Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Reading Is 55:6-9; Second Reading Phil 1:20c-24, 27a; Gospel Mt 20:1-16a

The Heart of God

The generosity of God does not know the logic of this world!

The mercy of God does not go by the calculations of this world!

With our human standards, we will never understand God’s way of working things out in this world! We will always fall short when we attempt to do so!

This first reading proclaimed: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.” Yes. God’s thoughts are not ours and God’s ways are not ours.

In the Gospel Passage, the master is obviously unfair and unjust. One who worked for a whole day gets the same amount as one who worked just for an hour! Isn’t it injustice? Certain it is – from the eyes of the world but not so for the master.

Just to understand the parable:

When the master fixes the price with the labourer, he says, “I will pay you what is just.”.  So, for the master what is important is not the ‘hours of work’ or ‘deserving wages” but the just wages.

Sometimes, wages based even on the hours of work need not be just. Sometimes, the master using various criteria says, ‘This is the wage you deserve’ and that deserving wages need not be just either.

So, what is the just wage? Just wage is that which helps one to make both ends meet for a day. Just wage means that the labourer has sufficient money to take care of the family.

So, for the master, it is not about hours of work, but it is about the just wages. One who came at 9.00 received the just wages and the one who came at the last hour received the just wages too. At the end of the day, all of the laborers have enough money to take care of their families.

The Master, referring to our God, goes beyond the worldly understanding of how we settle the accounts. Our God is full of compassion and mercy, and he provides what one needs, no matter whether one is deserving or not.

Prodigal Son, deserved to be punished. He squandered all the money. He brought shame to his Father, yet Father welcomed Him and celebrated his return. Was the Father unjust?

The shepherd, losing one sheep risks the other ninety-nine and goes in search of that one, and upon finding that lost one, he celebrates finding it. Was he senseless to risk the ninety-nine?

The woman caught in adultery, according to the law of Moses, deserved to be stoned to death. However, Jesus made sure, that He did not condemn her but forgave her. Was Jesus not following the Mosaic law?

Yes, for us humans of this world – such a Father is unjust. Such a shepherd is senseless and the guilty need to be punished. But for Jesus, things work differently, in a way, we will never be able to understand from our own viewpoints, perspectives, thinking patterns, and the ways of the world we are part of.

We need to see it from God’s perspective – meaning we need to see it from God’s heart. In God’s heart, there is only love, mercy, forgiveness, and compassion. For, God, Justice without Mercy is not Justice at all!

Jesus has taught us – “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil.  But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:38-39). This is how a Christian is called to conduct oneself!

In our lives and particularly in our relationships, can we see one another from God’s perspective and with God’s heart?

Instead of looking for tit for tat and tooth for tooth in our relationships, can we be generous in forgiving as God is?

Instead of even looking for justice in our relationships, can we be more understanding and merciful as God is?

Instead of treating one another with  as deserving or undeserving of it, can we look beyond and treat him or her with love as God does?

All these do not make sense to the human heart but to a Heart that is like God’s, it does make sense. We need to rise from the human realm to live our lives from the divine realm for then we are closer to God than ever.

I do understand the situation in relationships, where the abuses, violence of one kind or the other, extreme disrespect are beyond imagination and the pain caused to the victims in such relationships is unbearable. You ask me, how then it is possible to be like God? How much to bear? Isn’t there a limit? I am haunted by these questions as you are. I cannot spiritualize the issue and provide a spiritual solution.

Such situations undeniably call for interventions, legal and spiritual. With all due respect, what the scripture recommends which I do too, is, to find all possible means to set right the person, putting some understanding and sense into this person, instead of giving it up on the person and taking an extreme path.

If I am the perpetrator who causes immense pain to the other in the relationship, it is time I realize that it is lowlife to persistently cause pain to the other and to begin to change the course of my thinking and acting so that my heart is like that of God: kind and loving.

The message today is very clear – God values relationships. God wants us to persevere in relationships. God wants you to be like him in a relationship. God wants us to go beyond what the world thinks is justice and deserve in a relationship. God wants us to have a heart like His – A heart that forgives the prodigal, a Heart that goes in search of that one lost one, a heart that does not condemn.

Are we going to be like the ones the world thinks ‘just’? or Are we going to like the ones our God wants “loving’?

In the answer lies the quality of our Christian Life and Christian Relationships.

POWER OF LOVE IN THE FAMILY LIFE

Ez 33:7-9; Rom 13:8-10; Mt 18:15-20 – 23 Sunday of the Year

Mother Teresa once wisely said, “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” In today’s world, marked by division and hatred, many of us long for peace and harmony. It’s natural to desire to make the world a better place, but perhaps the path to changing the world begins here, in our families.

Before we rush to transform the world, let’s pause and reflect on our family lives. The readings in the liturgy remind us to start here, within our own homes, to create positive change.

Now, let’s consider some essential questions: What role does love play in our families? Can we see and feel love within our households? How do we relate to each other in our families? Are our interactions characterized by love and support, or do ego and hate mar our relationships? How do we address conflicts within our families?

The second reading holds a profound message regarding our relationships within the community. St. Paul’s words resonate deeply: “Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” This statement highlights a fundamental principle: in our relationship with others, we owe nothing but love. Love is the cornerstone of any genuine relationship. When we seek something other than love in a relationship, it ceases to be a true relationship and becomes a mere contract or agreement.

Love is the essence of the family/community bond. Loving a person regardless of who they are or what they do is real love. This love is authentic, selfless, and free from any selfish motives. It is this love that breathes life into our family/community, uniting us, allowing us to cherish each other’s presence, and embracing our individual differences. Can we say that this is the type of love that characterizes our relationships with one another?

St. Paul goes on to say, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet, “and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” So, every commandment that we have in the scripture is summed up in this one command: Love one another as yourself. Everything that we do and everything that we are, finally boils down to this: Love!

Let us see for ourselves what is the meaning of “love yourself” – self-love is natural instinct!  Each one wishes good for oneself. Each one wants to do well. Each one accepts oneself. Each one expects that others treat one well and love one sincerely. If this is what we wish for ourselves, shouldn’t we wish the same for others – this is what love your neighbor as yourself means!

If I do not want to be hated, I should not hate the other! If I do not want to be gossiped about, I should not gossip about the other! If I do not want to be disrespected, I should respect everyone. If I do not want to be shouted at, I should not raise my voice against anyone. If I desire that others should trust me, I should trust the others.  If I wish that others are understanding towards me, I should be understanding towards my fellow community members. If I wish that others support me – my initiatives and my work, I should be ready to lend a helping hand to others in the community.  If I wish that others listen to me, I should offer the same listening ear and consideration to others. If I wish that others accept me as I am, I should embrace and accept others as they are. This is what love your neighbour as yourself means!

St. Paul concludes this: Love does no evil to the neighbor. I am sure, none of us engages in any sort of evil actions towards others but at the same time, let us not deny the fact, that we could have evil thoughts towards others, which is also equally wrong. Evil may be a strong word, so another better word could be – Negative Thoughts towards the other! One who loves has no room for negative thoughts toward others – Negative thoughts are poison in our minds and corrupt our minds.

How are we negative toward the others?

When we are highly critical of others – It is negative!

When we actively engage in ill-talk – It is negative!

When we look down on the other – It is negative!

When we insult the other – It is negative!

When we refuse to cooperate with the others – It is negative!

When we disregard others’ feelings, – It is negative!

When we prioritize our interests over the well-being of the family/community – It is negative!

When we harbor resentment and hold grudges against others – It is negative!

All of these behaviors are not just negative; they can be considered evil. When we embody love, we refrain from engaging in such conduct. Love motivates us to do good and be better Sisters. It encourages us to be positive and supportive Sisters.

Being positive is being in love – love with one another in the community and when we are in love, we are positive, we wish only good for the others.

St. Paul then says, “Love is the fulfillment of the law.” There is nothing else we need to do to obey the commandments of the Law except love. There is a great list of dos and don’ts in the Bible which we are expected to observe but all of those are not necessary for those who live their lives by loving others. Regarding the worship of God, there are several prescriptions in the Scriptures related to sacrifices and burnt offerings. But God is not interested in all those sacrifices at all. God does not want any burnt offerings at all. God simply looks for the heart that loves – A loving heart is the sacrifice, God prefers!

Mark 12:33: And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.”

Hosea 6:6: For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

To place these verses in our context, our liturgical celebrations become meaningful and find their fulfillment not in the chapels alone but in our relationships with one another outside of this chapel – in the family.  

So our liturgical celebrations become irrelevant, if we are not here looking to reconcile with the others, looking to forgive the other, looking to ask forgiveness from the other, looking to respect the others, looking to love the other! Our liturgical celebrations are ways of expressing our love for God! But, loving God is not possible without the love of the neighbour.

No one can better say this than 1 John 4: 20, If someone says, “I love God,” and yet he hates his brother or sister, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother and sister whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

Love alone is the fulfillment of the law including of the laws related to our worship- the liturgical celebrations.

What Jesus proposes to strengthen our relationship with one another is the Dialogue, Conversation, and Speaking to one another. Most often what happens in our relationships is that, we stop talking the moment we have an issue or a problem. Dialogue is not an argument! Dialogue is shouting over another! Dialogue is not fighting!

Dialogue is a two-way process of speaking and listening without any judgment, which is difficult. While one can be so quick to talk, one is very slow to listen to others. It is not about proving one right. It is about strengthening a relationship.

When we do not positively engage in dialogue, anger prolongs, hatred grows, peace diminishes, and one suffers endlessly. So, whether I am the one who hurt the other or who is hurt, if it can do good to the community, who don’t I take the first step to dialogue! In this way, community can become places of joy, true joy. Dialogue alone ensures joy in the community. In the words of Pope Francis, let our faces radiate with Joy and not look like chillies pickled in vinegar.

Jesus says, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” This is what Jesus says about a family. Family is created in Jesus’ name. Therefore, He is in our midst, as the head of our family, as the leader of the family, and as the guide of the family. We tend to ignore Christ in our family. We do not listen to Him even though He is in our midst. We do not follow His teachings though he has been teaching us. He is right there in our midst, but it is a pity that we live our lives as if Christ is not here.

Let us recognize Christ’s presence in our community and let our family become a Home for Christ.

Let us recognize Chris’s voice in our family and let our family become a Gospel family.

Let us recognize Christ in one another in the family, let us love one another as Christ loves us.