No One is Excluded by Love
Isaiah 55:6-9,
Philippians 1:20-24,
Philippians 1:27,
Matthew 20:1-16.
Reflection
Dear sisters and brothers,
Let us listen to the text for our reflection today from the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 20:1-16):
“Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out at dawn to hire labourers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard.
Going out about nine o’clock,
the landowner saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard,
and I will give you what is just.’
So they went off.
And he went out again around noon,
and around three o’clock, and did likewise.
Going out about five o’clock,
the landowner found others standing around, and said to them,
‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’
They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’
He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’
When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,
‘Summon the labourers and give them their pay,
beginning with the last and ending with the first.’
When those who had started about five o’clock came,
each received the usual daily wage.
So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more,
but each of them also got the usual wage.
And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,
‘These last ones worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’
He said to one of them in reply,
‘My friend, I am not cheating you.
Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
Take what is yours and go.
What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?
Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?
Are you envious because I am generous?’
Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.””
Having listened to the text, let me give an example from my family.
I have advantages growing up in a large, traditional, farming family in a remote village in my country.
When the crop is ready and it is time for harvest, my whole family is out in the field working together gathering the fruit of our labour.
We do not work at the same space and time.
My grandfather, my father, my uncles and me, would be in the field very early while my grandmother and my mother cooked food for all and my little sister still asleep.
My grandmother, my mother and my little sister would join us in the farm later with breakfast and lunch.
My grandfather, my father, my uncles and me would go to the farm to work without breakfast but my little sister would come out from home only after her breakfast.
When she finally arrives to the farm, she is more interested in playing around, asking silly questions and distracting us and the workers from the work rather than contributing her part in the form of work itself.
No one gets angry with her.
At the end of the day, all of us go home happily together.
Then, supper is prepared and served.
Does anyone say during supper that we should eat only as much as we have worked in the farm or we should eat according to our contributions?
Not at all!
Often my little sister, who does the least work is pampered with the best food.
Yet, no one complains, no one is jealous and everyone is happy.
The big question that the parable poses to us today is: “Do we see ourselves as a family with a common purpose or do we see ourselves as a bunch of individuals, each with their own agenda in the Kingdom of Heaven?
We call ourselves each other’s brothers and sisters in the Kingdom of Heaven, in the Church, in our community gathering and prayer and, in our praise, and worship.
Why then do we often complain as rivals and competitors of one another as the parable states?
We complain, because
a. We need attention:
People want to be noticed and they use complaining as a way to “bond” with others. The parable conveys that the first hour labourers sought the attention of the landowner.
b. It removes the responsibility from our shoulders:
Pointing the finger seems easier than assuming responsibility and actually doing something about the things that bother us. The first hour labourers point finger at other latecomers rather than understanding their own agreement with the landowner.
c. Pride and competitiveness:
We tend to think that pointing out the things that are wrong with others will show the world how much better we are. We complain about those who are “less” capable than we are. Read from the text: ‘These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’ Notice the amount of pride in their attitude and behaviour.
d. To Exercise power:
People often complain to incite others to abandon an alliance and to switch on to their point of view, and/or build support and power by focusing on what’s wrong with another’s position. The landowner replied to the complaining labourers: ‘My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? The first labourers manipulate the words of the landowner and the landowner gives befitting reply.
We manipulate our words to manipulate others.
When something does not go as planned, we start to complain, placing the blame on someone else but never on ourselves.
Complaining is like sitting near a fire. It gives us some momentary warmth, comfort and happiness? ?but it will never allow us to grow.
Therefore, the notion of the Kingdom of Heaven, as family is central to understanding this parable.
Here, I would ask a question: How does such divinely formed families, which God designed, have that great divisions in this modern world?
I believe it is the result of an indifference to God’s commandments and an improper handling of life’s hurts and disappointments.
A survey states that there was more than 30% domestic violence during the lockdown when the couples spent time together.
It is a negative news.
Families encounter hurt, disappointment when the individual has expectations and addictions such as drinks, pornography and gadgets.
1. Expectations:
Look at the first group of labourers.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out at dawn to hire labourers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard.”
The landowner of the vineyard agreed with labourers for the usual daily wage.
At the end of the day, the labourers expect more from the landowner.
Because, they toiled whole day in the heat.
Still, the landowner pays them the usual daily wage.
Did the landowner do wrong by paying them as he promised them when he invited them for work?
No.
The landowner never reduced on what he had agreed with the labourers.
The expectations of the labourers disappoints them.
Labourers feel hurt.
Hurt leads them to lower their standards.
The expectations wound us deeply.
In a family too, we are faced with similar behaviour.
Husband has his own expectations from his wife, his children and his in-laws.
Wife has her own expectations from her husband, her children, and her in-laws.
Children have their own expectations from their parents.
All their expectations are not fulfilled in their lives.
All expectations cannot be fulfilled.
Some expectations can be fulfilled.
Most of the time, instead of addressing the problem of expectations, we lower our standards like those labourers.
We bring divisions in the family.
2. Addictions:
Husband, wife and children must have positive approach towards their problems. They must look at it as an opportunity for growth rather than develop a negative attitude.
On the other hand, they need to struggle through their problems.
There are families, during this pandemic and lockdown, who came together, bonded together, spent quality time with each other, joked, played, cooked as one family being away from their busy schedules.
It is positive.
They was hope to emerge as better persons to experience God’s love during the struggling periods like COVID-19, financial crisis, job loss, brokenness, barrenness, lack of attention and so on.
Instead, they chose to spend their time and energy looking for ways and means to make themselves feel happy, loved and accepted through various negative ways.
They enter into a new way of being lonely and isolated.
They compensate their happiness, love and acceptance by engaging themselves in addictions like drinks, pornography, gadgets, social media and so on.
We heard in the text that the labourers, were drunk in pride of their hard work rather than observing the generosity of the landowner.
They looked at others when they were paid for their labour and expected that they would be paid more than them.
When we watch pornography, which is scripted and acted according to the director of the adult movies, it becomes the model in our personal intimate lives.
It slowly kills the spirit of love between the husband and wife and blocks them to experience their intimate self with each other.
In the same way, we heard in the text that the labourers saw others and created a gap between the landowner and them.
The labourers were engaged only with money rather than rejoicing with other labourers who too received their daily wage, as we are engaged with our social media and gadgets rather than spending our quality time with our beloved ones listening to their stories.
When we lower our standards, accepting and acting in love becomes harder.
Slowly, the light of hope becomes dimmer.
If we lower our standards every time we encounter hurt or disappointment in our lives, in our families, in our relationships, our capacity to deal with our life and hope, becomes almost zero in our future.
So, what is the way out?
3. Seek the Lord:
The book of prophet Isaiah says (Isaiah 55:6-9):
“Seek the LORD while he may be found,
call him while he is near.
Let the scoundrel forsake his way,
and the wicked his thoughts;
let him turn to the LORD for mercy;
to our God, who is generous in forgiving.
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.”
Our only hope is our Lord, who created us with His love, who is with us always till the end of our age.
Our Lord is…
Not in the past…
Not in the future…
But in the present…
Here and now…
Our Lord is generous in forgiving.
He is our mercy.
He is compassionate.
How do we seek the Lord?
We seek the Lord by forsaking our ways and wicket thoughts from our lives.
We sincerely beg for His mercy.
We may have expectations.
We may have addictions.
We may be addicted to watching pornography.
We may be addicted to immaterial things avoiding our living and loving the other.
We may have been filled with negative thoughts.
We might have gone far in our wrong ways.
The way out is very simple.
We adopt the thoughts and ways of God by reading the Word of God and imitating it in our lives.
Leaving our thoughts and ways, we follow the thoughts and ways of God devotedly and responsibly.
Because, God’s thoughts and ways are above everything.
We cannot comprehend God’s thoughts and ways.
God goes beyond our understanding.
God embraces everyone with his/her own brokenness.
Look at the thoughts of the landowner, he made sure that no one was left out without work and daily wage, risking his own money and energy.
He went out every hour from dawn to dusk looking for someone, who had no work.
He engaged them.
They did not have any demand except some labourers.
But, he paid everyone as he promised.
God overlooks every wrong that we have done in our lives.
God expects nothing from us.
We may have our own weaknesses.
We may be addicted.
God still loves us.
He is engaged with us.
He seeks the lost one, leaving behind the ninety-nine.
We need to love him back by loving our brothers and sisters in the Kingdom of Heaven, overlooking each other’s weaknesses and brokenness.
It is possible and easy when we always seek God’s love in our lives.
4. Be a Christ to All:
To seek the Lord always, we need to be a Christ to all.
There is a popular saying: ‘You may be the only bible that some people may read’.
So, be a Christ in your life by living and loving all.
Imitate Christ Jesus.
That is the reason, Christ Jesus says, “Follow me”.
We follow Christ’s spirit in our lives.
It is not an easy task as saint Paul would beautifully say (Philippians 1:20-24):
“Brothers and sisters:
Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.
For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.
If I go on living in the flesh,
that means fruitful labor for me.
And I do not know which I shall choose.
I am caught between the two.
I long to depart this life and be with Christ,
for that is far better.
Yet that I remain in the flesh
is more necessary for your benefit.”
Saint Paul says that Christ should be magnified in our lives when we choose the spirit of Christ Jesus.
We live in Christ when we deny our desire for flesh.
We die in Christ when we surrender to him our addictions.
When we die in Christ, we can live with Him to have the fullness of an eternal life.
We fight evil with our good conduct (Philippians 1:27):
“Only, conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ.”
When our conduct is good, our behaviour and our attitude reflects the value of the Kingdom of Heaven.
And we become worthy of the gospel of Christ in our lives.
It is an invitation to us to bond together with God’s family.
The family too is a domestic Church.
Christ is the centre of the Church and so he becomes the centre of our families.
Likewise, the Kingdom of Heaven is a family for all of us as the disciples of Jesus Christ.
For the very same reason, we address every member of the Church as sisters and brothers.
Christ Jesus made us children of our Heavenly Father.
We belong to God’s Family by living and loving every member in spite of each one’s weakness and brokenness.
Yes...dear sisters and brothers,
The Kingdom of Heaven is the Kingdom of love.
When we live in the presence of Jesus Christ, His Kingdom of love is established in our families.
Why is it important?
It is important because the Kingdom of Heaven is a family more than a society.
A society is characterised by ‘we’ and ‘them’.
A family, on the other hand, is all ‘we’ and ‘no them’.
A society has the nature of rivalry.
A family has the nature of harmony.
In a society, people fight for the survival of the fittest.
A family is bonded by a spirit of co-operation and sharing whatever it has.
If the latecomers were family members of the early birds, the early birds would have rejoiced with them at their good fortune rather than grumbling.
Today, as we face the terrible pandemic, we reach out to each other in each one’s need.
We have done it many times in our lives.
Only, we have to make it as a lifestyle.
When we do that we will leave behind all dogmas, doctrines, rituals and religiosity to follow Christ for the sake of His sisters and brothers.
Christ Jesus did break all dogmas, doctrines, rituals and religiosity in his life on earth to establish just humane society with God’s love.
Today, He calls us to review all our legalistic notion of the Kingdom of Heaven.
And see it more as a family, where we are happy to expect from everyone according to their means and give to each according to his/her needs like God, our Father does.
He excludes no one.
And no one is excluded by love.
Everyone is included by love.
There is no more black and white.
There is no more poor and rich.
There is no more women and men.
There is no more old and young.
In other words, there is no more inequality, no more marginalisation, no more oppression, no more legalistic attitude, no more fight.
God is love.
And love embraces everyone.
We do not hurt anyone.
We do not harm anyone.
We love everyone.
Our envy may overtake us sometimes but we can overcome it with the help of God’s love and be another Christ to our sisters and brothers in the Kingdom of God’s family.
No one is excluded by love in God’s Family.
I would like to conclude this reflection with the following text (Romans 8:28-30):
“We know that all things work for good
for those who love God,
who are called according to his purpose.
For those he foreknew
he also predestined to be conformed
to the image of his Son,
so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
And those he predestined he also called;
and those he called he also justified;
and those he justified he also glorified.”
Yes,
dear sisters and brothers,
God has called us for His purpose.
God justified us as He also glorified us.
May the Heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all. Amen...
