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20 set 2026

20/09/2026 – 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A

20/09/2026 – 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A

1st reading: Is 55:6–9; Psalm 144; 2nd reading: Phil 1:20–27; Gospel: Mt 20:1–16

Jesus wants, or must, answer a question from Peter. Having seen the young man who, because of his great wealth, did not feel able to follow the Lord, Peter spoke up to say that they, the disciples, had left everything to be with him. And he was keen to ask: ‘What, then, will we get in return?’. We ask ourselves the same question: what are the rewards in the Kingdom of God? What do those who follow the King who comes from heaven receive? Will they at least enjoy some comfort on this earth, a little more wealth, some visible reward? These are questions often heard from Christians: ‘I have prayed, I have gone to Mass, I have made long pilgrimages, and look what has become of me: poor, sick, forced to bear unexpected crosses! Is this the reward for my labours?’

Jesus’ answer is a parable, already foretold by the prophet Isaiah, who conveyed this truth on God’s behalf: ‘My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways.’ If this is so, we need to learn God’s thoughts, and thus be prepared to change our own—which are entirely mistaken, deceive us, and cause us to belong to the world rather than to the Kingdom of Heaven. Indeed, the prophet continues: ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so … my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.’

What can we do to remedy this situation? We shall listen carefully to Jesus, so as to be consistent with his Word, as the Apostle urges us: ‘Live, then, in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.’ He offers us an example of this when he confides in us: ‘I long to depart and be with Christ, … but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.’ Our desires will not be worldly, seeking well-being on this earth: Saint Paul longs to die in order to attain union with Christ Jesus! Yet even this desire can be motivated by spiritual selfishness, and so, out of love for his brothers and sisters, he offers to remain and suffer on this earth. Yes, because in order to proclaim the Gospel, he has always had to face sufferings of every kind. In the Kingdom of Heaven, one does not live for oneself!

Jesus speaks precisely of the Kingdom of Heaven, that is, of our way of living together with the King who comes from on high, with him, sent by the Father. He also begins this parable, as he does many others: ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is like…’. Let us be careful to learn. A landowner has a vineyard: the listener naturally thinks of the people loved by God. The vineyard produces grapes for making wine, but many labourers are needed to harvest the grapes and press them. And so, this landowner does nothing but seek out labourers, and he seeks them at every hour of the day. He wants to fill the vineyard with labourers. All the idlers are suitable: he calls them, without asking for their CVs. He even makes sure to pay them: with the first ones he negotiates, agreeing on one denarius a day. To the others he speaks of the pay, but says only that there will be some and that it will be fair. To the last ones, those hired at five in the afternoon, he does not even mention the pay.

Everyone works: there will be all the wine the master needs. What will he do with it? He needs it for the wedding at Cana, to spread joy upon the earth through his Son’s wedding! And he will need it for the Last Supper, for the cup of his Son’s blood, to grant forgiveness to those who will receive him throughout the ages.

The master has a steward, charged with paying the wages. He must begin with the last ones, those who have worked the least. They receive one denarius each, and so do all the others. Why is that? Does this master not ask himself what a person deserves based on what they have done, on how many hours they have worked?

No, this master does not look at the number of hours or the amount of work. He looks each one in the face and sees that all of them, even the last ones, have obeyed him, loved him and served him; they have been his servants, faithfully. So he bestows his love upon them. This love is indivisible; he cannot give it in full to one person and only half to another. His love, in its concrete reality, is his Son. And this love remains whole for everyone, just as it was for the thief on the cross, even though he came at the very last moment: at the very last moment, repenting, he became his own, his friend, a member of his kingdom.

To one of the first, who showed envy at what the last ones received, he must say: ‘I want to give this last one as much as I give you: am I not free to do what I wish with my own things?’ For in giving their reward, he does not look at the work done by each, but at their obedience and at his own goodness, which is the same for everyone, and he wants everyone to see it and enjoy it. In the Kingdom of Heaven, everyone will learn from him to look upon their brothers and sisters with the light of his eyes, with goodness; otherwise, they will have no joy in being in the Kingdom of Heaven. Truly, his thoughts are not like ours!

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)