28th Sunday: Don't just show up

 

They gathered all they found . . . and the hall was filled with guests

Matthew 22: 1-14

The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101126.cfm

May your grace, O Lord, we pray,

at all times go before us and follow after

and make us always determined

to carry out good works.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the

Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.

(Collect of Mass)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

A woman decided that she was going to have a dinner party for a good number of her friends.  So, she spent most of the week cleaning, baking, cooking, and preparing the table.  And when everyone finally arrived and sat down to eat, she turned to her six year old daughter and said, “Honey, why don’t you say the blessing?”  “Mommy,” she said, “I don’t know what to say.”  “Just simply say what you hear Mommy say.”  So the little girl bowed her head and said, “Dear Lord, why on earth did I invite all of these people to dinner?”

Like the woman in the story, you and I can occasionally have regrets about the invitations that we offer.  But that is not the case with our God.  For our God is a God of invitation.  A God who is constantly inviting all people into relationship, inviting all to share in divine life and love. And while at any wedding the bride and groom are the center of attention, here it is the King, who is God himself, who is the center point and the one who relentlessly continues to invite us.

In the time of Jesus, Jewish weddings involved two invitations:  one to invite the guests and to let them know the son/daughter was being married and another, after the necessary preparations had been made for the banquet, etc, to tell the invited guests the when and where. After all, Jewish weddings went on for at least five days of feasting and joy.  No wonder the wine ran out at Cana! Believe me, we priests can write a book about what we’ve seen, heard and been asked at a wedding.

Still, of all the details that go into creating a wedding celebration, the one which seems to cause the most stress is who to invite. Invitations are sent hoping that everyone is included, and no one suffers hurt feelings.

Our readings this Sunday speak both of a feast and of a royal wedding. The prophet Isaiah speaks of a “feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy rich foods and pure, choice wines . . .”

It is God himself, the Lord of hosts, who has prepared this banquet for us and it is God himself who invites us to attend and enjoy the grace of knowing him. Unlike ourselves, God does not discriminate but invites anyone who will accept it. Yet, some strangely refuse the generous call.

This Feast is a foretaste of heaven.  An invitation to share in the banquet our King has prepared and extended to us through his own Son. This sumptuous feast is available to all.  Why would you not accept an invitation to the royal wedding?

Imagine that you received a messenger at your door who hands you an engraved invitation from the King of England to the royal wedding of his son. Or the President of the United States does the same and invites you to the marriage of his son/daughter at the White House.  Who would say no to such an honor? Or Pope Leo invites you personally to attend a major event at the Vatican.  Would anyone say, “sorry, can’t make it.”

One would think that anyone would be honored by such an opportunity. Yet, this story of Jesus takes a weird turn.  While the parables of Jesus are not meant to be taken in a literal sense, they provide an allegorical image for us to ponder. In this case, the Lord in his exaggeration, is striving for our attention to his message.  “Wake up!” “See what God has done!” “Don’t pass this by! "For, in this parable we see the never-ending theme of God's relentless pursuit for our attention.  Though we may feel that it is our search for God that drives us, it is truly his search for us and his invitation to us hoping for our positive response. Just ask St. Augustine what he came to realize he had been missing. But, alas, that great blessing from God is not always received well.

Still, despite the invitation, some refused. Others found themselves just too busy to come making up silly excuses to their own eventual regret. How strange that sounds.

So, the king sent servants into the byways and highways to invite everyone both the bad and the good. The wedding hall was filled, the party began, and the very generous king arrived.  One would think that wedding attire would not be an issue considering where the servants went to fill the hall with guests, but the king spots a guest “without a wedding garment.” That person is treated harshly and eventually thrown out of the banquet! Again, don’t take this literally.  It isn’t about a proper piece of clothing as it is rightly about our response to the invitation.

Sure, I came and here I’m enjoying all the feasting but the call to conversion and grace that God requires of us, is not worth the effort. With the invitation goes an expectation of gratitude and taking this seriously on our part. Showing up is a good thing but it’s only the beginning.  So, leave the banquet and maybe reconnect when the time is right for you –properly “dressed.” Like all the parables of Jesus they are meant to have a twist or to pull the rug out from us to think about a deeper implication.

In a real sense the “wedding garment” is a symbol of the white baptismal garment and the virtues we have acquired in our lifetime. It is the moment to “put on Christ” as Paul reminds us and to acquire a life of virtue: love, forgiveness, compassion, selflessness.  To put on Christ and to conform our lives to his is how we must be clothed to enter the Feast of heaven.  So, we can’t just show up – it’s more than that.

In a way, in telling this parable, Jesus’ invitation was consistent in his ministry.  God, through Christ, has proposed a new vision for humanity and the values of the kingdom are its blueprint. Through his preaching, miracles, his person he constantly extended the invitation yet many surprisingly said "not now" and many accused him of siding with the sinners and outcast.  It was the poor and fringe population that embraced his call.  Like those invited to the parable at the end, those Jesus received were among the forgotten, the fringe, the poor and powerless.

Maybe an interesting question that we must all ask is “why am I here and about to share in the very body of Christ?  What brings me to this Mass?” Even in this time which is so challenging to our faith we still must seek an answer to this fundamental question. We can find an excuse for anything, but why would we refuse the invitation that God himself is offering us?

That feast is a sign of both our Christian faith and the joy of sharing in the Eucharist.  Are we joyful Christians?  Are we here just out of obligation or do we come because we truly want to keep our lives directed in the ways of the Gospel?

So, if we want to be dressed well, put on Christ and enjoy the party!

 

27th Sunday - The vineyard of the Kingdom

 

The kingdom of God will be taken away from you

and given to a people that will produce its fruit.

Matthew 21: 33-43

The Word:https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/100426.cfm

I think most of us will easily call to mind the successes we’ve had in life but will either deny or much rather forget the failures or the past painful memories.  Maybe you worked hard, studied hard, really prepared well on a project or an assignment only to find out that it didn’t quite meet the level you were hoping.  Why was he/she chosen instead of me?  Why was I not recognized for the effort I made rather than him? Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time!

I’ve had successes in my priesthood and I’d be glad to share those but I really would rather not bring up the failures or the disappointing memories. Maybe it’s our ego or own sense of self-importance or it could be a lack of appreciation for what we have rather than what we don’t. Sometimes, we’re just sour grapes.

Considering today’s readings, both the first from Isaiah and the Gospel parable of Jesus about the wicked tenants in the vineyard I think we find some of this.  They provide us a moment to remind ourselves about what we have, and the richness God is expecting of us and maybe our failures can turn out to be successes in the end. 

Both Isaiah and Jesus’ parable from Matthew speak of a vineyard.  In fact, the Gospel has Jesus making comment on the specific passage we hear today from Isaiah.  Yet, the images are tough.  They begin with a vineyard owner who very lovingly prepared his vineyard: on a fertile hillside, spaded it, cleared the ground of stones, planted the finest vines he could find and then built a watchtower in the vineyard to guard it carefully.

But those best laid plans went sour.  He went to harvest the fresh, juicy grapes and found they were wild and tasteless.  He is angry and disappointed, so he abandons it to become a ruin filled with thorns and briers.  How sad.  Such care and love had been given to it in the beginning but for some reason it was wasted.

More specifically, Isaiah clearly states that the vineyard is a sign of the “house of Israel” and that God, who tended his “vineyard” with tenderness and love, has found only rejection and carelessness.  But let’s be careful here.  Does this mean that God has rejected his chosen people?

This is where Jesus fleshes out further commentary in the Gospel.  Tenants in the vineyard had squandered its riches on their own selfish pursuits.  Any servants sent to the vineyard were welcomed with a violent end (Prophets) and even the son of the landowner was killed there (Jesus).  It’s a tough story for sure.  The vineyard taken away may identify the rejection of Jesus by the Jewish leaders and God who then handed over the care of the new vineyard, the Church, to the mix of Jews and Gentile community. The point is more about us because in similar vein we see the Church as the vineyard of the Lord as well. 

So, if we see this for what it is meant it challenges all of us who have been given everything as gift from God.  Our task, by reason of our Baptism, is to take care of that vineyard in which we live: the vineyard of our faith community and the values by which we live here and in this world as missionary disciples of the Lord.  Yet, this history of humanity since the creation of Adam and Eve and the journey through the Old Testament is a patchwork of fidelity and of rejection of God by humankind.  Yet, it is also a story of God’s eternal faithfulness and mercy offered to everyone who would accept it.

Remember the parables on the kingdom of heaven that Jesus often speaks of and that we heard recently in our  Sunday Gospels.  The kingdom of heaven is a way in which we live together in a new relationship not based on my own selfish desires but rather on virtues that are centered on the other: those in need, the poor, the sick, the forgotten, the suffering.  That my life is guided by knowing that I’ve been placed in the Lord’s vineyard with many gifts given from him that are not meant for me alone but meant to be shared for the good of all.  In other words, to take care of one another, to nurture our faith in the Lord, and to guard God’s creation around me for example and not exploit it for my own selfish pursuits.

It’s a very Catholic perspective to say, “all is gift.” God has prepared the vineyard of our lives, gifted us with certain advantages, and shared with us the richness of our faith and its spiritual treasures.  Do we honestly appreciate what has been gifted to us?

As I’ve been given the charge and the gift from God to carefully till the soil of my faith and to grow in imitation of Jesus himself, I can see all as gift and all as an invitation for me to be a good servant. Because our culture today is becoming more critical of who we are as Christians and Catholics and of how we more and more challenge the status quo of what is considered acceptable in society it is becoming all the more important for us to tend our vineyards with care and not let it simply turn to sour grapes through our neglect.

Our second reading from Philippians drives this home beautifully for us.  After a poetic reflection on truth, honor, justice, and beauty, Paul writes: “Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me.  Then the God of peace will be with you.”

 As we gather at the Eucharist each Sunday we see this played out as well.  The very word “eucharist” means to give thanks to God.  We gather not to decide what’s in this for me but more to recognize our unity in the Lord and our care for one another in Christ.  Baptized into Christ we have been placed in the vineyard of the Lord.

Take care to tend it carefully.

           ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Almighty ever-living God,

who in the abundance of your kindness

surpass the merits and the desires of those who entreat you,

pour out your mercy upon us to pardon what conscience dreads 

and to give what prayer does not dare to ask.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 

who lives and reigns with you

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,  God for ever and ever.

(Collect of Mass)

 

 

 

26th Sunday: A culture of forgiveness

Eugène Burnand |The Two Sons

Son, go out and work in the vineyard today . . . 

 Matthew 21: 28-32

The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/092726.cfm

Our Gospel parable today begins: “A man had two sons. . . .” Right away we might be thinking that we are going to hear not about how wonderful these two boys were but rather about how tense things became between a father and his older son.  Jesus told parables to point out differences, sometimes very stark, between the behavior of the characters and that of the main character who represents God. Well, he does not fail to disappoint us this week as we’ve also heard these past two Sunday’s. Yet, the bottom line as the main theme of this story is God’s infinite mercy towards those who seek him no matter at what point.  Good news for us.

What if we imagined a “culture of forgiveness.” Maybe the late Pope Francis’ image of the Church as a field hospital where the wounded go to be healed and reconciled would be more the norm.

A culture of forgiveness might be one in which everyone has multiple chances to get things right. They are more loved than judged. There is always a time, a never too late opportunity, to seek reconciliation and healing and to change the direction of my life.  Such a culture should not be imaginary.

The Gospel parable is addressed to the self-righteous religious leaders in the time of Jesus.  They are obstinate in their viewpoint and rigid in their approach to faith. The parable is simple and straightforward in its message.

 Two sons are asked by their father to go work in the vineyard. Remember last Sunday when we heard another vineyard parable about the generous landowner who paid everyone the same regardless of how long they were employed.

Today, we hear that one son says “no,” I will not work there but later he changes his mind and does his father’s will. The other says “yes,” with an insincere nod to honor his father but never follows through.  “Which of the two did his Father’s will?” Jesus asks - obviously the first son.

Then the clincher which insulted the chief priests and elders of the people: Jesus states: “. . . tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.”  Wow!  How could such shameful sinners, such public immoral behavior by “those kind” walk ahead of the righteous leaders?  Because God’s culture of forgiveness is more concerned about our present lives, our sincere repentance and conversion, than he is about our past.

We are invited every day of our life to get things right; to come back on the mark Jesus shows us. We should never be labelled for our past sins but identified by who we have become. Examples: St. Augustine, St. Ignatius, St. Francis of Assisi to name a few.

To press his point further Jesus reminds the leaders about the preaching of John the Baptist and his call to conversion.  In the same vein the preaching of Jesus and his call to embrace a new understanding and direction as well as the prophet Ezekiel’s words in the first reading today all imply the constant and never-failing invitation to conversion from a God who longs to welcome his people.  As Jesus stated: “When John came to you in the ways of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds . . .” Ouch!  The truth can sting when it finds its mark.

Those consumed by their own vain pursuits are responsible for their choices.  The same is true when the good is chosen regardless at what time.  Conversion, a change of heart, a time to reconsider the “no” I may have said always finds a welcome forgiveness when we choose the way that Christ shows us.

How is such possible - by God's generous grace.  Though the tax collectors and prostitutes had said "no" to God, after hearing the preaching of John the Baptist they turned back and said "yes" to him. So, their response, though later, places them ahead of the self-righteous religious leader's who remain fixed in their position. Jesus addressed them in the parable as the sons who said "yes" but never went.

In a culture of forgiveness, we would know that change is not an optional choice.  That change of heart, turning back to God and leaving behind sin and selfishness is God’s invitation to the right way.  God’s mercy is just waiting to be extended to everyone.  A culture of forgiveness makes that choice clear and supports the importance of changing the direction of our lives to always aim for that of Christ.

If we choose to be a people of forgiveness and mercy rather than judgment and division then we grow in both holiness and virtue.  Virtuous behavior completes us and deepens our sense of purpose for we are all sinners and we are all in need of mercy. Every human being is invited to this process, but God respects our choice to say yes or no as we hear in the Gospel this Sunday.

In the first reading the prophet Ezekiel spares no words: "When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity that he must die. But if he turns from the wickedness . . . and does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life . . . he shall surely live." His “no” to God is now a heartfelt “yes.”

So, think about your marriage, your personal life, your family life, your participation in your parish life, your association with friends and strangers, your place of work, and I reflect on myself in priestly service. Is there in place a culture of forgiveness found towards others? A culture that may be your personal way of acting towards others.  God touches us primarily in community life.  While the sacraments of forgiveness (Reconciliation, Eucharist, Anointing of the Sick) for example are intimate moments they are offered in and through the community of the faithful.

What can we do to institute a more forgiving, more merciful, less judgmental culture? How can we develop a more forgiving spirit to let go of feelings of retribution and wish even those who have hurt us, to wish them well? Our parishes should be ideal models of what the larger culture can be.  If there is division, competition, judgment, selective membership or cliques that is not the work of God.

If we stand above others and consider that the words of the Gospel “are not for me but for thee” then today’s readings must call us to task.

Ask the Holy Spirit, then, to reveal to you times you have said “no” or still haven’t let go of that negative will. It’s time to let go and to change.  It may be time to celebrate what you have seen as life giving and not continue a cycle that promotes harm or hurt. May God help us to create a culture of forgiveness, to inspire each other to change the direction of our lives and to always be grateful for God’s never-failing mercy.” In other words, to be more like Jesus.

God said “yes” to humanity by sending his Son among us, by the cross and resurrection and now by the gift of the Eucharist, Jesus own true presence among us.   Receiving him should always push us to let go of resistance and to be willing to work in his vineyard. 

O God, who founded all the commands

of your sacred Law upon love of you

and of our neighbor, grant that, by keeping your precepts,

we may merit to attain eternal life.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 

who lives and reigns with you

in the unity of the Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

(Collect of Sunday)

 

 

25th Sunday - Justice or Mercy?

"You too, go into my vineyard . . . "

Matthew 20: 1-16

The Word:  https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/092026.cfm

A hard-working parish priest, after a lifetime of ministry, died and went to heaven.  When he got there, he was assigned an attractive two bedroom house to serve as his heavenly abode.  He was rather pleased with his house until he took a walk around the neighborhood and ran into a parishioner who had been a cab driver and now was living in a mansion with a swimming pool and tennis courts.  The priest went directly to St. Peter to complain.  He said, “I’ve worked my whole life long serving God’s people.  Now this parishioner of mine is a very good person, but he was a cab driver!  Why is he living in so much bigger a house than I am?”  St. Peter said, “Here’s how it goes.  When you preached, people slept.  But when he drove, people prayed.”

God’s ways are not our ways indeed.  We seek justice and fairness from the time of our childhood: “That’s not fair! Don’t punish me, he started it!” etc. How familiar does that sound to the ears of a parent for that parent themselves, when younger, likely claimed the same injustice. In the end, and we learn this from the time of our childhood, life is not fair.  Despite the wheels of justice upon which our nation’s legal system is founded, in the end stuff happens, innocent people are exploited and evil often goes unchecked or is at least allowed to wreak destruction upon those who are clearly innocent victims, we get sick, some are lost in disasters and others are not, some die young others live to a ripe old age.  Life is not fair, still justice remains a cherished virtue that should be pursued. 

Our Gospel this Sunday, the well-known parable of the workers in the vineyard, seems to illustrate this clearly.  From a purely justice level, this story about the workers who labored all day or only for an hour, yet all got the same equal pay for a whole day’s work, is clearly unjust. But is it fair?  Well, the master payed everyone what they agreed to, "what is fair," the usual daily wage ( one denari). as the master promised. Yet, those who worked all day in the hot sun, assumed they would get more but got only what they contracted for, which seems fair, sort of.   

The one’s who made out very well, are those one-hour workers, who not only got paid but were covered for an entire days work, rather than only one hour.  Who was most grateful? Those who seemingly benefitted from the master's generosity. 

Well, we can become stuck on this justice level only but remember how Jesus began this parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like . . . “  Thereby telling us that he will not speak on earthly terms but rather on Godly, spiritual terms.  God is like the master in the story – generous, merciful, kind.

Though we may measure all things as if in a scale, God is extravagant in his mercy.  He desires all to be saved, even those who come at the eleventh hour, yet are faithful in his kingdom.  So, this parable is not about justice but about mercy; God’s excessive mercy in the kingdom of heaven to which we are called.   

God’s mercy and love know no limits.  All are called to his kingdom and we are all invited to receive his grace and mercy especially at a time we may need it the most. Another indicator as to how Jesus came to reverse the material order in order to insert the power of the spiritual and bring about its conversion. 

When we fall into sin, we return to the vineyard repentant and God forgives.  If we’ve wandered away from his house, even for many years, and now come home, like the prodigal son, we find his mercy and welcome. 

The wages paid represent the fact that God can give equally to all of us at the same time.  Unlike money and all material goods of this life, some have more and some have less.  We should not tolerate injustice and work towards equality, especially with those are treated unfairly and exploited but with our God we not only receive justice we receive overflowing mercy from an endless source. 

So the challenge for us is to respond to God's unrelenting effort to seek us out like the master in search of workers and to serve in his kingdom. Despite our limitations and our own lack of mercy at times, he still invites us to his live by the values he has revealed to us. To imitate this mercy towards others.  To make it concrete and visible in our families, marriages, parish life.  That others will find a unique welcome through the Christ centered lives we offer. 

As Isaiah reminds us in our first reading: “Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call his while he is near . . . let him turn to the Lord for mercy; to our God, who is generous in forgiving. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways . . . “

   

O God, who founded all the commands of your sacred law

upon love of you and of our neighbor,

grant that by keeping your precepts,

we may merit to attain eternal life.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 

who lives and reigns with you 

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 

God, for ever and ever. 

(Collect of Sunday Mass)