HOMILY | 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Matthew 20:1–16a
In this Sunday’s Gospel, the owner of the vineyard asks a question that should make us reflect. He says: “Are you envious because I am generous?”
The workers who came first and worked from the beginning were not cheated. They received the just wage they had agreed upon. But when they saw that those who came later received the same wage, they became angry.
Not because they received too little. They became angry because the others received just as much as they did.
And this is the point of the Gospel.
Sometimes we are already happy with our situation—but our feelings change when we begin looking at what others have.
We are content with our position—until someone else gets promoted.
We are happy with our blessings—until someone else receives more blessings.
We are happy to serve—until somebody else receives the praise and recognition.
Constantly comparing ourselves with others can slowly poison our hearts.
And this tendency toward envy is one of the attitudes among us Filipinos that we need to change through the I CHOOSE GOD Movement that we have begun.
When we say, “I Choose God,” we are not talking only about elections or politics. We are talking about forming our hearts and our consciences.
Because corruption does not begin with money. It begins in a heart that says: “I want more for myself.”
We become willing to accept vote-buying when our question is, “What can I get? What will I receive?” instead of, “What will be good for everyone?”
The abuse of power begins when public office becomes a means of enriching oneself, one’s family, or one’s own group, instead of becoming an opportunity to serve the common good.
The workers in the Gospel kept looking at the people beside them: What did he receive? Why did he get that? What about me? Why didn’t I get anything? I’m being shortchanged here! Why should they be the only ones receiving something during the elections while I get nothing?
But Jesus invites us to look upward—to look to God—and ask: “Lord, what do You want me to do?”
That is the heart of I Choose God. That is the heart of a person who chooses the Lord.
Before we make an important decision, perhaps there is only one question we need to ask: “Will I choose what benefits me, or will I choose what is right before God?”
If someone offers you money for your vote—may you choose God, not the money.
If friendship pressures you to vote for someone even though that person is unqualified and lacks the necessary competence—may you choose God, not your friend.
If you can benefit from lying or cheating—may you choose the Lord, not the benefit.
If signing an illegal transaction could make you rich—may you still choose God, not wealth.
——
There is a story about a father walking with his little son. They passed by a store, and the boy saw another child holding a beautiful toy.
The boy said, “Papa, I want that!”
The father replied, “But you already have so many toys at home.”
The boy answered, “Yes, Papa, but I don’t have that one!”
——
Sometimes, brothers and sisters, we adults are still very much like that little boy—we have simply grown older and bigger.
We have already received so much. But the moment we see that someone else has something we do not have, suddenly everything we have seems insufficient.
Brothers and sisters, a peaceful heart does not constantly ask: “What can I get?”
A Christian heart asks: “Lord, what is the right thing for me to do?”
And when this becomes the habit of our hearts—in our homes, our businesses, our communities, and in our lives as citizens—then I Choose God will no longer be merely a slogan.
It will become a way of life.
