Brothers and Sisters,

We have been making our journey with Jesus through the Gospel of Mathew. The following is what we have learned so far about being his disciples. We are sent into the world with a positive attitude to bless and befriend the world.  We must cultivate virtues of hospitality, fidelity, humility, gentleness, patience, generosity and a habit of listening to the voice of God. We were challenged to strive to be the rock on which Christ would build his Church and be prepared to accept the cost of being that rock…the cross, suffering, and death await all disciples who follow Jesus. We were advised to be patient and tolerant with our imperfections, failures, mistakes and shortfalls and those of others as well and be open to mutual, brotherly, sisterly and friendly corrections and forgive others as our God has forgiven us.

Today, we celebrate the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in ordinary time of the year. Our Scripture readings proclaim the generosity of our God in showing mercy to His unfaithful children.  The generosity of God is not dependent on what we do. He is generous because it is His nature to be generous and His mercy is for all regardless of what they did or where they came from.  The prophet Isaiah reminds the exiles in Babylon that their God is more merciful than they are, and more forgiving as well (first reading). In spite of their infidelities, God blessed them with material and spiritual blessings. So, the prophet called them to seek the Lord and to put aside evil ways and receive His mercy and forgiveness.

The Psalmist sings, “the Lord is just in all His ways and gracious and merciful” (Responsorial Psalm).  St. Paul says that the very purpose of his life is the final union with Christ by the grace of God and not because of anything he has done (second reading). So, he instructed his readers to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel. Jesus tells us a parable that reveals God as a gracious, benevolent, merciful, and compassionate person. It is a story of Grace. Whether we have served from sunrise to sunset or only the last hour of the day, God gives because He is generous and full of mercy and not because we have earned or merited his favors (Todays’ Gospel). His generosity is not dependent on our deservedness.

Our Scripture readings of today call us to be grateful for the generosity of our God and be generous to all as God is generous to us. They proclaim the greatness of our God, the abundance of his love, the generosity of his heart and the compassion that flows from a heart of Love. Generosity is being mindful of others and looking out for the needs of others! It is “other-centeredness.” St. Paul advises us as he advised the Ephesians, “defer to one another out of love for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21). The generosity of our God and that of others call us to be generous with all that we are and have. Our lives must reflect the generosity of our God. 

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