY WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – A

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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# posted by F O O D F O R T H O U G H T @ 5:57 PM 0 comments

MONDAY 25TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I

SEPTEMBER 19, 2011
MEMORIAL, ST. JANUARIUS, BISHOP & MARTYR
MONDAY 25TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I

Ezr 1:1-6 / Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6 / Lk 8:16-18

EZRA 1:1-6 1
In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, Yahweh willed to fulfill
the word he had said through the prophet Jeremiah, so he moved the
spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, to issue the following command and
send it out in writing to be read aloud everywhere in his kingdom,
"Thus speaks Cyrus, king of Persia: Yahweh, the God of heavens, who
has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has ordered me to build
him a Temple in Jerusalem, in the land of Judah. To everyone belonging
to his people, may his God be with him! Let them go up to Jerusalem
with the help of their God and there build the House of Yahweh, the
God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem. In every place where the
rest of the people of Yahweh live, let the people of those places help
them for their journey with silver, gold and all kinds of goods and
livestock. Let them also give them voluntary offerings for the House
of Yahweh which is in Jerusalem." Then they rose up—the heads of the
families of Judah and Benjamin, the priests and the Levites, and all
those whose spirit God had stirred up—and they decided to go and build
the House of Yahweh. And all their neighbors gave them all kinds of
help: gold, silver, livestock and precious objects in great quantity,
besides every kind of voluntary offering.

LUKE 8:16-18
Jesus said to his disciples, "No one, after lighting a lamp covers it
with a bowl or puts it under the bed; rather he puts it on a lampstand
so that people coming in may see the light. In the same way, there is
nothing hidden that shall not be uncovered; nothing kept secret that
shall not be known clearly. Now, take care how well you listen, for
whoever produces will be given more, but from those who do not
produce, even what they seem to have will be taken away from them."

REFLECTION
The reading for today gives us three points for reflection:

(1) "No one lights a candle and hides it under a vessel." The world
today, influenced by the mass appeal of media, makes it so easy for us
to do what everyone else is doing. Can we face the challenge of this
passage which dares us to be different and give testimony, no matter
what the cost, to what we believe is right?

(2) "There is nothing that will not be made manifest," urging us to
lead lives which, unblemished, become a good example to others. For
everything we keep secret will someday be revealed. Are we leading
lives that may be considered open books, containing nothing to hide,
nothing to be ashamed of?

(3) "Take care, then, how you listen; for to him who has it will be
given; and from him who has not, there shall be taken away even what
he thinks he has." The message here is similar to the parable of the
sower. We are fortunate to be recipients of the word of God. Does the
word remain dormant in our hearts and minds, or does it lead us to
action?

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 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: Lorie Rivera
- Birthday: Lily C. Gaw
- Birthday: Diane Cruz
- Birthday: Jose C. Bautista
- Wedding Anniversary: Amada C. Munoz & Henry Go
- In Memoriam (+): Henry Tang
- In Memoriam (+): Ramon S. Bate
… for families who are in need of healing
… for world peace and reconciliation.