25th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A

Fr. Mark Gatto

Preached: September 20, 2026

Who saves us? At times we act and think as though we save ourselves. If I am holy enough, pure enough, free from serious sin, follow the rules. Then I will be saved. But, when we see ourselves as saved by Jesus, then we look only to the generosity and mercy of God. Our response is one of gratitude, including being grateful to see others also embraced in God’s plan of salvation.

Through the Prophet Isaiah God says, “my thoughts are not your thoughts, your ways are not my ways.” Human thinking leads to comparing ourselves to others, leads to envy, worrying about what is fair in our eyes. God’s thinking is fullness of generosity, unearned gift, Grace. We at times see love as something I have to earn, I need to do something to deserve being loved. But, God’s love is not earned, it is gratuitous. God’s will is our salvation, that all will be embraced in the Kingdom.

This Sunday’s Gospel reflects a struggle in the early Church. Some were upset that new Gentile converts were being received and treated equally as those who had been there from the beginning. They felt they should be deserving of more. At times today such a mentality can be found within a Christian community or Catholic parish. Some feel that they have been in the parish for 50 years, so they have more rights, it is more their parish, than new members who have just recently moved in to the parish.

Some feel that since they donate larger amounts that they should receive more attention or better treatment. Some feel that because they have faithfully attended Mass each Sunday for years, that they deserve to be treated with greater dignity and welcome than the person who has drifted from the practice of the faith for some time.

“My thoughts are not your thoughts, your ways are not my ways.”  A Catholic vision needs to embrace the thoughts and ways of God, in particular, to see each person as having equal dignity and worth. A Catholic parish should not welcome some more than others based on how long they have been there, how much they contribute, or some comparison of their faithfulness. We are to strive for God’s generosity, not requiring others to earn their salvation, but always ready to welcome those who are turning to God, who are coming searching for God’s embrace.

This past week in the United Nations General Assembly speeches, we heard leaders calling each other names, threatening one another, dividing the world in a black and white fashion, good and evil, winners and losers. There we see human ways and human thoughts. We need to hear God saying: “my thoughts are not your thoughts, your ways are not my ways.” God’s way is unconditional love, unlimited forgiveness, a will for salvation of all, no enemies, where anyone who turns even at the last moment will be received.

Our human ways lead to division, war, destruction, inequality. God’s ways lead to unity, peace, healing, equality of dignity.

All of us can turn to God with confidence, no matter your past, no matter the time, no comparing to others, there we will find an incredible generosity. For we do not save ourselves, we do not earn God’s love, we simply turn with trust and there we are received in God’s generosity. Then perhaps we will be able to receive others with a similar generosity.