EXPECTATIONS – we all have them and plenty of them, do we not ?
And they fill our lives with more than a touch of hope and anticipation!
Expectations of…
– recovery after sickness,
– success in a coming exam
– a promotion at work,
– the partner we dream of to start a new life!
When we are in need, some expectation may arise of receiving help from a relative, a friend, or a neighbour.
Just recall for a moment the last time you went to someone with a request for his or her assistance.
You may have been hoping for help, or… fearing that help would not be forthcoming.
But did you expect that you would be given much more than what you asked for?
Among us, people, this is not usually the case.
But, with God, it is!
In fact, this is a characteristic of God : He gives more than we would ask for.
He is a generous God who delights in showering on us his gifts and blessings.
This is what today’s gospel text (25th Sunday of Year A – Mt.20 :1-16) is meant to remind us of.
In the parable that Jesus tells the people around him, he gives us a wonderful and true picture of what his Father – and our Father – is :
- a bounteous God,
- a God who enjoys giving lavishly,
- a God who does not know how to measure what he wants to bless us with.
I wonder how many people treasure this image of God…
Perhaps many of us think that we have to ask, and beg, and repeat our requests for help, never too sure that we will be heard.
This Sunday may be the ideal moment to correct our image of God !
there, at the back of our minds but with little bearing on how we live from day to day…