Gospel Lectio Divina for the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time - September 24, 2023
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.
READ
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."
"The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.”
Let’s follow this parable from the beginning. The landowner went out at dawn. Likewise, God has been inviting humanity into the Kingdom since the dawn of history. He first called the Israelites to be his people. But later, Jesus and the disciples invited Gentiles into the Kingdom, or “vineyard”. Gentiles will receive the same salvation as the Jews, even though they came into the vineyard much later. This was a debate in the First Century church, a debate that is even recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. But in this Gospel, we see a clear allusion to the idea that Jesus favored letting in the Gentiles, the latecomers who were not raised in the traditions of God’s chosen people. This parable takes on more meaning when we notice that most Christians today are Gentiles. Thus, unless we are Jewish, we are the latecomers to the vineyard. Throughout his ministry, Jesus was laying the groundwork for inviting everyone into his kingdom, and this is just one example.
“When those who had started about five o'clock came, each received the usual daily wage.”
There is abundant, perhaps even infinite, charity in heaven. “Diverse weights and diverse measures are both alike an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 20:10). It doesn’t matter how many years we’ve been Christian. It doesn’t matter how hard we think we’ve worked. God isn’t measuring our good works. He looks at our hearts. A person who has been a devout Christian all his life could grow bitter in the end. This is why we pray to Mary, “Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.” The hearts of the laborers who joined the others at the end of the day were probably filled with gratitude. That is what matters because it’s about God and his generosity, not how much we have done.
It’s common for people to think that Catholics believe in a merit system for getting into heaven. Whoever thinks this is wrong. We do not believe that our merits or good works get us to heaven. We believe God’s grace and generosity get us there, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. But what is our response to that grace? The greatest proof that we have hearts of gratitude for saving our souls is to be just as gracious and generous to others as God has been with us. The greatest way to show that God’s grace has taken root in our souls is by loving others with the same kind of love with which God loves us. At the end of the day, the landowner showed everyone generosity. Just the fact that he gave the laborers a job and paid them was an act of generosity. In expecting more than what they received, the laborers who worked all day were not showing gratitude for what they had received.
God acts in a way that is far beyond our finite understanding of equality and fairness. So Jesus is showing how he does things, how heaven works. It is a place where God’s infinite generosity generates everything and everyone. Jesus’ main goal is to help us live with the same sense of abundance. He does not want us to live with a scarcity mindset. He wants us to live life more abundantly, and that starts by being more generous to others whether they deserve it or not.
These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us
The landowner’s actions have nothing to do with equality. They have to do with charity. It’s fair to assume that these latecomers were grateful for the landowner’s generosity. If they were not grateful, they would be like the first servant from last week’s Gospel. If we’re learning from the Gospel from the past two weeks and connect the lesson, we can see that the landowner’s expectation is probably for the latecomers to show similar generosity to someone else the next chance they get to do so. In last week’s Gospel, the servant who was forgiven a debt did not pardon the debt of someone who owed him money. His master punished him for not showing the generosity that he was shown. The idea in both Gospels is that, when we are shown mercy or charity, Christ wants us to pay it forward. He wants us to show generosity to others in the way he has shown it to us, to forgive others as he has forgiven us when they ask. Even if they don’t ask, we are called to forgive in our hearts so the bitterness of unforgiveness doesn’t have a hold on us.
So the landowner’s generosity is an investment in his community and in mankind. He is hoping that his charity is passed on. You may have seen the movie Pay it Forward, where a young boy shows generosity to a homeless man by inviting him into his family’s home. That man passed on the generosity to another man through his own genuine act of kindness, and that other man passed it on to another, and so on. After some time, there emerged a movement where strangers showed strangers random acts of kindness—all because of the philosophy of paying it forward started by a child. It’s a sweet story, but one problem with it is that there is no apparent credit given to Christ’s teaching. The parable in this Sunday’s Gospel shows that the idea of paying it forward came from Christ.
MEDITATE
Jesus,
Thank you for inviting me into your vineyard early on in my life. Help me to see the advantages of that, and not grow bitter toward those who you called in later in life while offering them all the same graces. The value of my years with you is in the years themselves, the many times you saved me when I was slipping away, the prayers you answered beautifully over and over again. How can I ever expect anything more? The compensation for being in your vineyard for years is just being here. The joy is in the journey. I am not looking for anything extra. I am just enjoying every moment, because “better is one day in your courts than thousands elsewhere.” In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
LISTEN
What I usually hear from Christ when I read this Gospel is, “God’s generosity is the same for Christians who have just entered the Faith as it is for those who have been here for years.” But this time, I hear the voice of the Prodigal Son’s father, and I’m the son who stayed. Just as the laborers were not awarded due to their time in the vineyard, the Prodigal Son parable is not about the merits of either son. Rather, both parables are about God’s abundant generosity. The Father is always outpouring with love when we are simply willing to turn to him with gratitude and humility. He is the bottomless font of charity. Seeking and listening to him every day reveals endless possibilities.
Kilby is a freelance writer from New Jersey and managing editor of Catholic World Report. He received his undergrad degree in humanities and Catholic culture from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. In addition to working with the Knights of the Holy Eucharist (knights.org), he has served as a journalist for Princeton Packet Publications, and the Trenton Monitor, the magazine for the Diocese of Trenton. Some of his published work can also be found in St. Anthony Messenger, Catholic Herald (UK), and Catholic World Report. For the latter he is managing editor. Find more of his writing at ramblingspirit.com
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