22

25^th Sunday in Ordinary Time —Year A

Fr. Jijo Kandamkulathy CMF

 甘天霖神父

Gospel: Matthew 20：1-16

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew,

Glory to you, O Lord!

"The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o'clock, he 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, he 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 laborers 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."

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily: "GOD AWARDS ACCORDING TO MERITS" IS THE EPITAPH ON THE TOMB OF LOVE

In the parable, the master provokes the anger of the workers of the first hour, who cannot even hold up for fatigue are forced to witness an irritating scene of paying to the idlers the same wages that they were promised. It is in this surprising and disconcerting behavior of the master that the message of the parable is perceived. Let us analyze it deeper.

With the workers of the first hour he had agreed a silver coin, with others what would be just, and with the last he had not agreed anything. What did the boss mean by just? The workers understood him according to their criteria of judgment. They were convinced that he would take into account the merits. The owner instead follows his own justice and distributes his goods in a completely free and open way. He did not wrong anyone; he just decided not to consider the merits. He gave to everyone according to their needs and, of course, the first to benefit were the last, the poorest (v. 16). That's the surprise of God; that is his strange way of conceiving and practicing justice.

The parable is the clearest and provocative denouncement that can be imagined of the religion of merits taught by the spiritual guides of Israel. The rabbis taught that "He who fulfills a precept acquires for himself a lawyer, who commits a transgression acquires for himself a prosecutor. All God's judgments are based on measure for measure.” They completed their catechesis talking about books kept in heaven, on which the meritorious deeds and transgressions were carefully noted.

With this parable, Jesus destroyed forever this self-righteous way of relating to God. The love of the Lord is never bought, conquered or assessed based on good works. It is received freely and in proportion to the need. “God has filled the hungry with good things, but he sent the rich away empty” (Lk 1:53).

Many "just ones" feel an unacknowledged envy against one who, being converted at the last moment, had the good fortune to "work less," to enjoy life more. Here is the error: to think that joy consists in being far from God and that faithfulness to his word deserves a prize.

Blessed are the servants who came first in the "vineyard of the Lord." They surely have also struggled. They have enjoyed "since morning" the presence of the Lord. The workers of the first hour are those who have spent every day of their lives in the intimacy with God and in listening to his Word. The others who presented themselves late at the appointment, who did not let themselves be found when the Lord came to call them, have lost many opportunities that were offered to them.

Ultimately, in the Christian community no one can think of oneself as superior to others because no one can consider oneself a veteran for having been converted first, or for practicing the gospel more faithfully. No one is master of the "vineyard"—all are workers, all are brothers and sisters.

证道：人要论功行赏，天主要按需分配！

在比喻中，家主引起了最早来的工人生气，他们甚至不能忍受劳累，被迫目睹了令人恼火的一幕，就是给游手好闲的人支付了与给他们许诺一样的薪酬。正是在家主这令人惊讶和不安的行为中，比喻的讯息被领会到了。让我们更深地加以解析。

最早来的工人已经同意了一个德纳（银币），也与其他工人商定了公平的待遇，却与最后来的工人没有商定任何事。那么，家主的正义是什么呢？工人依据他们自己的判断标准来理解家主，相信家主会论功行赏。相反，家主依据自己的正义，以完全自由和开放的方式来分配自己的财物。他并没有错待任何一个人，只是决定不考虑功德。他依据他们的需要来赐予每个人，当然，最先受益的是最后来又最穷的工人。这就是天主的惊奇，也是祂考虑和实践正义的不寻常方式。

这比喻是对以色列的精神导师有关功德宗教信仰的教导，所能想象到最清晰明了和挑衅性的公开抨击。拉比教导说：“谁满全戒律，等于为自己请了律师；谁犯了罪，等于为自己请了检察官。”他们完成了他们讲论存于天上的教义书籍，上面仔细地记录了功与过。

藉着这个比喻，耶稣永远摧毁了这种自以为义地与天主相处的方式。上主的爱绝不会被购买、征服或基于善行地估价。它是免费领受的，并按需分配。“天主使饥饿者饱享美味，却使富有者空手而回”（路1：53）。

很多“正义之人”对那些最后皈依的人，会有一种莫可名言的嫉妒来反对他们，因为他们有“少工作”却更多享受生命的好机会。这是错误的：认为喜乐在于远离天主，并且忠于祂的话就配得奖赏。

首先进入“上主葡萄园”的仆人是有福的。他们肯定也在挣扎。他们“从早”就喜乐于上主的临在。最早的工人是那些每天生活在与天主亲密接触并聆听祂圣言的人。其他接受委派较晚的人，是由于在上主召叫他们时，没有让自己被发现，错失了很多提供给他们的机会。

最重要的是，在基督徒团体中没有人能认为自己高人一等，因为没有人能由于先皈依而认为自己是经验丰富的老教友，或者是践行福音更忠信。谁都不是“葡萄园”的主人，所有人都是工人，都是兄弟姐妹。

文本来源：雅颂福传
译者：Fr.James Ga