Homily for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sept 20, 2026. Gospel of St. Matthew 20:1-16. Theme: God’s Seemingly Ridiculous Generosity!
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard in today's Gospel always gets a lot of comments. Most of these have to do with the apparent injustice of paying people the same wages despite not doing an equal amount of work. However, the point of the story isn’t about business ethics. It’s about how God's ways are so very different from our ways, as our first reading puts it. It's about how God seems to be excessively generous towards us in regards to His love and mercy. It’s about how God's extravagance towards us can seem almost ridiculous because it’s so far beyond how we would do things.
The implication Jesus presents to us in this parable is that we who are images of God are to be similarly extravagant and seemingly ridiculous in our generosity towards others and thus pay it forward. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, we should strive to become a bit less self-focused and a bit more responsive to the plight of those who need our own “ridiculous generosity”. And so when we see the suffering of others, we must refuse to be blind to it. And when we hear the cry of the poor we must never close our ears to it.
One such group of Christians who embrace this mission of “ridiculous generosity” are the members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. This charitable organization began in 19th century Paris, in the aftermath of the French Revolution. The destitute poor were being decimated by starvation and sickness in their slums. And neither the wealthy nor the Church's higher clergy were doing anything to relieve their suffering. So, in 1833, a 20-year-old Catholic law student named Frederic Ozanam, along with a few classmates, decided that they could no longer simply remain spectators of this deplorable situation. They had reached a breaking point in their faith-lives and realized that sympathy was not enough. They decided to do what Jesus did and bring the Gospel of charity and justice to the poor through concrete acts of compassion.
Even though it was extremely dangerous, they began to go out 2-by-2 into the shacks and hovels of the Parisian slums to see with their own eyes what needed to be done. Then they went back to their parishes where they begged for and collected food, clothing, medicine and money to distribute on their next round of visits. As news of what they were doing spread, other people of all ages began to join them and many others began to support them. They formed themselves into an official Church organization and named themselves after St. Vincent de Paul, a famous 17th century French priest who is the patron saint of charitable works. Thanks to mass European immigration, the Society spread throughout the Catholic world and came to the USA in 1845, and to our Archdiocese in 1860.
Here at St. Sebastian’s we have been very blessed to have had a parish Conference of the Society for over 50 years. And its members, known as Vincentians, still carry on the tradition of reflecting God’s “ridiculous generosity" just like Frederic and his first companions. They meet in-person with people and learn for themselves what needs to be done. And then they come back to the parish, to us, to collect funds for assistance and relief. In this way our parish Vincentians become your hands, and your feet in serving the needy, and along with the financial and material help that you make possible, they also bring the redeeming love of Jesus Christ that can heal and transform the hearts of those they serve. And this is precisely what makes their service to the poor, infinitely greater, and on a higher plane than non-religious social welfare organizations.
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. Well, this is also true about participating in the good works of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. 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 do so in the same way. Some are called to become active Vincentians who personally go out to the poor and we certainly need more of them! Others are called to become Vincentian partners who through their prayers provide vital spiritual support and by their donations make a real difference possible in people’s lives. Both forms of participation in the Society are indispensable; both are desperately needed!
Next Sunday is the feast day of St. Vincent de Paul and so I want to give you a “heads up” that we will be having a special collection to support the good works of the Society at all the Masses. So, in the following days listen with the ears of your heart to hear how God might be calling you - as either an active member or a supportive partner - to become a part of the beautiful Vincentian mission of being a reflection of God’s “ridiculous generosity” to those in need.
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