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Charles Pope urges Christians to seek mercy, not fairness
For the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Pope reads Jesus’ vineyard parable as a warning against demanding fairness from God and a call to depend on his mercy.
Msgr. Charles Pope, pastor of Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Roman Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., says Jesus’ parable of the laborers in the vineyard calls Christians to seek God’s mercy, not fairness. He makes that case in his written homily for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sept. 20, 2026, when the Gospel is Matthew 20:1–161.
Pope has been pastor of Holy Comforter–St. Cyprian since 2007, was ordained a priest in 1989 and was named a Monsignor in 20052. He leads a weekly Bible study at the White House and writes weekly for Our Sunday Visitor and the National Catholic Register.
Pope writes that the parable challenges a worldly way of thinking, and that we are tempted to side with the laborers who worked the longest3. Pope says people cannot stand before God in pure justice and that only grace and mercy will win the day. From there Pope moves from mercy to five dispositions of discipleship.
Five lessons in discipleship
Pope draws five lessons from the vineyard parable, beginning with availability. Pope's picture of the laborers is specific: they were men who stood in public places hoping to be hired for the day3. The laborers’ poverty and hunger make them ready to be hired; Pope applies the image to people who depend on God and have room for Him because they are empty.
His second lesson is authority: the landowner determines who enters the vineyard, so disciples should not rush into projects without first seeking God’s direction3. Pope cites Psalm 127:1 and urges discernment with the Church and a spiritual director or pastor before major choices such as marriage, a new job or a project.
Third comes allotment: God calls people at different times, Pope says, pointing to Moses, who thought he was ready at 40 but had to wait until 803. Discipleship, in his reading, has its own timing, and a person who feels ready may not yet be.
The fourth lesson is abiding: disciples must remain in the vineyard and persevere. Pope cites Matthew 24:13 and Romans 2:7 on perseverance. He also cites Hebrews 10:36. The disciple he describes keeps working until evening, not only at the start of the day.
His final lesson is assessment: Pope challenges lukewarm Catholics who treat faith as a burden and imagine that sinners have all the fun3. He answers that view by setting the grief of lifelong sin against a Christian life he presents as a gift rather than a burden, grounded in Ephesians 2:8–10. The grief has names: Pope lists disease, dissipation of wealth, regret, loss of family and addiction as what repeated, lifelong sin brings. The gift is a new life received from Christ, with Ephesians 2:8-10 supplying the claim that God prepared good works beforehand for His people to walk in.
Pope ends by returning to availability, writing that the owner still seeks souls to enter His vineyard3.
Pope on mercy
“What we really should ask of God is that He be merciful.” — Msgr. Charles Pope3.
Pope writes, “when we see Him being merciful to someone else, we ought to rejoice, for it means that we might stand a chance.” He applies the laborers' hunger to his listeners: "We are these men. We are the poor who depend upon God for everything." His rule for planning a life is short: "Got a bright idea? Ask God first3." On persevering, he says plainly, "The lesson is simple: we’ve got to stay in the vineyard." Of the Christian life itself, Pope writes that "being a Christian is not a burden. If we accept it, we receive a whole new life from Christ." And he warns against disciples who try to define their own role instead of following the Lord.
Faith and family
Faith is at the center of family life for the families Family Brief serves. For those homes, Pope’s reflection places discipleship in a life of dependence on God, discernment and perseverance3.
Follow Pope’s work
His Community in Mission blog carries the homily.
Readers can follow Pope on YouTube. His podcast, Homilies of Monsignor Charles Pope, is available on Spotify.