Matthew 18:21-35 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time September 17, 2023
September 16, 2023
Matthew 21:28-32 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time October 1, 2023
September 30, 2023
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 55:6-9
Philippians 1:20-24, 27
Matthew 20:1-16
Matthew 20:1-16 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time September 24, 2023 “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.”
A. Text/Context
• We have a very beautiful gospel today that speaks that the justice of God is very different from that of our own concept as human beings
• The landowner needs laborers to work in his vineyard and started looking in the early morning
• By 9 AM and 5 PM he still hired workers paid according to the wage of the day
• And so, the workers who were hired earlier grumbled against the landowner because they expect that they will receive a higher wage because they have longer hours of work
• But the landowner said: My friend, I am not cheating you, you agreed with me for the usual daily wage. I am free to do with my own money
B. Human Situation
• So here we are my brothers and sisters, our own concept of justice is very different from that of God
• Humanly speaking, the landowner could be so unfair for giving similar pay with different work hours
• But on the other hand, the landowner can also do anything what he pleases on how to dispose his money
• For those who worked for a day’s wage, he is fair and just to give to them what is commensurate to their services
• But for those who worked with shorter work hours and still receive the same amount of wage, the landowner is not unjust, he is just more generous
• The gospel today gives us a picture as to how the justice of God works and it is so different from ours
• The justice of God gives us the privilege that no matter how many or how few the sins we commit God can still afford to grant forgiveness
• That no matter how big or how small or how serious or how light our sins are, God is till ready to forgive our infractions if we have recourse to him
• With our own measure of justice, certainly, the wage issue practiced by the landowner in the gospel example can cause furor among us because the way we see it is really unfair
• But the thing is that we cannot really question the generosity of God
• Even if the person is very wicked, God can still forgive him
• Even if he is a hardened criminal and he ask for forgiveness at the last hour before his death, God will still forgive him
• Of course when it concerns forgiveness, there is no problem with God because he is always ready to forgive
• The problem lies on our own part. If we ask for forgiveness, God is ready to grant pardon, there is no problem with God
• The problem is how to make amends for all the sins that we commit, how to make restitutions for all the damage that we did
• The consequence of sin spirals towards trouble for families, communities, organization and even to the whole country
• So that for that reason, nabungkag na ang pamilya, nagkabuagsa na ang mga anak because of infidelity to the marital vows, cheating in the community or company or corruption in the government agencies
• If the sinner will not be humble enough to ask for forgiveness, hell can really break loose, but, if the violator will have recourse to forgiveness it will have its positive effects
• God has already forgiven you, but still, you have to repair the damage that you have inflicted on your wife and children, on your neighbors or to your countrymen
• And that is the difficult part of forgiveness because we need to bow down our head in humility recognizing our sinfulness in order to make amends, in order to restitute for the damages
• It may happen that the person you offended has already recovered and has progressed again
• But for the sinner, the violator, even if he has been forgiven still needs to do something in order to totally repair the damage done
• This is what we call restitution; paying for the damages you did to complete reconciliation
• So, this is the difference between living a life with God and living a life of sin. If our life is straight and dignified we can sleep in peace even with all the disturbance
• If we live a life of sin, we are always disturbed, basin madakpan ta, basin mabuking ka and all those necessary consequences associated with sin
• In the end, if we have already repented for our sins and we have not yet fully made amends to restitute for the damages while we are still alive
• We should not get discouraged because God has already forgiven us. God has ways and means that we enter heaven totally clean even from the slightest stain of sin
• If we cannot do it while still alive, we need to restitute them in the afterlife
C. Challenge
• So today once more we are reminded that God is a welcoming being, ready to embrace every sinner who has recourse to him
• The unending mercy of God requires that all the sins that we commit no matter how big or how small, God will still forgive us as reiterated in the 1st reading
• At the same time we are also reminded how the justice of God works, so that for every sin that we commit, we are required to make restitution so that forgiveness, reconciliation will be totally complete while we are still alive
• Nevertheless, if forgiveness will not be made complete in our life here on earth, God has already marked our souls for salvation
• Mao ni ang role sa Book of Truth to save souls already in the precipice of damnation
• Surely, they will not have time to repent or do penance, but salvation has already come to them
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