25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 55:6-9 Matthew 20:1-16
In the Gospel we have just heard the parable of the land-owner and his workers. It is often regarded as an allegory and scholars suggest that it reflects Jesus’ understanding of the attitude of his Father towards Jews and Gentiles. This may well be true but you and I are really interested in what this parable says to us. So let us examine this story which is supposed to make us think about God and the things of God with fresh eyes.
First of all let us accept that the vineyard is indeed the world in which we live, the landowner is God and we are the workers. The landowner goes out to find labourers and he invites those he finds to come and work for him. Through the course of the day he goes back again and again and invites people to work for him, promising them a fair wage if they respond to his invitation. Notice that no-one is forced to work – it is an invitation to which they freely respond. At the end of the day the landowner pays everyone the same wage.
Now, of course, we could build up the detail. We could speculate on those who are called first and those who are called last. We could try and identify the various groups of workers with groups of believers within the Church or outside it. I want to suggest that this would be a mistake. Let us focus on what we know: if the landowner is God what this parable says is very, very simple. God goes out of his way to speak to us. He searches out all of us and invites us to be his workers. He addresses all of us in the same way: come and work for me and I will reward you. He leaves us free to make up our mind whether we will respond to the invitation – but to all of us who do respond to his invitation he gives everything we need for our life with him. He is a generous God who does not measure out his gifts according to what we do; no, with the generosity of a loving parent, he gives us everything we need.
Let us develop this a little more. Some of us here have responded to God’s invitation to be confirmed; others to God’s invitation that we should accept all the joys and obligations of married life; some of you here have responded to God’s invitation to be Special Ministers of Holy Communion; others of us have responded by dedicating ourselves to God’s service as monks or religious or priests. You will notice that always God’s call came first and we are responding to that call. Furthermore the gifts that God gives us are not gifts that we have earned or deserve – they are freely given by a God who loves us.
I want now to say a special word to those of you who are responding to an invitation to be Special Ministers of Holy Communion. That invitation may have been made to you by your Chaplain or your Housemaster or Housemistress: that is often the way God works – addressing a call to you by means of another human being. Nevertheless the call has come from God.
We hope that you live a life which reflects the mystery which you already receive and which in the coming year you will minister to others. We do not imagine for one minute that you are perfect: this ministry is not a reward for good behaviour. Ministry in the Church is never a reward for good behaviour because only God can plumb the depths of the heart and know you as you really are. Nevertheless from what we know of you we believe that you genuinely love God and that you are seeking to do his will. We believe that that you take the mystery of the Holy Eucharist seriously and that you try to live your life in response to God’s love whenever you receive Holy Communion. For this reason we think that it would be fitting to ask you to assist in the distribution of Holy Communion.
The Church teaches that this is a special ministry in the life of the Catholic community. All service exercised in the name of the Catholic Church finds its origin in Jesus Christ. He gave his authority to his Apostles that they might share in his ministry and they in their turn shared it with other Christians entrusted to their care. Through the ages this Apostolic ministry has been passed down by the laying on of hands and the invocation of the Holy Spirit so that today the very same ministry is exercised by the Bishops. Our Bishop has entrusted to me as Abbot of this Community the authority to commission special ministers of Holy Communion to ensure that the Body and Blood of Christ are made available in our school in a proper and dignified way.
As special ministers of Holy Communion you are permitted to assist priests in the distribution of the Body and Blood of Christ in your School Houses and in this Abbey Church.
It is important that I emphasise that you must be an example of Christian living in faith and conduct as you exercise this ministry. You should try to live your life as Jesus taught. You should pray, read the Gospel, and make good use of the sacraments, especially the sacrament of reconciliation and reception of the most holy Eucharist.
As you try to live as the Gospel commands day by day, remember especially the words of Jesus, “This is my commandment, that you should love one another as I have loved you.” If you follow this commandment you will grow in holiness and you will build up the Body of Christ, the Church, in your School Houses and in this School as a whole.
Dear Friends, no-one can force you to undertake this role. I am instructed to ensure that you understand what you are undertaking – but when the invitation has been issued and the instruction given I have to offer anyone who has second thoughts an opportunity to withdraw with dignity. So I now ask those of you who have been preparing to be ministers of Holy Communion to make public your willingness to undertake this ministry of service to your brothers and sisters by coming forward and in the presence of this community committing yourselves to the service of Christ’s Church.
Abbot Cuthbert Madden OSB