September 20, 2020 - Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

"Trust the Divine Landowner"

Audio Link

Well, as of August 4th when my wife and I dropped off our youngest daughter at college, we are officially “empty-nesters” --- at least temporarily. You know what I mean when I say “temporarily” --- kids never forget their way back home, which is fine by me. Looking back on her high school years, never could we have imagined that what is usually such an exciting and inspiring time in a young person’s life would be mired in the midst of a pandemic. And with it, has come a number of challenges to the traditional college lifestyle --- like “quarantines” with the same seven students for the first thirty days of campus life, or having food delivered to your dorm room to avoid contamination in the cafeteria, or “virtual” classroom sessions transmitted via ZOOM so you’re not really present with your professors and fellow students, but mom and dad are still expected to pay the same tuition bill --- it’s incredible!

During the past few months, probably many of us are feeling the same way as today’s college students --- our lives are routinely strange and, at times, unsettling. We’re undoubtedly experiencing a form of suffering, even if it hasn’t necessarily been physically difficult, it certainly has been emotionally difficult with social distancing guidelines, job insecurity for some, balancing on-site and remote learning for grade schoolers and other challenges. But, our Catholic faith prepares us for moments like these.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus shares the parable of the landowner and the idle laborers. The account appears to describe a time of significant hardship and emotional despair, as well, since the landowner was able to hire workers at five different times throughout the day --- their supply was seemingly endless. And, the emotional stakes appeared to be sky-high as some of the first hired laborers reacted bitterly to the generosity of the landowner and the equal compensation which all workers received. What are the lessons we can take from this story?

When life is uncertain, and the plans we’ve made may be in jeopardy, recognize that others in our community are probably facing some of the same challenges and feeling equally as uncomfortable as we’re feeling. What can be very difficult to do, is to avoid judging how worthy someone else is of God’s mercy, versus our own worthiness. The laborers in Jesus’ parable did precisely this --- although they had received the measure promised them by the landowner, they felt many of the others were unworthy of receiving the same. Do we really want to place ourselves in the position of judging not only others in our community, but God Himself?

The generosity of the landowner also reminds us that the mercy and graces of God are not distributed according to the norms established by man. God’s love impels Him to dispense his graces in frequency and in depths which are beyond anything we can imagine. None of us knows the whys of God’s plan, and what we should realize, is that His graces are infinite, there is no need to be concerned as to what others are receiving because the well will never run dry. In the Gospel, there is no mention that the laborers who were hired second, third, fourth and fifth were told anything as to what their wages would be --- only the first group was told. Those later to the job were simply grateful for the opportunity --- they trusted in the landowner’s generosity, just as we should. There are always more and greater gifts for us to receive, if we would only follow the path of Jesus and place our lives in His hands.

During unsettled times, when we’re able to let go of worldly concerns and, first of all, to trust Jesus to guide and protect our lives, we’ve taken the final step toward receiving peace of mind and the other gifts which He wants to give us. The Venerable Louis of Grenada teaches, “When our intentions to please God are pure, it enables us to forget ourselves in all things, and to seek first the glory of God and the accomplishment of His good pleasure, persuaded that the more we sacrifice our own interests in His service, the greater advantage and blessing we shall reap.” Peace of mind is a gift of purity of intention and the more at peace we are, the clearer we will hear God’s call --- inviting us to be His laborers for the salvation of souls.

In our prayers this week, let us ask our Lord Jesus to give us the grace to accept any suffering which should come upon us with trust and peace in God’s infinite mercy. And, may our concern during these times make us humble and compassionate toward our neighbor, sharing the love of Jesus where ever we go.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.