25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
Opening prayer:
God’s ways are not our ways. God’s love and generosity are beyond our understanding. We acknowledge all God has done for us, and ask for the grace to grow into God’s likeness.
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God most high, Your ways are not our ways, for Your kindness is lavished equally upon all. Teach us to welcome Your mercy toward others, even as we hope to receive mercy ourselves. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.
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A Reading from the Old testament: Isaiah 55:6-9 (NLT)
Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
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A Reading from the Psalms: Psalm 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18 (NLT)
I will praise you every day; yes, I will praise you forever. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.
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The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation.
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The Lord is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness. The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth.
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A Reading from the Letters: Philippians 1:20-24, 27 (NLT)
For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.
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Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.
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A Reading from the Gospels: Matthew 20:1-16 (NLT)
“For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work.
“At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing. So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day. So they went to work in the vineyard. At noon and again at three o’clock he did the same thing.
“At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’
“They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’
“The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’
“That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first. When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage. When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day’s wage. When they received their pay, they protested to the owner, ‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’
“He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’
“So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”
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Intercessions:
Gracious God, You are close to all who call – hear our prayer:
+ For all who follow Christ – that they may rejoice in Your boundless generosity….
Lord, hear us.
+ For our Christian communities – that all may be welcome, especially those experiencing crisis and change…
Lord, hear us.
+ For workers and those who employ others – that the rights and responsibilities of all may be respected….
Lord, hear us.
+ For those who cannot find work – that their needs may not be forgotten….
Lord, hear us.
+ For family members who have moved away to pursue employment opportunities – that God may keep them in his care….
Lord, hear us.
+ For all who are sick, particularly those near death – that they may experience comfort on the journey to their Father’s house….
Lord, hear us.
+ For those who have gone before us in faith – that Your mercy and generosity may assure them of a place in the Kingdom….
Lord, hear us.
God of kindness and compassion, You are close to all who call upon You: hear our prayer, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Benediction:
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
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