15-Sept-2014 Dear Friend,
A refrain constantly heard today is the phrase: "It's not fair!" We live in a culture which believes in a sense of fairness and equal rights: "Equal pay for equal work!" and "Equal opportunities for all!" However, quite often our sense of justice comes to the fore only when our own well-being is concerned, never mind if others’ rights are trampled upon. In addition, the yardstick of justice revolves around oneself rather than the common good. Does generosity to others beyond justice have any place in our vision of fair play? May today's Word challenge our sense of fairness and evoke generosity! Have a grateful weekend! Fr. Jude Sunday Ref: Twenty-fifth Sunday - "Celebrating God's unearned, unconditional love!" 21-Sept-2014 Readings: Isaiah 55: 6-9; Philip 1: 20-24, 27; Mt. 20: 1-16; The reading from Isaiah starts with an urgent call to come back to the Lord, even though it is a relatively calm time during the exile in Babylon. It seems to be a reminder that it is easy to forget the Lord in times of peace and tranquillity and only call on him in troubled times. Whoever wishes to be a follower of God is continuously called to conversion. Now is the acceptable time, the Lord is rich and forgiving. Secondly, Isaiah reminds the Israelites that God's ways and thoughts do not mirror our own. The message that God's ways are high above our ways retains its relevance for all who are tempted to restrict God's movements and power to our human calculations. Shut Up, and Pedal! There is a poem that likens our relationship with Jesus to two people on a tandem bicycle: At first, I sat in front; Christ the rear. I couldn't see him, but I knew he was there. I could feel his help when the road got steep. Then, one day, Christ changed seats with me. Suddenly everything went topsy-turvy. When I was in control, the ride was predictable -even boring; but when Jesus took over, it got wild! I could hardly hold on. "This is madness," I cried out, But Christ just smiled and said, "Pedal!" And so I learned to shut up and pedal and trust my bike companion. Oh there are still times when I get scared. But Christ just smiles, touches my hand and says, "Pedal!" Jack McArdle in '150 More Stories for Preachers and Teachers' Today's Gospel speaks of the generosity of God, whose gifts are not restricted to our merits and whose call can come at the latest hour. The parable of the workers is an instance of how the thoughts of God are so very different from ours; they are on a higher scale than ours. Our earthly minds respect fair play and hard work. We set a just reward for hard work. So does the landowner in this story, he pays the contracted sum, a just wage to all. God rewards our endeavours, but his generosity goes beyond justice and He gives more than what is due. He chooses to give more than what some earned. Though the parable is called the parable of the vineyard workers, the central character is really the landowner. At the beginning of the day labourers are lined up waiting for work, and the landownercontracts them for the usual daily wage. He goes out again at nine, noon, and three in the afternoon and near the end of the work day and hires them. The point that Jesus wishes to make comes at the end when the landowner distributes the wages is what people would consider an unfair wage. Those who had come at the last hour receive a whole day's wage and are delighted, while those who came at the first hour are expecting that they will get more than they had contracted for. Yet they receive the same daily wage. Their anticipated joy turns to grumbling: "It's not fair!" The grumblers complaint is not economic, but "You have made them equal to us." They are angered as they are envious about the good fortune of the latecomers. "The mercy and goodness of God challenge us even though they do not exist at the expense of justice. Categories of worth and value by which humans separate themselves from others are reversed in God's eyes. Not to rejoice in the benefits given to others is to cut ourselves off from those benefits we have received." John R. Donahue, SJ The Last Shall Be First! The final of the 300 meters was in progress and the runners stayed bunched together till the halfwaymark when the eventual winner eased himself into the lead. As he did so another man fell back into the last place after a desperate effort to keep up. As the leader, a local man came into the home straight, the spectators rose to greet him and thunderous applause echoed around the stadium. While this was going on, the other runners had finished the race. The last man had to really struggle to finish. Then, with head bowed, he departed for the dressing rooms. A VIP had been invited to perform the prize-giving ceremony and the first three winners were waiting to take their places on the victory podium. The first sign that something unusual was happening took place when the VIP said he wanted to meet all the runners of the race. The runners were duly called and all was now set. Suddenly the VIP called the man who came last and gave the gold medal to him, he gave the silver to the man who came second last and the bronze to the third last. There were gasps of astonishment from the crowd, and sighs of embarrassment from the organizers. The man who had come first exclaimed, "This is not fair! I won the race so I deserve the gold medal!" "Friend," said the VIP, "haven't you got enough already?" "You've got the satisfaction of winning the race, the applause of the crowd and the attention of the media. On top of all this, you've had lucrative contracts offered to you. Now consider the man who came last. He finished the race too. And what did he get for his efforts? Nothing. Would it be fair if you got everything and he got nothing? With that the victor was reduced to silence. Still fuming he turned and went away. The aim of the story is not to downplaythe achievement of the winner but to make a point. It seems wrong that one person should get everything, while the other gets nothing. I know that this is exactly what happens in our world -the winner takes all. Is today's gospel proposing a different standard in God's kingdom? Flor McCarthy in 'New Sunday & Holy Day Liturgies' Work Parable The 1954 movie On the Waterfront is considered a classic in film-making. It features Marlin Brando as a longshoreman Terry Malloy, who gets locked in a brutal battle with the ruthless labour boss Johnny Friendly. The issue is the rights of the dock workers. Not only are the longshoremen being exploited by the ship owners, but they are also being shaken down by their own union leaders. With the help of Fr. Barry and Eddie Doyle, Terry Malloy undergoes a transformation after his brother is murdered by Johnny Friendly's goons. From being a tough uncaring street fighter, he becomes a crusader for his fellow workers and testifies for them to the crimes commission against their corrupt labour bosses. Today's gospel also deals with a labour problem. At first it appears that the parable is setting up a model for management and labour relationships. Such is not the case. The parable by our Lord is more about the generosity of God than about work conditions. The story is more about the supreme goodness of God than about wage settlements. The punchlineof the parable is the statement at the end: "I intend to give this man who was hired last the same pay. I am free to do as I please with my money, am I not? Or are you envious because I am generous?" Albert Cylwicki in 'His Word Resounds' Unlikely Winners Once upon a time in the kingdom of fairyland, there lived a large section of people who seemed to have little going for them. They are the youngest sons, the natural late-comers in life, who arrive too late to inherit the property, who never have the first choice of anything, who are the last to inherit the genes. They are always compared, to their discredit, to their elder brothers who are smarter, hard-working, preferred by their parents, acknowledged by their peers, and who always look more likely to marry the princess and inherit the kingdom. Yet at the heart of these stories there is the wisdom of reversal: the youngest son, the last to arrive and the most unlikely winner of anything, marries the princess and inherits the kingdom. This is never because of their ingenuity or heavy work schedule; it is not because of any self-improvement course he has undergone; rather, it is because of the graciousness and generosity of others. Children are delighted with these stories of reversal. Adults find these stories to be ridiculous, because they ridicule the conventional wisdom they cherish. Yet, we know well that the most important experience of life, being looked on in love by the other, is not something that we can earn; it is something which depends on the mysterious preference and generosity of someone else. Denis McBride in 'Seasons of the Word' We Waited for You! According to an ancient legend Christ assembled the eleven apostles in heaven and asked them to celebrate the Last Supper with him. They readily agreed. On their arrival he welcomed them and asked them to take their seats. They were surprised to find that he had set thirteen seats. Even though everything was ready he refused to start. He waited and waited until finally Judas came in. On seeing him, Christ rose from his seat and went to meet him. He kissed him and said, "We have waited for you." The story may sound far-fetched. But does it do anything more than echo that other story we find in the gospel of Luke -the story of how as he hung on the cross, Jesus prayed for his executioners? By word and example Jesus shows us how to be generous with others. Flor McCarthy in 'New Sunday & Holy Day Liturgies' May we rejoice and celebrate God's love for all -even the least deserving! Fr. Jude Botelho botelhoj...@gmail.com PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in these reflections. These reflections are also available on my Web site www.NetForLife.net Thank you.
