Homily for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sept. 24, 2023. Gospel of St. Matthew 20:1-16. Theme: God’s Ridiculous Generosity!
The Parable of the Landowner in today's Gospel always gets alot of comments. Most of these have to do with how unfair it is to pay people the same wages for not doing an equal amount of work. However, as with all parables, it’s important not to get caught up in the particular details but to discover the message it contains. As important as a just wage may be, Jesus has a much deeper lesson to teach us. This parable is really about how God seems to be ridiculously generous with His love and mercy. It’s an example of how, as our first reading puts it, God's thoughts are not like our thoughts and God’s ways are totally unlike our ways of doing business, of living life.
A big reason for this difference between how God thinks and acts and how we think and act is due to the fact that even among the best of us, there’s always some trace of selfishness. When we set out to do something, even something good and noble, there always seems to be a little bit of the question, “what will this cost me?” in the back of our minds. But as Christians we are called by Christ to put a check on selfishness because our mission in the world is to reflect the goodness of God. We are called to follow the example of Jesus who was also ridiculously generous with love and mercy, even to the point of it costing Him His life on the cross.
When a Christian becomes really aware of this calling it begins to change them from the inside out. They start to understand more deeply the teaching of Jesus that love for God is utterly inseparable from love for neighbor. They begin to realize that since God has been so ridiculously generous with them, they are to pay it forward. So, when they see suffering around them, they refuse to be blind to it. And when they hear the cry of the poor they refuse to close their ears to it. Their hearts will not let them rest until they have done something, anything, whatever they can do, even if it doesn’t seem like much, to help their struggling neighbors who need some ridiculous generosity in their lives.
One such group of Christians who do this are the members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul which was started in Paris in 1833, a time of bloody revolution in France. The destitute poor were starving and being decimated by sickness in their slums, while the wealthy were carrying on with their opulent lives, turning their eyes and ears away from the sights and sounds of suffering. A 20-year-old Catholic law student at the Sorbonne University named Frederic Ozanam together with 4 college classmates and a professor, began to understand that a faith that didn’t do something about this horrible situation wasn’t much of a faith at all. They reached a breaking point where they were no longer content to practice their religion by simply saying their prayers and going to Mass. They were pushed out of their comfort zone by the Scripture that says, “You can’t say that you love God whom you cannot see, if you do not come to the aid of your neighbor whom you can see.”
Even though it was extremely dangerous, they began to go out 2-by-2 into the shacks and hovels of the Parisian slums. Through these home visits they were able to see with their own eyes what needed to be done. Then they would return to their parishes to collect food, clothing, medicine and money to distribute on their next round of visits. As news of what they were doing spread, others of all ages began to join them and many began to support them. The Society grew and spread. Today it’s a world-wide Catholic lay movement that has close to 100,000 members just in the USA alone. Here at St. Sebastian’s we have been very blessed to have had a parish Conference of the Society for over 40 years. And its members, known as Vincentians, still serve in that person-to-person way of Frederic and his first companions. They meet with the poor and learn for themselves the various needs that exist. And then they come back to their parishes, to us, in order to spread the word and collect funds to provide relief.
Our Vincentians are ordinary everyday parishioners who have responded to God’s call to be ridiculously generous and do something beautiful for those who are struggling just to survive. You might be surprised to learn that right here within our own parish boundaries (which encompass Greenbrae, Kentfield and southern San Rafael) there are those who are living with the constant stress of being just one small paycheck away from homelessness. And quite often they are also caring for a disabled child or spouse. There are those who have to decide whether to pay utility bills or buy medicine because they can’t afford to do both. There are some who are newly out of rehab or others escaping abusive relationships who need assistance to start a new life and head in a new direction. And finally, there are so many who depend on the Safeway cards that our Vincentians distribute to help ends meet until the next meager paycheck arrives.
Today’s Gospel parable tells us that not all who were sent into the vineyard did the exact same work and yet they all received the exact same reward from God. And this can also be said about the Vincentian works of mercy. God calls all of us without exception to share the responsibility of serving our neighbor in need, but not all of us will be able to work at it in the same way. Some are called to become active Vincentians who go out to the poor and we certainly need more of them! Others are called to become Vincentian partners through financial support. Both forms of participation are indispensable; both are desperately needed! So please listen with the ears of your heart and discover how God is calling you to become part of this beautiful expression of His ridiculous generosity.
Today’s second collection for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul can be dropped into the donation boxes at the entrances to the church. Be sure to make a note on your check or use one of the special white envelopes you will find in the pews. I can personally assure you that every penny donated goes directly to the care of the poor. St. Sebastian parishioners have always been extremely generous to the poor and I am confident that this will continue and so I thank each one of you ahead of time! God bless you and grant you peace!
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