Elia-Moosa,6th S.,09
(Mt.20:1-16)
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is giving his listeners a new perspective on God’s kingdom and salvation. Until the teaching of Jesus, the Kingdom of God was seen as a birthright of Israel and was exclusively confined to the Israelites. Salvation was seen not only as belonging to a particular race but also as something to be attained by one’s own effort by observing the rituals of tradition. Through the parable of the laborers of the vineyard, Jesus is correcting the perception of the Israelites on Salvation.
The parable of the laborers highlights the current notions prevalent in Israel on salvation and God’s kingdom. The earlier laborers hired for work in the vineyard represent the Chosen people of Israel. They are given the privilege of the call to be part of the kingdom of God. But Jesus points out to them that they are not the only people called to Kingdom .The gentiles are also entitled to the grace of God and hence, the call goes out to them also to join the kingdom of heaven.
What Jesus tries to make his listeners understand is that God’s offer of salvation is not limited to one particular race or nation. It is open to all. It is also not confined to those who are righteous but also to sinners. No one is excluded from the call of God. It is a free gift. Salvation is not attained by human effort but given as a pure gift of God.
The early laborers complain that they have worked all day and get the same wage as the laborers who come in the evening. Jesus makes it clear that in the kingdom of God, human considerations like these have no place. There, one experiences the peace and joy that God gives. The more one is aligned with God, the more one experiences the abundance and generosity of God, love. Envy, competition, jealousy, superiority or inferiority has no place in a world that is permeated with love, peace and joy. These are the benefits that God gives to one who comes to Him. These experiences are similar to the love the children experience when they are with their parents. The older and the younger children experience the same kind of love. The oldest is happy because he gets a longer time to experience it and the enjoyment of the love is not considered as a burden.
So too , when one becomes part of the kingdom of heaven, one does not feel burdened by earthly values of being the first or the last. Those considerations disappear in the vast ocean of love and happiness that one enjoys in heaven. The fist and the last are on the same footing.
How consoling it is to know that at any time in one’s life one can come back to the Lord and experience the joy of salvation. Even in the evening of one’s life, at death bed, one can experience the grace of God.
The parable of the laborers in the vineyard, hence, is a call to all to come to him and to experience the joy of salvation.
Notes:
The parable highlights God’s generosity. This is not about rewards but about salvation .The Jews divided the whole day into eight parts, four night parts(called “watches”) and four day parts(called” hours”).
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Elia-Sleeva,5thS.,09
Elia-Sleeva,5thS.,09
• Today’s Gospel presents before us a very interesting dialogue on faith and prayer between Jesus and the Canaanite Woman.
• She is called a Canaanite woman because she comes from Sidon which is named after the first-born son of Canaan (Gen.10.13).Jesus is in the gentile territory of Tyre and Sidon and hence the woman gets a chance to ask Him for mercy and compassion.
• Through several denials and questionings, Jesus tests the woman’s faith and each denial makes her more forceful in her request. She gives out a heart-wrenching cry: “Lord, Son of David, have pity on me.” Any one’s heart would melt at the pain and sadness expressed through her request.
• Jesus, ironically, does not grant her request right away. He keeps her waiting and she continues with much more forceful pleadings. She is not offended by the words of denial as she was sure she was standing before the Son of God. Deep beneath her persistent request is her strong faith in the power of the Lord. She has already acknowledged him as the Messiah, by calling Him the Son of David. The delay in the granting of the request gives her a greater opportunity to affirm her faith more powerfully. Finally Jesus accedes to her request, praising her great faith: “Woman, You have great faith.”
• This event opens our eyes to the nature of faith and prayer. The persistency and constancy in her prayer exemplify for each one of us the characteristics that are needed in a prayer. Perseverance, humility and trust are required in our prayer- life. Like the Canaanite woman, we can approach the Lord at any time in our life, on any occasion; the only thing that is required of us is that our hearts should be open to the will of God and that we should trust Him completely and totally.
• The Canaanite woman represents every one of us in need of God’s grace and mercy .Whatever may be our situation, when we approach Him in true humility and total dependence, He will grant our requests. His mercy is without limits. Just as He has reached out to the gentile woman, he will reach out to us, irrespective of the conditions in which we find ourselves. Obstacles, hardships and sicknesses should not deter us from approaching him. Like the woman we should be persistent in our requests to Him.
• According to St. John Chrysostom, the Canaanite woman represents every repentant sinner. Her plea resembles the plea of all of us who are sinful, frail and weak. As the Lord has healed the woman’s daughter, He would definitely heal us and remove all hardships from our lives. Today’s Gospel thus offers us tremendous comfort and hope, letting us know that the Lord will never abandon us when we approach Him in total faith and humility.
• Notes:
• Tyre and Sidon—gentile cities in Phoenicia(modern Lebanon)
• Dog: a term the Jews applied to the gentiles. Jesus is not degrading the woman but is reflecting the Jew’s attitude to the gentiles. She does not contest the use of the term: instead, agrees to be considered a gentile –a dog—as long as she could receive God’s blessings.
• Today’s Gospel presents before us a very interesting dialogue on faith and prayer between Jesus and the Canaanite Woman.
• She is called a Canaanite woman because she comes from Sidon which is named after the first-born son of Canaan (Gen.10.13).Jesus is in the gentile territory of Tyre and Sidon and hence the woman gets a chance to ask Him for mercy and compassion.
• Through several denials and questionings, Jesus tests the woman’s faith and each denial makes her more forceful in her request. She gives out a heart-wrenching cry: “Lord, Son of David, have pity on me.” Any one’s heart would melt at the pain and sadness expressed through her request.
• Jesus, ironically, does not grant her request right away. He keeps her waiting and she continues with much more forceful pleadings. She is not offended by the words of denial as she was sure she was standing before the Son of God. Deep beneath her persistent request is her strong faith in the power of the Lord. She has already acknowledged him as the Messiah, by calling Him the Son of David. The delay in the granting of the request gives her a greater opportunity to affirm her faith more powerfully. Finally Jesus accedes to her request, praising her great faith: “Woman, You have great faith.”
• This event opens our eyes to the nature of faith and prayer. The persistency and constancy in her prayer exemplify for each one of us the characteristics that are needed in a prayer. Perseverance, humility and trust are required in our prayer- life. Like the Canaanite woman, we can approach the Lord at any time in our life, on any occasion; the only thing that is required of us is that our hearts should be open to the will of God and that we should trust Him completely and totally.
• The Canaanite woman represents every one of us in need of God’s grace and mercy .Whatever may be our situation, when we approach Him in true humility and total dependence, He will grant our requests. His mercy is without limits. Just as He has reached out to the gentile woman, he will reach out to us, irrespective of the conditions in which we find ourselves. Obstacles, hardships and sicknesses should not deter us from approaching him. Like the woman we should be persistent in our requests to Him.
• According to St. John Chrysostom, the Canaanite woman represents every repentant sinner. Her plea resembles the plea of all of us who are sinful, frail and weak. As the Lord has healed the woman’s daughter, He would definitely heal us and remove all hardships from our lives. Today’s Gospel thus offers us tremendous comfort and hope, letting us know that the Lord will never abandon us when we approach Him in total faith and humility.
• Notes:
• Tyre and Sidon—gentile cities in Phoenicia(modern Lebanon)
• Dog: a term the Jews applied to the gentiles. Jesus is not degrading the woman but is reflecting the Jew’s attitude to the gentiles. She does not contest the use of the term: instead, agrees to be considered a gentile –a dog—as long as she could receive God’s blessings.
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