25th Sunday A

Jeff Bagnall • 22 September 2023

The first reading is part of a heart-warming poem. It was written about the time that the people were going to be released from captivity by a friendly emperor, Cyrus. It attributes this release to the love of God, who has a special relationship of love for people, a relationship traditionally called a covenant. It is a two-way agreement: God will look after the people, and the people will live in a way pleasing to God. But the agreement is not conditional; it is not like God saying ‘if you keep my commandments I will be your protector and god;’ it is unconditional on God’s side: ‘I will be your God, so you will be my people however you respond to me.’ In the part of the poem we read today, the prophet is announcing to the people, God’s call to them; it is a call to give up any wickedness and turn their lives towards Him. But the prophet is also emphasising that God’s ways are mysterious, for He does not depend on the people behaving well for Him to love them and to be their God; there is no way they can deserve or merit God’s love, it is generous, free and everlasting. The extract is chosen for this contrast between God’s ways and ours, an idea taken up in the Gospel reading for today.

The second reading is from Paul’s letter to the Philippians. They were a well organised community that were very supportive of the work of Paul, who had first established their lively group. They had made many donations to Paul and felt a close relationship with him and had him in their prayers, although they had not seen that much of him. Now, he is in prison with a potential death sentence. He writes to them very lovingly, but in the extract we have for today’s reading he speaks of the possibility of his death. He is not unlike Job in the Old Testament who was more concerned about doing what was right than about whether he should live or die. In a way a Christian wants to be as closely united with God as will be the case after death, but also a good Christian wants to live on here to spread the good news of God’s love to others. Paul expresses these intimate feelings to the Philippians whom he would like to visit again, and encourages them to live as Christians should for they have the Good News of God’s love for them and for all.

The gospel tells of a parable that is only recorded in Matthew’s gospel. It was then and is now a very controversial message: that you don’t ever get what you deserve from God, even if you feel you think you should and that someone else whom you think should not get anything, does. The parable has a point that is found again and again in the bible and especially in the gospels; its bluntest expression might be the words at the end of our extract “the last shall be first and the first last.” It is noteworthy that the story doesn’t just recount what happened but also what thoughts and emotions there were. Workers were hired for the day at various times throughout the day, even as late as one hour before the end of the working day. They were all paid a fair wage, we are told, but in fact all got the same amount. This is where the emotions come in: the full-day workers expected to get more for their longer shift than all the others. This apparent injustice is how God deals with us – with all people. Christians and non-Christians, saints and sinners, life-long do-gooders and deathbed conversions, God loves all people to the same degree. Truly it is said, ‘God’s ways are not our ways’ – the climax of our first reading. So we should not live good lives in order to win God’s love, but we should be good as a spontaneous response to the enormous love God has for us!

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Jeff Bagnall was a lecturer for many years at Craiglockhart College teaching RE to many future Catholic Primary teachers.

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 2025 - Year C

by Jeff Bagnall • 10 October 2025

The first reading is a story from the Book of Exodus, telling the tale of one of the many incidents from that epic journey of escape from slavery in Egypt, through many ups and downs until the entry into the promised land. The whole book was put together from various collections of stories that had been passed down through at least four or five centuries of retelling. The point of the whole and of each individual story, in general terms, is to say something about God and ‘the people of the Book’ and the relationship between the two; to teach people about their responsibility towards God and about His attitude towards them. The details in this tale about warfare and the rod of Moses, if taken literally, say nothing we would regard as true about the relationship between God and people; it was this rod that seemed to clear the sea for the people to cross when escaping the Pharaoh’s army, and this rod that produced water in the wilderness. But we get closer to the point of the story’s transmission and survival in our sacred Scriptures, if we see its significance for us today; it reminds us that the power of God is in everything, though we usually think of various sacred objects as reminding us of this.

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 2025 - Year C

by Jeff Bagnall • 2 October 2025

These readings might speak to us when we are going through difficulties or hard times. We must trust in God, do what we should, but most of all thank God for the benefits that we do have. Naaman had to listen to his servants and not give up because there was no dramatic exhibition of a miraculous cure. The early Christian leaders, especially, had to be prepared to suffer for the work they were doing and the beliefs that they had. And like the lepers, we should be prepared to keep the rules as long as we can, but that wont save us; it is God who saves those who are faithful, as He is always reliable. The first reading reminds us how people in the time of the Old Testament lived; there were kings or tribal leaders with nobles under them, they had servants who worked and cared for them, they had their own gods who operated in their territories, miracles and drama were part of their religions and the different small nations were uncertain of each other’s ambitions and motives. The lead up to the first reading is necessary for it to make sense; Naaman was a well-respected leader in a country adjoining Israel, who had leprosy and could find no cure; one of the servants of his wife was from Israel where Elisha was well known as a prophet and man of God; she suggested a visit to him might be helpful. The party set off with plenty of payment and gifts, but Naaman was disappointed when Elisha did nothing dramatic, but merely said go and wash in our river Jordan seven times. He was about to return home disappointed when servants persuaded him to try it all the same. And then we are into today’s reading. Elisha rejects any gift for the miracle and Naaman thinks the god in this land is powerful, so takes some of the land back with him to his own territory.