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Listed below last week's homily are copies of Father Alex Ekka's homily from past weekend masses.  Click on the file to download and read his message.

After meeting his future son in-law for the first time, this man asked a few usual questions:

“I know you just finished college, how do you plan to support yourself and my daughter? Do you have a job?”

The young man paused and said, ‘Well, God will provide.”

Then the father of the girl asked his second question, “Where do you intend to live?  Do you have a house or apartment lined up after the wedding?” 

The young man paused again, and with much conviction said, “God will provide.”

The father waited a few moments before launching into his third question.  “Son, do you have any money?  Any savings, bank balance?” 

The young man looked him right in the eyes and said again, “God will provide.”

The following day all the co-workers of the father were curious to find out how the meeting with his future son-in-law went.

The father smiled and said, "I kind of like the kid. He thinks I am God!”

Yes, God, not the father in-law, provides and will provide for all our needs but not the way we think.

In the first reading God spoke to the prophet Isaiah clearly saying: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. Isaiah notes that God’s ways are “as high as the heavens are above the earth” emphasizing that God’s ways and thoughts are far above ours.

We see a clear example of this in the today’s parable in the Gospel. 

In today’s Gospel we heard a strange parable of a landowner who hired laborers at five different times during the course of one day to work in his vineyard, but paid the same living wage for a full day’s work to all of them. 

This story presents God (the landlord), Whose love and generosity to all of us demonstrates the difference between God’s perspective and ours. God looks at us, sees our needs and meets those needs generously and mercifully. The parable also shows the mercy, compassion, and generosity of a gracious and forgiving God in allowing the later-called Gentiles as well the first-called Jews, His Chosen People, to enjoy the same eternal bliss of His Heavenly Kingdom. In the same line this parable tells that a repentant sinner on his death bed and someone who had been a Christian whole life will be treated equally in God’s generosity.

It is not always easy to understand the ways of God. In the Gospel parable today we see the workers failing to understand why those who worked just one hour received the same wages as those who worked all day.  

Those who worked hard in the heat all day were jealous of those who worked for only one hour and yet got the same pay. “It is not fair”, they would say in today's language. To this the vineyard owner responded, “Why be envious because I am generous?”

We all go through similar type of situations time to time. We also feel jealous that some people are better than me, richer than me, better at their job than me. We may also feel jealous that those sinners who repented at the last moment and we who have been Christians all our life get the same reward in heaven.

If you are jealous of someone, stop for moment and think of what life might be like for you right now if you were living in one of the poor countries like Ethiopia. or you were living in one of the countries ruled by dictators or living in countries where Christians are being persecuted like in India. If you feel that life has been unfair to you, today's Gospel has much to teach you and heal your attitudes.

If God has blessed others greatly, he also expects much of them.

God has a perfect plan for each one of us. If others have more than you, it does not mean that God loves you less.

Parents have a different relationship with each child but love each child. God deals differently with each of us because God loves each of us in the way that God knows best for us and our salvation.

And instead of being jealous and envious you should be grateful to God. And what better way to express this gratitude by rendering loving service to others, by sharing our blessings with the needy. One way to show your gratitude could be by sharing your blessings through Catholic Stewardship Appeal, we are to begin in October.

You could also show your gratitude to God by doing something to save the unborn lives. In the bulletin we will find 40 days of life program to save unborn babies. Maybe your participation can save some unborn lives.