{"id":1502,"date":"2017-09-19T14:06:02","date_gmt":"2017-09-19T14:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/batkol.info\/?p=1502"},"modified":"2017-09-19T14:06:02","modified_gmt":"2017-09-19T14:06:02","slug":"1502","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/2017\/09\/19\/1502\/","title":{"rendered":"The Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00a0The Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (24 September 2017)<\/p>\n

Is 55:6-9; Ps 145; Phil 1:20-24; Mt 20:1-16<\/p>\n

Theme: The lord is good to all<\/p>\n

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Download<\/a><\/p>\n

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In her sermon on this Sunday\u2019s gospel, called \u201cBeginning at the End,\u201d Barbara Brown Taylor compares the laborers waiting for work to her childhood memories of standing in line on hot Saturday afternoons waiting for the movie theatre to open. \u00a0To be at the head of the line was best, as you could witness the drama of the door being opened and feel the wonderful coolness of the air-conditioned air as it surged forth. \u00a0\u00a0If the manager had decided to let the people at the end of the line in first – \u00a0people who hadn\u2019t even been waiting long enough to get hot! – the \u00a0first in line would have been highly indignant – and the people at the end amazed and overjoyed. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s a wonderful sermon, and coming to the gospel text after reading it, it\u2019s a surprise to find that nothing is said there about the reaction of the latecomers to having a full day\u2019s wages pressed into their hands. It would be natural to assume that they would be very pleased to go home to their families with the money, after a long day of wondering if they would earn anything at all – but we are not told that. \u00a0What we are told is how the workers hired at the beginning of the day reacted and how the householder responded. \u00a0This is what matters to Matthew.<\/p>\n

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How did they react? They grumbled, saying that men hired at the last hour have been paid as much as they who had worked all day, including during the hottest part of the day. \u00a0They have been paid the same when they have given more time and effort. The householder could have tried to avoid this reaction by paying the late comers after he had paid the men hired at first. \u00a0Instead \u201che sets up the first hired to believe they will receive more than those hired last.\u201d \u00a0(Levine & Brettler, 36) They would have seen the wage promised them for their day\u2019s work, handed out, coin after coin, to the late comers. \u00a0The householder seems to be setting a test. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0How will those hired first, but paid last, react? \u00a0\u00a0When they react as might be expected, the householder treats it as a teachable moment. \u00a0He points out that he has paid them what they had agreed to, which was the standard rate of pay. \u00a0He continues: \u201cTake what belongs to you and go: I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. \u00a0Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? \u00a0Or are you envious because I am generous?\u201d<\/p>\n

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The householder\u2019s behavior is an example of what Michael Crosby calls \u201ca generosity-beyond-what-is-just with one\u2019s resources,\u201d a generosity that he compares to that of the woman who anoints Jesus with the costly ointment (Mt 26:6-13). \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The householder\u2019s generosity, like hers, raises objections. \u00a0(Crosby, 36-37) Reasons for not being generous can always be found, especially if the generosity is intended for someone other than ourselves. \u00a0But as the householder makes clear, generosity is a choice. We can choose to give to others \u201cwhat belongs\u201d to us.<\/p>\n

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Bibliography: \u00a0Crosby, Michael H., \u201cMatthew\u2019s Gospel: The Disciples\u2019 Call to Justice,\u201d in The New Testament-Introducing the Way of Discipleship, ed. Wes Howard-Brook and Sharon H. Ringe (Maryknoll NY: Orbis Books, 2002), 16-39; Levine, Amy-Jill, and Marc Zvi Brettler. ed. \u00a0The Jewish Annotated New Testament. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011; \u00a0Taylor, Barbara Brown. The Seeds of Heaven: Sermons on the Gospel of Matthew. Louisville KY; Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.<\/p>\n

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For Reflection and Discussion: \u00a0What do we do with \u201cwhat belongs\u201d to us? Do we act generously, whether by giving more than is fair, or by showing a generosity of spirit that does not begrudge others their good fortune? Or do we brood over what we think others owe to us?<\/p>\n

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This week\u2019s Sunday Gospel Commentary was prepared by<\/p>\n

Anne Morton, BA, MA, MA (Theology), Winnipeg, Canada, \u00a0Bat Kol Alumna 2010
Email address: anmorton@mymts.net<\/p>\n

[Copyright \u00a9 2017]<\/p>\n

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PLEASE NOTE: The weekly Gospel commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Sunday Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol. \u00a0Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome<\/p>\n

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Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem<\/p>\n

1983-2017<\/p>\n

\u201cChristians Studying the Bible \u00a0within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.\u201d<\/p>\n

gill@batkol.info Website: www.batkol.info<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u00a0The Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (24 September 2017) Is 55:6-9; Ps 145; Phil 1:20-24; Mt 20:1-16 Theme: The lord is good to all \u00a0 Download \u00a0 \u00a0 In her sermon on this Sunday\u2019s gospel, called \u201cBeginning at the End,\u201d Barbara Brown Taylor compares the laborers waiting for work to her childhood memories of standing…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":1499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1502"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1502\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}