25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A
Isaiah 55:6–9
Psalm 145:2–3, 8–9, 17–18
Philippians 1:20c–24, 27a
Matthew 20:1–16a
God is un-reasonable. That is, God is beyond anything that our reason can encompass. As the Author of all that is, God is beyond reason.
Those with a philosophical bent will no doubt recall St. Anselm’s dictum that “God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived.” For such a Being to be conceived of at all, that Being must have an existence beyond understanding. This is known as the ontological argument for the existence of God.
The prophet Isaiah presents not an argument, but a proclamation of God’s Word in a much more personal way: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways. … As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.” God affirms that our minds and our choice of behaviors cannot be compared to His. He is beyond us.
Yet, we also hear from the psalmist: “The Lord is near to all who call upon him.” We are invited to a direct relationship with the God Who is beyond our understanding. All that we need to do so that we may discover that He is near is to call upon Him.
The Catholic word for such truth is “mystery.” When we relate to God, we discover that the One Who is beyond all our thoughts speaks to us with an intimacy that is more profound than anything else we can experience.
Paul expresses this truth with the assertion that in Christ, life and death – two other mysteries we encounter in our human journey – do not change our relationship with God. “Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.” God’s mystery contains the whole of human existence.
Through a parable, Jesus presents God as One Who is generous and just. The God and Father of Jesus relates to each of us according to a measure that is beyond our understanding. What we are to receive at the end of the day, that is, at the end of our journey in this world, is not according to our way of measuring, but according to God’s.
We are to labor with whatever time is allotted to us. If we live, we are to work in the heat of the day. If we have less time, our work will nonetheless be rewarded by a generous and loving Father.
The post-communion prayer of the Mass today expresses the key insights of the Scriptures: “Graciously raise up, O Lord, those you renew with this Sacrament, that we may come to possess your redemption both in mystery and in the manner of our life.”
We are invited to enter into a living relationship with God Himself, not seeking to put Him in a box, as if we can expect Him to conform to our ways, but rather allowing Him to reveal Himself to us in mystery. Once we have embraced the mystery, then we are further called to live with a new form of measuring. We are made capable of living God’s mercy.
It is not easy to accept this way of thinking, which is truly beyond anything that this world offers. We are all influenced by the measures of this world and by our own envy of what we believe others have that we “deserve.”
If we can attend to the way God responds to us all, we will realize that there is room for all in the kingdom that is promised. The reward that is offered to those who can embrace God on His own terms is beyond our understanding. This is truly the mystery of faith.