Homily for the conclusion of the VI Gniezno Convention (abp H. Muszyński)

Gniezno, Cathedral – 18.09.2005,
XXV Ordinary Sunday – A
(Is 55:6-9; Phil 1:20c-24.27a; Mt 20:1-16a)

At the conclusion of the VI Gniezno Convention devoted to dialogue God himself engages with us, as the chosen and beloved vineyard of the Lord, in a unique dialogue and awaits a response from us.

*1. The Church as the beloved vineyard of the Lord*
First of all he reminds us the fundamental truth that this vineyard is a special object of his love. Over 10 centuries ago he planted it on Polish soil, pruned it and planted with the choicest vine, dug it up and built a tower in its midst (cf. Is 5,1-7). This very vineyard he entrusted to us and granted to our possession so that it might bear fruit worthy of a kingdom. Successive generations on Polish soil, as if at nine o’clock, at noon and at three in the evening, are addressed – in dialogue form – first with words of admonition: Why have you been standing idle? But then he gives one and the same command to each and every generation anew: You too go into my vineyard.
The suggestion that they all should get the same pay gives rise to misunderstanding, scandal or even protests. Who would not be scandalized by such a proposal. This is sheer injustice: unequal work – equal pay. Today we might even say: Whether you stand or whether you lie, you get your pay anyhow.

*2. The economy of love*
Today’s parable shocks all of us and possibly even triggers some deep inner dissent. It is a contradiction of the most fundamental principles of justice: To the man who has, more will be given; and he who has not, will lose even the little he thinks he has (Lk 8:18).
Which of us is capable of comprehending that what is at stake here is not justice but an economy, a logic of love that prevails in the Kingdom of the merciful God.
– The poorer a person is, the more distant from God, defenceless, sick and weak, the more he is in need of God’s mercy.
– Jesus came as a divine physician to those who are sick, He came to rescue sinners.
– He metes out rewards starting with the last; He says to the criminal on the cross: This day you will be with me in paradise (Lk 23:43).
The only condition here is the openness to the gift of God. To each man God gives a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over; He gives everything, he gives Himself, all the gifts of the Kingdom, proportionate to our readiness and ability to accept them. Who can understand and accept this logic of a generous and forgiving God, who is beyond our comprehension, who says: For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.

*3. You too go into my vineyard*
What answer shall we give to the call: You too go into the vineyard of my Church, planted and rooted in the Polish soil for over a millennium. To the Church who also in our times has borne a bountiful fruit of sainthood.
Whoever has his eyes open sees, however, that the vineyard of the Lord is withering in many places, it is being looted and destroyed also in the hands of those to whom it has been entrusted. It bears sick and rotten fruit which does not come up to the expectations of the Lord of the vineyard. This must be a fruit that will surprise the world and the people on our Polish soil, a fruit worthy of the sons of the Kingdom.
The reproach of God – the owner of the vineyard of the Lord: Why have you been standing idle all the day? – is directed at us, too. It is a call to make a fuller commitment, to stop being indifferent and lukewarm, to overcome the attitude of a consumer; it is a call to responsible action for the good and growth of the Church.
– It is for such action that God grants us His mandate; we are called by Him and told: Go, sacrifice your time, you abilities, become yourselves a gift for God and for people and do not ask for your pay. God will repay each of us for such an attitude in a manner that far surpasses our expectations.
– Go to the vineyard – this is a call to a renewed, fuller, more intense effort and responsibility for the visible shape of the Church, who is to be seen by the world as a community of faith and love in acts, not in words.
– Finally: being called to work in the vineyard of the Lord by God Himself means that after St. Paul we make Christ the only and most important criterion and measure of our actions: to me, “life” means Christ. He is the sole point of reference for life and death. Within this perspective even death can be seen as a “profit”, since it makes me one with Him for ever.
– God calls us with His actions, meets us half-way, seeks us when we are at a loss and helpless. The only dignified response to such a dialogue is not so much a word but an action, the witness of life which consists in showing the Gospel to those who are lost and blind.
We ask that all which is the content of this Convention, and first and foremost our joint prayer, help us to respond with dignity to the call of the Lord of the vineyard. Amen