Walking with Jesus: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time A

For Sunday, September 20, 2026

Isaiah 55:6-9; Philippians 1:20-24, 27; Matthew 20:1-16


It’s amazing when we read Jesus’ parables and something stops us — and we say to ourselves, “Why did He do that?” I have found that this reaction often provokes strong responses. Now, why is that? Scripture scholars explain that we want Jesus to act more like we do. Well, God doesn’t. And when we study these situations we see that He is acting with all-embracing generosity. Look at the apostles when Jesus tells them to lower their nets after a long night of catching no fish ... and their resulting catch fills two boats. Consider when He falls asleep in the boat and a huge storm comes up and they’re afraid they’re going to drown — fear brings out many reactions — and Jesus stands up, the storm stops, the clouds disappear and the sun comes out — and there they stand, soaking wet. In our own lives, we experience so many examples of God’s huge, generous response to our fearful worries, bolstered by God’s love and constant care of us. He always loves!

Isaiah is writing at the end of the Babylonian exile, giving a message of hope to the Jewish exiles as well as reminding future generations — us included — where hope and God’s constant care has been in our lives. With a sense of urgency, Isaiah invites all to “seek the Lord while He may be found” [Isaiah 55:6], knowing that “He is generous in forgiving” [Isaiah 55:7] ... showing again that God cares about each of us wherever we are. Isaiah emphasizes that the “hearers” seek out and call on the Lord — a call to worship. The primary point, however, is a call to conversion. This means they (and we) are to abandon our wicked ways and evil thoughts and return to the Lord. Consider that we find the phrase, “Return to the Lord,” 263 times in the Bible. God is emphatically telling us something. Can we listen this time? “Return” implies that those who have sinned were once in relationship with God but have turned away. We are being summoned to worship and repent: God loves us that much! Isaiah describes the sinfulness of the people as indicative of a pattern of sins, not merely isolated offenses. This is a good reflection for us. The Lord is always with us and loves us.

Paul is sharing with the Philippians his own particular struggles concerning life and death — a topic many of us certainly have thought about and experienced. Paul would not be grappling with this if imminent death were not a real possibility for him, nor would he ever take steps to hasten his own end. So somehow, at this writing, Paul’s life is in jeopardy. Death will not be by his hands — he is a Roman citizen who eventually will be beheaded in Rome. What we are hearing are his dilemmas — his own physical suffering and safety are not being considered. Rather, the big issue for him is his union with Christ and for Christ. This is uppermost in his mind. Christ is always to be glorified — He has given Paul and each of us life, to be lived in love, now and always.

Many of the parables Jesus teaches are somewhat shocking, and today's are near the top of the list. The parable clearly shows that the graciousness of God can be mistaken easily for injustice. It just doesn’t seem fair to pay all of the laborers the same wage, regardless of the amount of time they put into their work. On the other hand, all of them receive exactly the amount for which they “contracted” when they were first hired, and so from this point of view there is no injustice. Everything is clear. The owner keeps hiring laborers throughout the day. Now, perhaps these new ones are known to be incompetent or lazy or what have you, but all we know is that no one has hired them. This is important: The parable refers to the judgment that will come at the end of time. In this framework we have come to expect “surprises” in the parables of Jesus. Today those hired earlier, who have worked through the heat of the day, expect more because they have given more. The real surprise is the owner’s payment policy. The method of payment is replaced by generosity, which many would consider scandalous. Well, justice and grace do not always fit well together. The point here? God’s plan for heaven for all is based on the latter, not the former.

While we really don’t have any idea how one gets to heaven, we do know that love, mercy, forgiveness, and caring for the hurting are important. The criminal on the cross tells his angry companion that both of them are guilty and deserve the death penalty, and then asks Jesus for forgiveness ... and mercy is given. Do I have a problem with this? I trust, love and know Jesus cares about me. Do I care about Jesus? What do I need to do? Do it now!

So I reflect on:

• In a world where the immigrant is demonized, what could change if we saw the various groups of workers as groups of people who come to live in a country — with the ones coming at the very end of the day as those immigrants who are now fleeing the violence or famine in their home countries? Do I grumble when they appear in my area of town? 

Sacred Space 2026 states:

“Many of us consider this to be a very unfair story. Why should the individual who works for only one hour be paid the same as the guy who toils all day? Think about that for a while and bring your feelings about the fairness of the payment scheme to the Lord. When you feel ready, you might want to make a prayer of thanks and gratefulness that you are still receiving the call — at whatever age you have now attained — ‘You too go out to the vineyard.’”