25th Sunday of Ordinary Time [A]

 


25TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME [A]


He’s called Doctor Strange. Dr. Strange became part of the comic book world back in the year 1963 [Marvel’s Strange Tales #110]. In more recent times he has been appearing on the Silver Screen. The first Dr. Strange movie premiered in 2016, and then a sequel was released in 2022. Either way, whether you’re encountering him through the comic books or through one of the feature films, you’ll find that the storylines are not easy to follow. You won’t always understand what’s happening. Nevertheless, you’ll be able to recognize that he represents the good. He is looking out for the human race. He’s on your side. He somehow manages to be both strange and also benevolent. In this case, strange doesn’t necessarily mean bad. 


We can say something similar about our Lord. His ways are mysterious, as we hear in the Book of Isaiah, chapter fifty five (55:8-9). The ways of our Lord are mysterious, and they can also be described as counter-intuitive. Note the payroll process that’s being presented in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter twenty. It’s probably not the type of process that you would have drafted. So naturally, questions are beginning to arise within you. Perhaps you might even feel the need to object. In the parable, it goes beyond the posing of a question: those first-shift workers are filing an actual complaint (Matt. 20:12). How does the vineyard-owner respond? He doesn’t have them forcibly removed. It’s more about inviting them to look at the situation from another perspective. Does this really qualify as an injustice? Are they in fact being disenfranchised? The owner’s methods may well come across as strange. And yet, strange doesn’t necessarily mean bad. 


St. Paul objected vigorously, when the New Covenant was being introduced. He fought aggressively to suppress this phenomenon that had come to be known as The New Way (Acts 22:4). It’s a “way” that can be attributed to God. But a period of time will pass before the apostle can finally make this connection. Now, as he writes to the community at Philippi, he is clearly seeing it all in a new light. Christ is no longer the enemy; for Paul, Christ is “life” itself (Phil. 1:21). As a Church, we celebrate Paul on both January 25th and on June 29th. The June feast-day honors him for his martyrdom; meanwhile, the January feast-day centers around the drama of his conversion. Conversion is what will lead him from one state to another state: from a state of hostility to a state of tranquility. 


The hope is that we will all reach that very same point: the point where we have set the objections aside. Even if the questions persist, see about laying the objections to rest. If the objections can be effectively cleared out, then a spirit of conversion can take shape within your heart and your soul. And this will create a cause for celebration. Along with celebrating Paul’s journey, will be likewise celebrating YOUR OWN personal journey of faith. 

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