Sunday, September 20 – Fr. Fox
Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 20:1-16a
Gospel:
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.”
Gospel Reflection:
Evangelize! We are living in a very interesting time as Catholics. For many years, the Church seemed to be bleeding its members. People were fleeing the Church in droves, and the alarm bell rang out. The Church knew that it had a potential disaster on its hands, but just as Scripture tells us, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it,” an unforeseen phenomenon began to emerge.
The youth of our nation began to realize the benefits of faith. Instead of losing people to other religious denominations, we began to see gains again, especially in our own diocese. The Church in Columbus is growing! However, over those wayward years, we lost many; faith slipped by the wayside, and many of them have still stayed away. In our growing faith community, we need to make room for ALL our brothers and sisters to come home. It is to this mission that Christ calls all of us. To evangelize all people.
But how many will ask? Not many people are willing to step up on soapboxes on street corners and proclaim the gospel. There are many ways each of us can testify to our faith; there are some ways we witness to Jesus without ever saying a word. Wear a crucifix visibly around your neck! Wear the Miraculous Medal! Pop that Catholic radio sticker on the bumper of your car and hang that rosary from your rearview mirror (with the understanding that the rosary is meant to be prayed, not just displayed). Go to Generations Book Store and buy a faith-filled T-shirt! They have a whole display of them.
This matters because the more we show our faith, the more normalized faith becomes. It stops feeling strange and starts to feel normal. If everyone becomes a “Jesus freak,” we cease to be freaks; we become the norm! This is how we will bring back our lost loved ones. Not with threats of hell, not with scoffs and head shakes, but with silent, steady encouragement to return to the life they left behind and, without even knowing it, abandoned a peace they forgot they once had. You attract more bees with honey than with vinegar, as the saying goes, so let us hold our faith with an air of joy and serenity, honoring our Church by showing our continuing presence of belief in the Lord of lords and the King of kings, and know that it is never too late to start, nor is it ever too late to find redemption in the Church established by Jesus Christ Himself! I say it again, EVANGELIZE!
Fr. Jason Fox