Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time—Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a

This week, we begin a four-week reading of Saint Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. The four chapters of this short book represent one of Saint Paul’s warmest letters because it is primarily a letter of encouragement and thanks rather than a letter of correction. He probably wrote it in the early 60’s A.D. from prison in Rome (Acts 28:16, 30). Philippi was the leading city of Macedonia (Northern Greece), and was inhabited mostly by retired veterans of the Roman army and only a small Jewish community. The Church in Philippi was the first church established in continental Europe.

This selection from Philippians has echoes of last week’s reading from Romans, which stated, “Whether we live or die we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:8). Now Saint Paul points out that whether he lives or dies Jesus will be glorified by the good that is done by Paul’s witness, either by his martyrdom or by his continued teaching. Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s and he can be glorified in our efforts.

The Spirit seems to be whispering a common theme in this reading and in the Gospel. Jesus’ parable of the workers in the vineyard always strikes us unjust. Afterall, the guy who works all day and guy who starts work just before quitting time get the same payment. Saint Paul is clearly analogous to the guy who worked all day, bore the burden of the heat and the physical discomforts of a long workday on behalf of the landowner. While sitting in prison under the specter of looming martyrdom, he essentially says he is torn between working even longer and ending his work. In Jesus’ parable, the worker complains about the landowner’s perceived injustice and seems utterly not interested in working longer.

The question I hear the Spirit whispering this week is: Do you follow Jesus because you expect to get a fair return for your efforts or do you follow Jesus to be with Jesus? In other words, is your faith more about what you get in return for it than it is about the Person in whom you put your faith? The worker in the parable is concerned about monetary compensation, which is fair. The laborer deserves his wages, and the landowner gives him his wages. But Saint Paul is more concerned with being with the Lord or introducing others to him. What a difference!

Many of us approach heaven as some distant thing that is better than the alternative and I’ll get it if I say my prayers, go to Mass, put a little something in the basket every now and then, and not eat meat on

Fridays in Lent. I wonder how often we see heaven as being with the Person who resides there rather than as the place surrounding the Person. Is going to Grandma’s house such a great experience because of the house or because of Grandma?

If the trappings of heaven seem more desirable than the King of Heaven, then we’ve traded the Living God for a caricature and risk worshipping a false image. If the frills seem more desirable than the Father, perhaps we need to spend more time getting to know the Father’s heart, as Saint Paul did, instead of holding implicit accusations like the vineyard worker did.