LIVE IN GENEROSITY AND LOVE
Matthew 20.1-16
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. Today, we celebrate the 25th Sunday in ordinary time year A. Today's gospel is about the generosity of an employer who gives equal pay to workers. All workers were paid one denarius a day, even though they worked in different hours.
Of course, the workers who worked long hours found this unfair. Some of the workers who worked from early in the morning complained that they were receiving unfair wages. According to them, they received unfair treatment from their employers. Perhaps the workers who worked in the afternoon considered themselves lucky, as they received the same wage as the workers who worked in the morning.
In my opinion, we often experience the same thing in our lives. We often feel lucky with what we have achieved. On the other hand, we often protest against what we have made, because maybe the results we get are not in line with what we want. Unfortunately, we always measure justice and success based on our own standards.
Here, the Lord Jesus not only wants to show us the true value of justice but also wants to show us His infinite generosity to mankind. Jesus wants us to understand that the real justice He wants is that all people should live in God's grace and mercy. As a result, God has His own way to save us from sin with His infinite mercy and love by dying on the cross.
If we believe in God's infinite love, we should feel how foolish we are if we protest, envy or compare ourselves with others according to our standard of living. If we open our hearts to God's grace and love, we should also open our hearts and spread God's goodness and compassion to others.
As I reflect on today's gospel, I am reminded of the story of Mother Teresa. In her speech when she received her Nobel Prize, Mother Teresa told the story of a man who came to her for help. She gave the man some rice. When the man returned home, he met his neighbour who had no rice, so he shared the rice Mother Teresa had given him with his neighbour. Mother Teresa asked why the man shared the rice with his neighbour. The man replied because none of them had rice. That is the true generous love that God is looking for.
Currently, I live at Box Hill SVD Seminary. In the midst of my busy life, several times I helped seminarians who wanted to learn how to drive. Sometimes I didn't want to be bothered. However, when I was asked for help, I felt like I was moved by something to help them. So, I taught some seminarians how to drive in front of the seminary. It is a very simple thing, but it will definitely be useful for them in the future.
I believe that we can have generous attitudes and actions to others, whenever we want. Our attitudes and actions are very helpful to those who are truly in need. Therefore, let us learn from today's gospel to be a blessing to others.