May the grace of Christ be your consolation and joy!
The past couple of weekends have been strong encouragements for us to continue our efforts in the work of personal conversion, transformation and renewal. This weekend’s message comes as a consolation because we are affirmed that God is generous in love and mercy. No one should fear to ask God for forgiveness. Perhaps the strongest encouragement to trust God’s love comes through St. Paul who was once a persecutor of the Church, a murderer, and God changed Paul’s heart with an experience of divine love rather than with punishment. Hopefully all of us can be completely won over by God’s love as St. Paul was for he said ”to me life is Christ, and death is gain . . . I long to depart this life and be with Christ for that is far better.”
In the Gospel, Jesus tells a parable that gives us a hint of how beautiful, generous, and loving God really is. If you or I had a job opportunity and we were treated like the last laborers hired in the story, we would be overwhelmed with amazement. That kind of generosity does not exist on earth! That’s why Jesus’ parable is so powerful! And yet, it only hints toward the truth about the greatness of God’s love and mercy. In reality, God is too good to be true! God’s goodness is beyond our imagination and our understanding. Jesus tells us that none of our good deeds will ever be forgotten! The parable encourages us to be laborers for God’s kingdom and the reward for our acts of service and efforts to make Jesus known and loved will have an incomparable reward. The invitation is there, do you hear it?
God bless you! +++ Fr. Peter