25th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME A
TRY A DIFFERENT IMAGE OF GOD
MT 20: 1-16a
MESSAGE
Interesting parable! What landowner in his right mind would invite all the people he finds to work for him; no question of capacity or qualification? What landowner would invite workers at the last hour of the day, and still pay them in full? What landowner would explain to his grumbling laborers the system he prefers to follow in dealing with them, as if they were entitled to such transparency?
In this story, the Lord Jesus upsets the idea of a practical and logical landowner. The main character is surely different from others of his kind. What does the Lord aim to accomplish here? He wants us to realize that God his Father is so different from our usual and expected conception of him. We often relate God with the notions of earthly power, human authority, and clear-cut decisions.
But wait, even the first reading from Isaiah 55 attempts to paint an unusual portrait of God. God pursued the scoundrel, offering mercy instead of condemnation. Both readings, then, present to us a total revolution in the way to visualize God. God is welcoming, gracious, generous, patient, and kind. This is the Father Jesus knew, and the Father he wants us to accept. Take it or leave it!
Be honest: how do you conceive of God in your mind? Is the God you know an angry God, a punitive God, a heartless judge, or a distant and cold father?
REFLECT
If we listen carefully or read meditatively the parable again this week, we will encounter the Father of Jesus, the God who is different and unpredictable in goodness.
