25th Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 20.09.2026

 Isaiah 55:6-9 / Philippians 1:20-24, 27 / Matthew 20:1-16           

The term “last minute” often evokes sudden emotions.

Because the term “last minute” is usually followed by other words like “last minute problems” or “last minute interruptions” or “last minute disruptions”. 

Such situations are certainly unpleasant surprises that immediately give rise to tension, stress, anxiety or confusion. 

This often results in strained relationships, the blame-game, and quarrels.

Simply because something bad has happened or something bad is going to happen, and so no one is happy about it.

In fact, everyone will be angry because someone or some people were irresponsible or negligent or has overlooked an important matter. 

So “last minute-whatever” are not pleasant surprises, but they might also remind us to expect the unexpected. 

In the gospel parable, there were a couple of last-minute surprises. 

In the parable, the landowner sets out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. 

There seems to be an abundance of workers as he kept hiring at the third hour, the sixth hour, and the ninth hour. 

Then at the 11th hour, the landowner found more workers standing around because no one had hired them. 

Yet, despite being the 11th hour, which means that there is only one hour of work left, the landowner still hired those workers. 

It seems like a last minute surprise, and for those workers, it was certainly a surprise. 

It was a pleasant surprise beyond their expectation. 

But for those workers who were hired at the start of the day, they grumbled because they had expected more but got the same wage as those hired at the 11th hour. 

This parable gives us an insight into the mind of God and His ways.

One of which is that length of time is irrelevant to God. 

It doesn't matter to God whether a person is a lifelong Catholic or a last-minute convert. 

God has no favourites, and He gives His blessings to those who ask for it, and to those who need it. 

And the parable also addresses our human weakness in the areas of jealousy and entitlement. 

The workers who were hired first got the same wage as those who were hired at the 11th hour. 

Instead of being thankful and grateful for their wages, they grumbled at the landowner. 

They were jealous of those last-minute workers, and they thought they should be entitled to more. 

But God's ways are not man's ways, and God's thoughts are not man's thoughts, as we heard in the first reading. 

God is truth and justice. So, all the workers were paid as agreed upon. 

The ways and the thoughts of God are not that difficult to understand, but it is man's selfish thoughts and greedy ways that cause confusion and frustration in life. 

So, while the 11th hour hiring of the workers was a pleasant surprise, the last-minute grumbling of the workers who were hired first was a sour taste of jealousy and entitlement. 

The second reading tells us this: Avoid anything in your everyday lives that would be unworthy of the Gospel of Christ. 

In other words, never do anything that we can't offer to God. 

Once upon a time, there was a selfish man. He liked everything to be his own. He could not share his belongings with anyone, not even his friends or the poor. 

One day, the man lost a bag of thirty gold coins. He went to his friend’s house and told him how he lost his gold coins. 

His friend was a kind man. As his friend’s daughter was coming from an errand, she found that bag of thirty gold coins.

When she arrived home, she told her father what she had found. The girl’s father told her that the bag of gold coins belong to his friend and he sent for him. 

When the selfish man arrived, the father told him how his daughter had found the bag of thirty gold coins and handed it to him. 

After counting the gold coins, the man said that ten of them was missing and had been taken by the girl, as he had forty gold coins in the bag. 

He further insisted that he will recover the remaining amount from the father. But the girl’s father refused. 

The man left the bag of gold coins and went to the court and informed the judge there about what had taken place between him and the girl’s father. 

The judge sent for the girl and her father, and when they arrived asked the girl how many gold coins did she find. She replied thirty gold coins. 

The judge then asked the selfish man how many gold coins did he lose and he answered forty gold coins. 

The judge then told the man that the gold coins did not belong to him because the girl found thirty and not forty as he claimed to have lost. The judge then told the girl to take the gold coins and that if anybody is looking for them he will send for the girl. 

The judge told the man that if anybody reports that they have found forty gold coins he will send for him. 

It was then that the man confessed that he lied and that he lost thirty gold coins, but the judge did not listen to him. 

So, the ways of man may be corrupted and dishonest, but the ways of God will prevail with justice and truth. 

The thoughts of man may be slanted in selfishness and greed, but the thoughts of God are towards love and mercy. 

Let us walk in the ways of the Lord and we will understand the thoughts of God. 

Let us never do anything that we cannot offer to God. 

And at the 11th hour, or even at the last minute, God will show us His wonderful blessings when we follow His ways.

24th Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 13.09.2026

 Ecclesiasticus 27:30 – 28:7 / Romans 14:7-9 / Matthew 18:21-35          

By and large, we like to be neat, tidy, and clean.

And normally speaking, we don't keep or hold on to rubbish or rotting and rotten stuff.

That is a reflection of who we are, and how we want to live our lives.

And it is also said that cleanliness is next to godliness.

Because cleanliness, or neatness, is seen as an expression of a due reverence to God, who made us in His image.

On the other hand, it is also said that mess causes stress.

Yes, physical mess often directly triggers mental stress.

A messy room is like a list of chores that is not finished, which causes stress and tension in the mind.

In other words, it is like unfinished business all over the place.

Similarly, when unfinished work is piling up, the mind will be stressed.

So, cleanliness is godliness, and mess causes stress.

But besides physical and mental stress, there is also spiritual stress.

The first reading says this: "Resentment and anger, these are foul things, and both are found in the sinner."

When it comes to rubbish, rotting and rotten stuff, we would instinctively get rid of it.

But with resentment and anger, the strange thing is, as the first reading puts it, "Mere creatures of flesh, man cherishes resentment."

Resentment and anger are foul things, and they cause spiritual decay and corruption.

The result is unforgiveness.

Unforgiveness is described as drinking poison and wishing that the other party would die.

Unforgiveness is also described as holding a burning charcoal and thinking that the other party will be hurt.

In the Gospel, Peter asks Jesus if forgiving someone seven times is more than enough. 

Jesus replied with an astounding, "Not seven times, but seventy-seven times." 

And then Jesus told a parable about an unforgiving servant. 

That servant has just been forgiven for a huge, enormous debt by his master. 

Yet, that servant could not forgive a fellow servant for a small debt. 

The underlying point of the parable is that the first servant received forgiveness but did not understand that forgiveness flowed from love.

Because love and forgiveness are like two sides of the same coin. 

When we love, we will forgive, and in forgiving, we will grow deeper in love. 

There is this classic story that comes from an old traditional folktale that was set in ancient China. 

A bride by the name of Li Ling married into a household with a strict and demanding mother-in-law named Mrs. Huang. 

The mother-in-law criticized Li Ling's every action, causing intense tension and resentment. 

Unable to bear the mistreatment any longer, Li Ling went to her uncle, a wise herbalist, and she begged for a discreet poison to end the cause of her suffering, which is her mother-in-law. 

The uncle listened carefully and agreed to help, but with strict conditions. 

He gave her a mixture of slow-acting herbs, instructing her to mix a small pinch into her mother-in-law's daily tea so that no one will suspect foul play. 

To avoid suspicion after the mother-in-law's death, Li Ling was ordered to act respectfully and devotedly, and to obey her mother-in-law willingly and never to argue. 

Li Ling followed the instructions strictly. Every morning, she served the tea and treated her mother-in-law with patience, kindness and care. 

Seeing Li Ling's transformed behavior, Mrs. Huang's hostility melted away. 

She began to love Li Ling like her own daughter and even boasting to neighbours about what a wonderful daughter-in-law she had. 

Realizing how much genuine love they now shared, Li Ling was consumed by guilt. 

Desperate to save the woman she had grown to love, Li Ling rushed back to her uncle's shop, begging and weeping for an antidote to neutralize the slow poison. 

Her uncle smiled gently and told her that no antidote was needed. 

The powder he had given her was actually a blend of vitamins and nourishing tonics to improve the elder woman's health. 

The only real poison was the anger in Li Ling's heart, which she had successfully cured through kindness and patience. 

That story reminds us of that tough teaching of Jesus: "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly." 

That is forgiveness, and we are reminded in the prayer, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." 

Yes, God so loved the world that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to love us, forgive us, save us, and to free us from sin, resentment, anger, and unforgiveness. 

Let us hear the call of love and to come out of the prison of unforgiveness. 

Let us experience the power of forgiveness in the joy of God's love.

23rd Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 06.09.2026

 Ezekiel 33:7-9 / Romans 13:8-10 / Matthew 18:15-20      

God created this world and it is a beautiful creation.

This world is beautiful because God created it with His love.

And God's best and most beautiful creation is human beings.

God created human beings with the best and in the best of His love, because God created human beings in His image.

So, the world and all creation point to the creative power of God who makes all things beautiful.

But it is in human beings that God's image is reflected.

And that image is expressed in love, holiness, kindness, goodness, gentleness, compassion, forgiveness, peace, wisdom, and truth.

In other words, that image expresses all the attributes of God.

And because human beings are created in the image of God, each person has a dignity that is to be respected.

A person's dignity cannot be taken away by others because it is a God-given dignity.

But the surprising thing is that a person can disrespect and disregard his own dignity.

He does that when he commits wrongdoing and sinful acts against others.

In doing so, he also disregards and disrespects the dignity of others.

In the Gospel, Jesus said, "If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves."

Jesus continues, "If he listens to you, you have won back your brother."

The purpose of addressing the wrongdoing is to win back the other person.

It is to win him back to God so that he could see himself as being made in the image of God.

But we also have to be aware that our human nature has been disfigured and distorted by sin.

And this is where “having it out” or addressing the wrongdoing may end in accusation and confrontation.

And here is where we have to pay attention to what Jesus says at the end of the gospel passage. 

Jesus said, "I tell you solemnly, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For when two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them." 

That is a solemn promise of Jesus to us, and that promise is fulfilled when we gather in prayer. 

In prayer, God renews His image in us, the image of love, holiness, kindness, gentleness, goodness, forgiveness, compassion, patience, wisdom, and truth. 

In prayer, our human nature is recreated into the image of God, so that we can listen to the voice of God and know what His will is. 

And when we agree to ask for anything in prayer, it is not about what we want, but about what the Lord our God wants. 

Because the word "agree" in the original language has the meaning of symphony and harmony. 

So, it is not that two or three people happen to pray for the same thing. 

It is about being gathered in Christ to understand His will, and to be united in prayer so as to carry out God's will. 

In other words, we pray so that we will know what to do and to do it in God's way. 

When we address a wrongdoing in God's way, there will be love, there will be peace, there will be reconciliation. 

So, where two or three meet, Jesus will be there, and their prayer will be heard and answered. 

It is not about the power of numbers, but the power of the presence of Jesus. 

A pilgrim shared a beautiful example of this at the World Youth Day in Lisbon in 2023.

About 1.5 million young people gathered for the final celebration. 

Imagine the noise! Young people were singing, talking, eating, laughing and walking around.

The scene as chaotic and full of activity.

And then the Blessed Sacrament was exposed.

And something extraordinary happened.

1.5 million young people became silent.

The enormous crowd became calm. Many knelt down in adoration. Why?

Because they knew that the One who was in their midst was more important than the one million people around them.

They had not gathered just to see the Pope.

They had not gathered just to meet other young Catholics.

They had gathered for Christ.

And when Christ became the focus, the crowd became a community of worship.

That is the power of gathering in the name Jesus.

But whether it is 1.5 million people, or 15 people, or 5 people or less, let us remember what Jesus promised.

Jesus promised that where two or three are gathered in His name in prayer, He will be there.

And when the Church, the Body of Christ, is united in prayer, then beautiful things will happen. 

Because united in prayer in the presence of Christ, there will be conversion and repentance, there will be forgiveness and healing.

And the world will be beautiful, and humanity (people) will also be beautiful.

So, let us be united in prayer, and Jesus will show us how beautiful and how powerful prayer can be.