Our Sabbath Scripture Stories – 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A

Read or listen to this Sunday’s Mass readings here.

  • Isaiah 55:6-9
  • Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a
  • Matthew 20:1-16a

Dad sat on the couch this Sunday morning re-reading the letter he got yesterday from his cousin.  It was quite a letter!  His cousin was a missionary priest in South America.  Father Marcellino was serving the poor and rural people in Columbia and was seeing lives transformed by the Good News!

“It’s quite remarkable what he’s up to!” Dad remarked.  “When we used to play as kids, Marcellino would hate to get his hands dirty!  Now he’s living in pretty primitive conditions!”

Mom smiled.  “When you are doing something that gives you such joy and purpose, you don’t mind the external conditions!  In all of his letters, he sounds so happy!”

As the clock dinged on the wall, Dad put down the letter and picked up his Bible.  “Come on, Kids,” he shouted, “it’s already time to read our Gospel for this Sunday!”

Today, Dad opened his Bible to the 20th chapter of Matthew.  He read about the laborers and their wages … how the workers that came later received the same payment as the workers who had toiled all day.

As Dad closed his Bible, Lucy was the first one to speak up.  “Is that fair, Daddy?” she asked.  “The last guys got paid the same as the first guys who had been in the sun all day.”

“Tell me, too!” 4-year-old Hillary added.

“How about I explain it to all of you!”  Dad began.  “I, also, thought about this parable as a child until I learned what Jesus meant.”

The kids settled in to hear the explanation. 

Dad went on.  “First, let me explain to you the Jewish method of calculating time.  The Jewish method is different from ours.  They divided the entire day into eight parts.  The four night parts were called watches and the four day parts were called hours—the first hour, the third hour, the sixth hour, and the ninth hour.” 

“That’s pretty neat, Dad!” Vincent remarked.  “What a system to tell time!”

“Well, the first hour began at sunrise and ended at nine o’clock in the morning, the third ran ‘til noon, the sixth went until three, and the ninth hour went until sunset.  That meant that the first and ninth hours varied in length and got shorter or longer for winter and summer.”

“I’m confused … ” Vincent sighed.

“Then add to that what they sometimes called the 11th hour or the twilight before sunset when the working day was over,”  Dad told them.  “Now the reason I’m telling you all this is to help you understand someone who had worked from the first hour until the end of the work day, and someone who worked only the 11th hour or the moments just before sunset.”

Dad went on.  “Jesus tells this parable to help us understand the rewards of eternal life.  Let’s say that you know someone who was baptized the second they were born.  Then let’s say that this person leads a wonderful Christian life and dies at a ripe old age of 105.  That person, we expect, would merit the rewards of heaven, right?”

“I sure hope so!” Vincent said.

“Now let’s talk a minute about the people my cousin Father Marcellino is helping in South America,” Dad continued.  “These people have not heard the Good News because no one has told them.  Through Father Marcellino’s work, many of them will become believers shortly before they die and leave this earth.  Now, do you think that they should receive less of the merits of heaven because they become Christian moments before they die?”

“Well … no,” Mary Clare figured.  “God is a God of mercy and love.  He wants everyone who believes, no matter when they came to believe, to be with Him in heaven.”

“Yeah,” Vincent added.  “At first you figure that those all-day workers had a real complaint!  But then you see that everyone at the end receives the same payment or reward!”

“And for us that reward is … ?” Mom quizzed.

“Heaven!” they all cheered.

“So all the people that Father Marcellino is bringing to Christ in his mission work will be dancing and singing with cradle Christians!” Mary Clare stated. 

“Therefore,” Vincent philosophically figured, in his unique teenage way, “the hours, and the watches, and the time spent isn’t the thing that is the most important.  It is that you come to believe and continue to believe until the end.”

“Amen!” Dad answered.  “I can’t wait to write my cousin back and let him know how we appreciate his good work and look forward to meeting his people, if not in this world, then in the next!”

Then little 4-year-old Hillary summed it up, “So this is really a fair story after all!”

And off they went with an added view of paradise!

Would you prefer a print a copy of this story?

Cycle A, 25 OT, SSSDownload

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