The parables of Jesus make people question the way in which they always think about things and about other people and they also make people accept or reject Jesus’s own way of thinking. The situation in which Jesus tells a parable helps us to understand the meaning of the parable. In chapter 19 Jesus has been explaining what kind of people will qualify for a place in his kingdom, namely, those who know their need of God and put their trust in him and are willing to renounce anything that is an obstacle to their living according to the Gospel. Jesus had already made it clear that the Jewish leaders in general and the Pharisees in particular are not this kind of people. They oppose him because, according to him, salvation is not for them only, and indeed they may well be the very people who do not reach salvation. The repentant sinners accept him, because they know their need of him and do not put their trust in passing things that this world considers important and do not feel that they are certain of their salvation. Jesus says the call to salvation is not for the privileged people only, but for all. The Pharisees grumble that they, who have kept the law all their life, should get just the same call and reward as those who have always been sinners. Jesus tries to show that first he is in no way being unjust, to those who have tried, and second he is being generous to those who have repented. The Gospel shows us, what the first reading has told us, that God’s ways and man’s ways are not the same. Very often man is not even just. God, however, is always at least just. But he is more than that- he is also merciful and generous. Because we would not be like that, we must not blame God for being like that. We must not try to make God be like us, but we must try to make ourselves be like God. And for most of us that means undergoing quite a big change in our ways of thinking and acting. And if we find ourselves  grumbling, as those workpeople did, because the people who have struggled only a little get the same reward as those who have struggled a lot, it shows that our own service has not been as generous and wholehearted as we thought.
Before and during the Exile the prophets had made it clear that Israel deserved all the trouble that had come upon them, because of their failure to live up to the covenant and because of their superstitions and injustices. It was a very painful experience and it really seemed that God had abandoned his people to their enemies and had withdrawn far away from them. That is why the Israelite in exile, feeling himself far from home and far from God, made this kind of prayer: “How much longer will you hide your face….How much longer must my enemy prevail…..answer me… ” The prayer is answered in second Isaiah, known as the Book of Consolation, chapters 40-55, from which today’s reading comes. Israel had transformed the worship of the true God into idolatry and superstition, and they had come to regard God’s strong commands lightly as though they were only weak suggestions. Even when warned that a day of reckoning would come, they had paid no heed. Now the day of reckoning had come and God had left his people unprotected and allowed them to become the victims of Assyria and Babylon. But he had done so only in order to renew them and to bring them back from their sinfulness to the observance of his covenant. Now God says, “Be comforted, my people” and he says to his prophet, “Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and tell her that her time of service is ended, that her sin is atoned for, that she has received from the hand of the Lord double punishment for all her crimes”. (Is.40,1 & 2). God intends to be merciful to them and allow them to return home and they will have reason to be glad and rejoice. But they have learnt a new lesson; while it is true that God is always near to them and always rich in mercy they must treat his nearness and his mercy with respect. While Israel is to return home they must at the same time return to the Lord and live their lives in a way that is worthy of the holiness of God. It seems that in our own day we have the same problem, the problem of people who treat God and his will lightly and think that God doesn’t mind very much what we do or how we behave and live as if there is no day of reckoning to come. God is near and rich in mercy, but he does want people to turn back to him.
Paul is writing to the Christians of Philippi from prison. That would be a good reason why he should be uncertain whether he is going to live or die. Baptism once and for all and the Eucharist over and over again make the body of the Christian one with the body of Christ and the sufferings of the Christian therefore become one with the sufferings of Christ, and therefore in Paul Christ is glorified whether he lives or dies. For him life means Christ, because Christ had started him on a new life, everyday Paul had lived in companionship with Christ, in all his difficult situations Christ had brought him through, Christ had given him the task of being an apostle, Christ was the motive force that made him make all his efforts, Christ was the strong one who came to his help in his weakness, his life was leading him to the eternal presence of Christ and Christ was the only reward he wanted anyway. That way life was Christ and death was still Christ, entry into company with him for ever. At the same time he hesitates to choose death now, which he sees as better for him because it will bring him closer to Christ, if it will be better for the Philippians for him to continue to exercise his apostolate among them; his desire to go on living is only for the help he can give to them. In verse 27: whether he returns to them from prison or not, they must remember to conduct themselves according to the laws that govern the heavenly city of which they are citizens, just as a Roman citizen would live in a way that was worthy of a Roman citizen, wherever he might be. It would be a marvellous thing for any of us to be able to say in all truth and sincerity, “Life for me means Christ, Christ is the one who occupies the centre of my life.”
Kefa W. MHM
What you’ll find here is my personal reflection on Scripture. I don’t claim to have all the answers, only a sincere desire to seek truth. Some of the references used are drawn from past study and experience, and I may no longer be able to recall all their exact sources. Feel free to leave your comments or personal reflections below as we continue to grow deeper together in the Word of God. I’ll see you next Sunday.
