Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
How often have you cried out and said, “Its not fair!” I probably say this at least once day. Sometimes I am right and sometimes I am not. When we experience an injustice, we seek justice from the justice system. It is the right thing to do. It is right to seek justice not only on a social level, but we Catholics also believe that justice is a divine quality. We know God to be just. There is a problem, however. When we have done something wrong and we come before God, we don’t seek justice, but rather, mercy. Here, then, is the dichotomy - we know God to be just but we expect to be treated with mercy. If God treated us sinners in the same way that our justice system treats offenders, what would the confessional look like? In the Christian tradition, God is known to be both just and merciful? Where do justice and mercy meet? The purpose of the parable of the generous vineyard owner in today’s gospel reading is meant to address precisely this question. Just to recall, in the parable, a vineyard owner invites laborers to work in his vinegar at various time during the day, but pays them all the same wages, which causes the ones who came first to the field to grumble.
In my three points, I would like to address the issue of God’s justice and mercy.
- The First will be Last. To understand the connection between justice and mercy, we must begin with the moral of the parable that Jesus proposes at the end of the parable. He says, “Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.” What is really going on over here? Jesus was accused of associating with disreputable people - an accusation Jesus never denied. He himself said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners (Mt 9:13). The so called “religious people” in Jesus’ time thought like many of us do - God and heaven are for the righteous. Jesus turned this thinking upside down. In the parable, by giving equal wages to those who came at the end, the vineyard owner was not denying the righteous their due. Indeed, he was being just. However, by giving the same wage to those who came later, he was being merciful. Through the parable, Jesus was giving a very simple lesson - God is accessible to the righteous and the sinner. However, the righteous people began to take offense at Jesus for showing mercy toward those who, in their thinking, did not deserve it. But as Isaiah says in today’s first reading, God does not think like us. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.” As Jesus’ ministry progressed, it was the sinners who responded more eagerly to Jesus. The “righteous people,” on the other hand. were losing out on God’s presence among them. Hence, Jesus’ statement, “The first will be last and the last will be first.” What does this mean for us? It means that we religious people should avoid the temptation that the Pharisees and scribes fell into - the temptation to control God’s thoughts? Today’s readings teach us not to play God. Unlike us, God is just and merciful. Those we consider unworthy also have a chance at eternity.
- Generosity of God: The Key to the Justice and Mercy of God. Let me return to the original question - In Christianity, where do justice and mercy meet? We find the answer at the end of the parable of the generous vineyard owner. When the people who came first to the vineyard grumbled against the owner because the people who came last received the same wages as them, he said, “Are you envious that I am generous?” The answer, then, lies in the word “generosity.” Those who came early to the vineyard got their just reward, whereas those who came late to the vineyard experienced God’s mercy. Both justice and mercy flow from God’s generosity. Both the righteous and the sinners, the first and the last, can expect eternal reward because of God’s generosity. This precisely what Isaiah says in today's first reading as well when he describes "God, who is generous in forgiving" (Is 55:7). Eternity is not something we earn. Eternity is God’s generous gift to us all. Today we must thank God for God’s generosity.
- Viral Generosity. In my third point, I would like to return to last weekend’s parable of the unforgiving servant. The servant owed the king a huge debt. In justice, the king sentenced his debtor to prison until he had paid the debt. Later however, moved with compassion and in mercy, the king forgave his entire debt and let him go free. The parable was meant to showcase the generosity of God. However, the parable was meant to also convince Jesus’ followers that they have a religious obligation to spread the generosity of God. The debtor’s refusal to share the same compassion with his fellow worker was contrary to God’s generosity. Yes, it is true that when we come to the confessional our just God treats us with mercy. This is because God is generous. Now it is our task to let God’s generosity go viral. The only people who lose out on the generosity of God are those who begrudge God’s generosity toward others. And we lose out, not because God is not generous and merciful, but because we refuse to became part of God’s generosity.
Every Eucharist is an experience of the justice and mercy of God. When we come for mass, we stand before God as a community of sinners. That is why we begin every mass by pleading, “Lord, Have Mercy.” God could condemn us. Rather, God has mercy on us. The Christian community leaves every Eucharist as a reconciled community, having experienced the mercy of God. As you leave this church today, be sure to proclaim that God is just. But in your actions, let the mercy of God become viral.
- Fr. Satish Joseph