God’s Ways are not Our Ways 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A
Isaiah 55:6-9; Psalm 145; Philippians 1:20-24, 27; Matthew 20:1-16
In the first reading from Isaiah, we are reminded that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and his ways are not our ways. This truth is illustrated in the parable Jesus tells in the Gospel passage. In the parable, a landowner hires laborers to work in his vineyard. Some are hired in the morning, others at noon, others in the later afternoon, and still others about an hour or so before the sun sets and work ends. At the end of the day, the landowner pays all the workers the same wage, whether a person worked a full hour or the entire day.
The master in the parable represents God, our Heavenly Father, who will receive into heaven even those who convert only on their deathbed, moments before dying.
Soon we will shift our attention from the table of the Word, where we listen to Jesus speaking to us through Scripture, to the table of the Eucharist, from which we will receive Jesus in the Eucharist. Before receiving Jesus, we will say a phrase three times that is contrary to how the world perceives what can save us. The phrase is “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.”
Reflecting on Jesus, the Son of God, identifying himself with a lamb, Benedict XVI states: “God comes as a lamb and not as a lion or a wolf or a bull.” [1] At the time of Jesus, people expected that when God came to set the world right, he would reveal himself as worldly kings do wrathfully, like a fierce lion, a terrifying wolf, or a powerful bull. For this reason, Rome’s principal symbol was a powerful wolf. For Germanic people, the ferocious bear has been a symbol.
Other cultures and nations, including today, identify with the lion. God’s ways, though, are not our ways, and for this reason, God continually surprises us. Describing one essential surprise, Benedict XVI writes, “Redemption does not come through the big, strong animals that are symbols of the powers and forces of this world. God comes as a lamb, in the power of defenseless love, and this is his might.”
Then, reflecting on the common human nature we share, he asserts, “that deep down we were waiting for the Lamb, for the greater power of defenseless love that overcomes the noisy, violent powers of this world, that does not destroy but heals.” Finally, he concludes, “God comes as the Lamb; this is the redemption of the world.”[2]
Interestingly, our current Holy Father chose the name Leo, Latin for “lion.” Our Holy Father’s name, therefore, is Pope Lion. How has Pope Leo been lion-like? I believe God has surprised us again, for through our Holy Father, our Heavenly Father, God the Father, has been emphasizing peace, and as a lion, without fear, not because we have worldly power, but because our Lord and Savior is with us.
In his first letter, Peter, the first Pope, compared the devil to a lion with: “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) Commenting on this verse, Sean Tobin writes, “Notice the phrasing: ‘like a roaring lion.’ Satan is not an actual lion; he merely imitates one. He’s no Lion of Judah. His roar is meant to intimidate, to paralyze with fear. But here’s the irony: a roaring lion is a terrible prowler—he reveals where he’s hiding! A real lion doesn’t roar while stalking. It moves in silence. The roar is for show; it’s meant to cause panic before any actual danger appears. It’s not a strategy of power. It’s a strategy of fear.”[3]
Lord Jesus, may we believe ever more deeply that you are the true Lion of Judah and Lamb of God who saves us by your truthful, loving ways, and that our “adversary the devil[‘s]” only strategy against us is fear, for you alone are all-powerful, all-wise, all-knowing, and all-loving. May God Bless You All – Father Peter
[1] Benedict XVI, Teaching and Learning the Love of God: Being a Priest Today with a preface by Pope Francis, trans. Michael J. Miller (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2016), 164-165.
[2] Benedict XVI, Teaching and Learning the Love of God: Being a Priest Today with a preface by Pope Francis, trans. Michael J. Miller (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2016), 164-165.
[3] Sean Tobin, Big GOD, little devil: A Radical Shift in the Approach to Spiritual Warfare and Deliverance (Encounter Ministries, 2025), 19.
Catholic Evangelization 