As God Thinks

Homily for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Deacon Thomas Stephenson

September 21, 2014

For my thoughts are not your thoughts

Nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord

Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord tells us something that we already know, but may sometimes forget or get confused about – or perhaps even prefer not to consider. There is a difference between human thoughts and divine thoughts. Throughout the Bible, how many times does God have to correct people who are only thinking in their own way, instead of how He thinks? There are many instances in the Gospels where Jesus needs to correct the thinking of the Apostles, times when He shows them that they are not thinking as they should, He shows them, and us, a new way of thinking. Our way of looking at things is often not what it should be, because we are not trying to think as God thinks.

But, it’s not always easy for us to look at things the way the Lord wants us to. It takes some effort to think as He does, because, well, we are not Him. Our preferences, the culture, our feelings, can get in the way. We have our own ideas of how things should be, and those ideas often differ from what God has in mind. We’d like to believe that God thinks exactly as we do, but that is usually not the case. The question then is, how do we know just what God’s thoughts are? How do we cut through the clutter and interference that we encounter? We need something more than our own instincts, and we have what we need – we have the scriptures, in which God revealed Himself and His ways, and we have the teachings of His Church, to guide us and to give us insights into how to think more as God thinks.

Let’s look at today’s Gospel. How would we feel if we went out early in the morning, worked in the vineyard all day, and at the end received the same pay as someone who started work many hours later? Would we feel that was unfair? Is it really a matter of fairness, or more a case of envy? It really shouldn’t make any difference to us what anyone else receives, if we are paid according to our agreement. But, we would be tempted to think that way, wouldn’t we?

Just as the labourers were called at different times of the day, so God calls each of us at various stages of life. Many of us are cradle Catholics; we have been Catholic since our baptism. Some of us began in other Christian denominations, or were not baptised at all as children, and became Catholics as adults. And some of us dropped away from our faith, returning in response to the voice of the Lord inside us. Do those of us who have been Christians all our lives have a right to a greater reward from God than those who come to Him later in life? Of course not. It is not unfair that, regardless of when we answered His call, if we die in a state of grace, we will all receive the reward of eternal life. Our salvation is a totally free gift from God, in His generosity and love. Thinking as God thinks, we would rejoice in anyone coming to the Lord, even the most evil person making a heartfelt conversion at the last moment before his death.

Our faith is gift, and we should treasure it and live our Christian life with joy and gratitude – every day. The owner of the vineyard paid the labourers at the end of the day. If any of them had left before that, they would not have been paid. If for some reason they had gone out thinking that they could return, they would have run the risk of not getting back on time. And they must have worked according to how the landowner instructed them, or they would have been dismissed. If we live according to the way God has instructed us, we will receive what is due to us when the time comes. And that takes us back to thinking as God thinks, for we cannot live in His ways if we have only our own thoughts to direct us. As long as we are on this earth, we will be sinners, and fall short of living a perfect life. But we should not despair, as long as we can recognize when we have fallen and work to get back up again. And the way for us to get back up again is…go to confession. It does us no good if we fall, and then try to act as if that is okay and where we should be. And it is also not merciful to allow someone who has fallen to think that’s okay. On many so many issues, even if we aren’t directly involved ourselves, it can be easy to think as the culture thinks rather than as God thinks. Regardless of the issue – abortion, or illicit sexual activity, or not being married in the Church, or contraception, or embryonic stem cell research and IVF, or even cheating on your taxes – we are called to align our thinking with God’s thinking, our ways with God’s ways. We cannot define our Christian life according to the current, passing world, but only according to God’s Word.

So, let us ask the Lord for the grace to place His thoughts above our thoughts, His ways above our ways, and to faithfully work in His vineyard until the time comes for us to receive our reward, eternal life in His presence.