Homily 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A I Homily 20 September 2026 Year A

 

20 Sep 2026 Isaiah 55:6-9; Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a; Matthew 20:1-16a

 

My dear friends, today we celebrate the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A. Today, Jesus reminds us that God’s grace is not a reward we earn, but a gift of His generous and boundless love.

The first reading taken from the prophet Isaiah comes in the context of Israel's experience of exile. The people had known suffering, displacement and the consequences of turning away from God. Yet God does not abandon them. Instead, He invites them to return, seek Him and receive His mercy. There is a sense of urgency in the reading. God’s invitation is being offered now. We can easily postpone prayer, forgiveness, conversion and reconciliation, telling ourselves, “I will do it later.” But grace calls us in the present moment. The prophet then says, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous his thoughts.” Conversion is not merely changing what we do; it also means allowing God to change the way we think, judge and see others. And when we turn back, we discover that God is not waiting to punish us. He is “generous in forgiving.” Finally, God reminds us: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways.” We often want God to explain everything. We want to understand everything. We want to plan everything. But faith often means trusting Him before we understand Him. Perhaps the greatest obstacle to seeking God is not doubt but delay. We wait for the right moment, the right mood or the right circumstances. Isaiah reminds us: the right moment to return to God is the moment He is calling us—and that moment is now.

In today's second reading, Paul writes to the Philippians while facing the possibility of imprisonment and even death. Yet his concern is not primarily about what will happen to him. His deepest desire is that Christ will be honoured in his life and in his death. “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” This does not mean that Paul despises life. Rather, if he continues to live, his life will be an opportunity for fruitful service. If he dies, he hopes to be with Christ. Paul therefore finds himself torn: personally, he longs to be with Christ, but he also knows that remaining alive will allow him to serve the Philippians and help them grow in faith. This reveals something beautiful about Christian discipleship: our life is not ultimately about ourselves. Paul is willing to remain because others need him. His love for Christ becomes love expressed through service. Therefore, he tells the Philippians: “Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Our faith is not only something we believe; it is something we live. The question for us today is simple: If Christ is truly the centre of my life, what would change in the way I live, serve and relate to others?

Quite often I hear people tell me, “I have been faithful. I have prayed, served, sacrificed and tried to do what is right. So why does someone who seems to have done so little receive the blessing I have been praying for?” At some point, we too may have compared ourselves with others and asked: “What do I get for being faithful?” We generally tend to look at those who were not hired early in the morning as people who were perhaps lazy or were trying to avoid work. But what if that were not true. What if when the landowner came first only a few jobs were available. Let us imagine ourselves among those who were not hired. We desperately need the money. Bills are piling up and food is running low. We wait, hoping someone will hire us, but hour after hour passes, and we are still not chosen. Finally, at five o’clock, when we have almost given up, the landowner comes and hires us. We work for only one hour. Then comes the incredible surprise: the manager gives us a full day’s wage! We can go home and feed our families. How would you feel?  Would you call it unfair—or would you call it grace?

The central message of the Gospel is this: God keeps looking for us. The landowner does not come only once. He keeps returning to the marketplace. God does the same with us. Even when we feel that we have wasted years, fallen away, or arrived late, God continues to call us. But then comes the uncomfortable part. Those who worked from early morning receive the same wage. They complain: “You have made them equal to us.” They are not cheated; they receive exactly what was promised. What troubles them is the generosity shown to others. This is where comparison enters our relationship with God. Sometimes we are faithful, we pray, serve the Church and try to do what is right, yet life still brings suffering, disappointment and unanswered prayers. We may ask, “Lord, after all these years, where is my reward?” What happens inside me when someone else receives the blessing I have been praying for? Can I thank God for another person's blessing even when I am still waiting for mine?  The parable reminds us that God's grace is not a salary we can demand from Him. We cannot put God in our debt. God’s mercy is a gift. We cannot calculate His love according to our hours of service or compare our journey with someone else’s. Perhaps, therefore, the question is not, “Why did they get the same as me?” but, “Why am I not grateful that God has been so generous to me?” Whether we came to God early or late, whether our faith has been strong or weak, the landowner keeps coming back for us. In the Kingdom of God, we do not secure our place by competing with others. We receive it as a gift of grace and respond to that grace through faithful love. Someone might ask, “Then why should I serve God faithfully for years if someone who comes at the last moment receives the same reward?” Because the greatest gift is not simply what we receive at the end. The gift is belonging to God, walking with Him and working in His vineyard today.

Indeed, Isaiah was right when he said God's thoughts are not our thoughts. We think in terms of calculation, comparison and deserving; God thinks in terms of mercy, generosity and grace. So today, instead of comparing our blessings with someone else’s, let us look at our own lives and say with gratitude: “God is good and all the time, God is good.” May God bless us all.