Sunday reflections

In 2018, Pope Francis wrote an Apostolic Exhortation called “Rejoice and be Glad” (Gaudete et Exsultate) in which reminded us that holiness is not for special people or a particular vocation but a universal call to all believers.

It was said of one of my confrères he had only one sermon, which began and ended with the reassurance that “God loves you”. The people still treasure his memory because they knew he wanted the best for them, even though he became confused towards the end of his life.

The Jewish people experienced two major periods of exile. The first was the Assyrian Exile beginning in the eighth century BCE when the ten northern tribes were forced into exile in Assyria. The second, the Babylonian Exile, involved the southern kingdom of Judah, primarily consisting of the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin. It occurred in the sixth century BCE when Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, twice attacked Jerusalem and, on the second occasion, destroyed the city.

There’s a bloke at every barbecue who reckons he’s got God’s number sorted. Do the right thing, say your prayers, front up to Mass, and the Big Fella will give you good crops, healthy kids, and a Bunnings sausage that doesn’t fall out of the bread.

In this week’s gospel, Jesus chastises the Chosen People’s religious leaders of his day, putting a very sobering message before them.

This week’s Second Reading contains a very early Christian hymn and quotes from the prophet Isaiah, which proclaims that “all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld should bend the knee” to God (Is. 45:23). But St Paul instead writes: “at the name of Jesus.”

In the gospel parable we might wonder is this the way God acts? It doesn’t seem fair to pay everyone the same wage, whether they have worked the entire day or for an hour, even if it was agreed to by the workers at the beginning.

Living and working in a community – be it large or small – is not always easy. We all know that. It is “par for the course” that tensions, disagreements, and challenges arise and need to be handled for the sake of community well-being.

Living and working in a community – be it large or small – is not always easy. We all know that. It is “par for the course” that tensions, disagreements, and challenges arise and need to be handled for the sake of community well-being.

Boundaries – geographical, cultural, religious and gender – are crossed in today’s gospel. In fact, it’s one of the few stories in Matthew’s Gospel that takes place outside Jewish territory. Matthew understands the ministry of Jesus being directed firstly to the house of Israel. Only when the good news of the Kingdom of God has been offered to them, will it be offered to “all nations”. (Matt 28:19)