HOMILY FOR THE 25TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A.

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Isaiah 55:6-9; Psalm 145:2-3.8-9.17-18; Philippians 1:20-24.27; Matthew 20:1-16.

“THE MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD!”

By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide.

·      Our Catholic Catechism teaches that God the Son is both human and divine. God the Son took our human nature in order to feel what we feel to save us. For many of us, the decision of God to become a man is unfathomable because he could have saved the world through other means.

·      Dearly beloved in Christ, trying to completely unravel the mysteries of God is a futile venture because the moment we “completely” know God, he seizes to be God. It is in the nature of God to be mysterious.

·      The first reading today (Isaiah 55:6-9), explicitly tells us that God’s ways are not our ways and his designs are beyond human understanding or reckoning. To be saved is to have blind faith and to seek divine help to always do the will of God.

·      Mathematically speaking and applying the law of economics, one would be tempted to say that God who is the landowner was partial as recorded in the gospel reading of today (Matthew 20:1-16). A second look at the terms of the agreement, God may not have committed any fraud because those with whom he had a prior agreement, paid what they agreed.

·      Friends in Christ, our human understanding will make us feel that Jesus was being partial in the distribution of his resources. However, these resources are nothing material but the reality of the kingdom of God, a place of bliss at God’s right hand.

·      In the business of salvation and God’s kingdom, it is not about who came first but those who remained committed and steadfast till the end. We must fight the good fight of faith to the end.

·      Friends in Christ, this parable teaches us the mysteries of the kingdom of God. While it is true that we encounter God and become believers at different times of our lives, some as infants, and some as adults either through marriage or personal conviction then leading to conversion. Whatever the case, it is not about the length of time spent in coming to know God, but the quality of time spent in serving God and doing his will.

·      Today we are challenged to continue to fan into flame the gift of faith we have all received. So that when the day of reckoning comes, we will receive our just and fair reward which is the crown of unfading glory.

·      This is not the time for self-pity or giving up on God because you feel that your life is littered with sin. The prophet Isaiah in the first reading urges on. He says “Seek the Lord while he can be found, call on him while he is near” (Is. 55:6), so we must call on him now that he may come into our lives and transform us and remold us into fitting vessels for his kingdom.

·      We must be courageous in renouncing our sinful ways and come to God with a firm resolve not to stray from his path anymore. The Lord is ever ready to receive us with an open arm, he is ever ready to forgive our transgressions so that we begin to live again for God.

·      This is for us that eleventh hour and the Lord is out in the field waiting to hire you into his vineyard. We must make ourselves available and respond positively to his summons.

·      It is only when we can turn away from our sins that the words of St. Paul in the second reading (Philippians 1:20-24.27), can come true in our lives namely that “God will be glorified in our bodies” (Phil. 1:20), through the kind of life we live.

·      The Psalmist tells us that "The Lord is close to all who call him"(Ps. 145:18), call on the Lord now that he may come into our life, change your story, and turn your life around for good. Today the Lord wants to hire you for himself alone, wouldn't you make yourself available?

·      May God give us the grace to answer his divine call to do his will and work for him all the days of our life through Christ our Lord, Amen!

·      Happy Sunday!!!

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