Sunday Reflection with Canon Robin Gibbons: 20th September 2026

12th century painting: Harvesting and pressing of the grapes

Twenty fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

We have a beautiful sandwich in our Sunday readings, the two ends are fairly easy to discover, the first is from the Prophet Isaiah who tells us that the oracle of the Lord is fairly unequivocal when it comes to the way human beings perceive the Most High, it's a useful reminder to all of us, and in particular to those of you who listen, watch or read the blogs, You Tube Shorts, Tik Tok, Podcasts, Instagram or whatever social media is used by the religious influencers of our age.

I'm very suspicious of them, particularly those who pontificate about faith or matters with a certitude that they cannot possibly have the full knowledge they appear to claim, and beware those who attack the Pope! Yes, I can imagine the prophet saying to us: 'Beware all those who seem to have the answers, or who spread religious division no matter who they appear to be!' And this is because the Lord has always told us in so many different ways what the prophet utters:

'For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

nor are your ways my ways-oracle of the LORD'. (Isaiah 55:8)

So that's one part of our sandwich, remember we do not know the mind of God, the relationship we have with the Lord is built up gently, slowly, and done with careful discernment through the lens of a humble and loving heart.

The other part of the sandwich comes from what Jesus says at the end of his parable today: 'Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?[Or] am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous? Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last."'(Mt 20:14-16

I think we can all work out what is going on in the story of the Landowner hiring labourers for his vineyard. Jesus is really stretching the point here, making us ask first of all was the Landowner actually aware of what this work involves, did he rely on his foreman to tell him what was going on? I don't know, but it's an odd vineyard owner who doesn't value the sheer hard work his labourers put in for a harvest they in all probability wont taste! Having French cousins who have small vineyards in the Jura region, I have some insight into what backbreaking work it can be. So we do have to say Jesus is working the story round to make us face the same point Isaiah gives us, that the ways of God are not ours, and that sometimes the real message of the Lord takes time to become apparent, Jesus is not a religious influencer, he is the true Word and the real way of truth.

And what about the filling of our sandwich? There are several ingredients! One major part of this filling is that the Kingdom of heaven we seek is already at work amongst us, it maybe invisible but is nevertheless part of our life now, and we like the vineyard labourers are those who are to harvest for the Lord by service of others.

Then there is what the responsorial psalm gives us this day, namely that we are to work as God works:

'The LORD is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in mercy.

The LORD is good to all,

compassionate toward all your works.'(Ps 145:8,9)

But it is also crucial that we are to work and encourage others to let God's life in Christ live in us, and that we help ourselves and others to turn to Christ for our needs in prayer. Yet perhaps the final ingredient is that from Paul in his epistle to Philippi, who says to us and for us: 'My eager expectation and hope is that I shall not be put to shame in any way, but that with all boldness, now as always, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death'.(Phillipians 1:20)

Amen, may it be truly so!

Lectio

A Hymn of Praise
145

I will proclaim your greatness, my God and king;
I will thank you forever and ever.
2 Every day I will thank you;
I will praise you forever and ever.
3 The Lord is great and is to be highly praised;
his greatness is beyond understanding.

4 What you have done will be praised from one generation to the next;
they will proclaim your mighty acts.
5 They will speak of your glory and majesty,
and I will meditate on your wonderful deeds.
6 People will speak of your mighty deeds,
and I will proclaim your greatness.
7 They will tell about all your goodness
and sing about your kindness.
8 The Lord is loving and merciful,
slow to become angry and full of constant love.
9 He is good to everyone
and has compassion on all he made.

10 All your creatures, Lord, will praise you,
and all your people will give you thanks.
11 They will speak of the glory of your royal power
and tell of your might,
12 so that everyone will know your mighty deeds
and the glorious majesty of your kingdom.
13 Your rule is eternal,
and you are king forever.

The Lord is faithful to his promises;
he is merciful in all his acts.
14 He helps those who are in trouble;
he lifts those who have fallen.

15 All living things look hopefully to you,
and you give them food when they need it.
16 You give them enough
and satisfy the needs of all.

17 The Lord is righteous in all he does,
merciful in all his acts.
18 He is near to those who call to him,
who call to him with sincerity.
19 He supplies the needs of those who honor him;
he hears their cries and saves them.
20 He protects everyone who loves him,
but he will destroy the wicked.

21 I will always praise the Lord;
let all his creatures praise his holy name forever.

Prayer of St Francis of Assisi (Prayer for Peace)

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.