St. Mary's Catholic Church of Tomahawk, WI

Dear Brothers and Sisters

We are in the twenty fifth ordinary Sunday of year A. The first reading from Isaiah is an appeal to Israel in two voices, that of the prophet and of God. The prophet speaks to the wicked, complacent and the violators of the law, to seek and turn to God. While God’s voice affirms the obvious that God’s thoughts and ways are far from human thoughts and ways. They are the ways of compassion and reconciliation.

The second reading tells us that whatever befalls through imprisonment to St. Paul will magnify Christ. His clear preference is to depart life, but he concludes that his fruitful labor is still required as it benefits others while he is living in flesh. However, he asserts that he has so conformed himself to Christ that living or dying results in his being in Christ, all of which is gain. Do we consider our life and death, as a gain or a loss?

The Gospel parable is about a landowner who hires workers at different times to work promising their daily wage. Three lessons may be drawn. First, the owner is relentless in searching out workers, regardless of time or qualification. Second, the owner is a model of justice, promising a just wage. Third, the owner is also a model of mercy, giving even the late comers a just wage. In other words, God is just and merciful, as the case requires. Do we find ourselves working in the vineyard of the Lord?

Fr. Aloysius Royan Anthony