God’s Boundless Love

Weekly Missionary Reflection
25th Sunday in ordinary time, 24 September 2023
Isa. 55:6-9; Ps. 145:2-3,8-9,17-18; Phil. 1:20c-24,27a; Matt. 20:1-16a

When I observed the working world in Massachusetts, United States, I realized that skilled workers are generally paid hourly. Job vacancies mostly mention wage per hour too. This reminds me to a parable from Jesus in today’s Gospel.

A landowner was looking for workers to work in his vineyard. He went out to hire workers for his vineyard and made an agreement on the wage. He met with all workers, those who arrived in the morning, noon, afternoon, and the end of the day. All went well and it’s time for distributing wages. In the beginning, the workers agreed with the working terms of the landowner, but then jealousy arose among the workers who worked from morning. They thought they “deserved” more wages than those who worked later. 

Dear brothers and sisters, we often mix up our minds and God’s will. In the life of faith, we often figure out God who thinks and will like us. Without realizing it, we try to ‘buy’ God’s grace and blessing with our deeds and feel “loss” when our good deeds do not bear fruit. The first reading reminds us that God’s plan is different from humans. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, oracle of the Lord”

Today’s Gospel invites us to reflect on how God loves humans boundlessly and unconditionally. His love goes beyond any form of our understanding of profit and loss. Let’s not allow selfishness and jealousy to defeat our gratitude, like the workers in the vineyard. The grace of faith that we receive is solely due to God’s great love. Before Him, we will not be able to boast of our deeds.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us realize that God’s plan is a plan of salvation and that He bestows His love to every single human with no limit. Let us humbly enable us to be grateful for the grace we receive and glorify God’s name through our deeds. God bless.

(Br. Kornelius Glossanto, SX – Xaverian Missionary)

DAILY DEDICATED PRAYER

Lord, our Father, I present my today prayer, thought, word, work, joy, and sorrow in unity with Your Son, Jesus Christ, who always presents Himself in the Eucharist for the salvation of the world. May the Holy Spirit animating Jesus, also be my guidance and strength today so that I am ready to be the witness of Your love.

Together with St. Mary, Mother of Jesus, and the Church, in particular, I present my prayer for our Pope and apostle prayer of the Indonesian Church of this month:

For people living on the margins
We pray for those living on the margins of society, in inhumane life conditions; may they not be overlooked by institutions and never considered of lesser importance.

For Forgiving Inspiration
We pray for our willingness to read and dig into the inspiration of the Scriptures for repentance, so we can realize that every single human has the right to be forgiven if he repents of his sin, and prays for forgiveness from the merciful Lord.
Amen.