27th Sunday A

27^th Sunday of the Year A

Readings: Isaiah 5:1‑7  Philippians 4:6‑9  Matthew 21:33‑43

            Nothing hurts us more than the ingratitude and irresponsibility of loved ones.  In this Sunday's readings both Isaiah's song of the vineyard and Jesus' parable of the wicked tenants tell us that God too is wounded by ingratitude and expects justice from the people who have received his bountiful blessings.  Aware of our sins in failing to respond to God's favor, let us pray for the opportunity to begin again in the words of the responsorial psalm. “Once again, O Lord of hosts,/ look down from heaven, and see;/ take care of this vine,/ and protect what your right hand has planted” (Ps 80:15‑16).

            Isaiah's allegory gives a poignant picture of the Lord's disappointment in Jerusalem and Judah during the 8th century B.C. when both the city and nation were corrupted with injustice and violence.  Using the figure of a "friend" who planted a "vineyard," the prophet begins the lyrics of a love song by describing how his friend lavished care on his vineyard (his beloved). “He spaded it, cleared it of stones,/ and planted the choicest vines;/ within it he built a watchtower,/ and hewed out a wine press.” Sadly, when he "looked for the crop of grapes," the vineyard only yielded "wild grapes."  Now the prophet, speaking for his friend, asks the "inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah" to "judge between me and my vineyard."  Surely their sympathy is with the friend who asks "What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done?"  They can then understand why the friend decides to give up on the vineyard that yielded wild grapes and "Take away its hedge, give it to grazing,/ break  through its wall, let it be trampled."  

            The parable's punch line comes at the end when the prophet announces: “The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel,/ and the men of Judah are his cherished plant;/ he looked for judgment, but see, bloodshed!/ for justice, but hark, the outcry (of injustice)!” 

            The second reading continues the selections from Philippians with Paul's appeal to the community to settle their disputes by coming "to a mutual understanding in the Lord" (Phil 4:2).  He suggests two ways of doing this.  First of all, they are to present their "needs to God in every form of prayer and in petitions full of gratitude."   Their common prayer will give them "God's own peace, which is beyond all understanding."  Secondly, their "thoughts should be wholly directed to all that is true, all that deserves respect, all that is honest, pure, admirable, decent,  virtuous, or worthy of praise."  Paul again promises that if they live in this way, and in imitation of what he has done and taught, "Then will the God of peace be with you." 

            The parable of the wicked tenants continues Jesus' attack on the chief priests and elders which began with the parable of the two sons in last week's gospel.  Using the imagery of Isaiah's song of the vineyard, Jesus' parable is an allegory for the religious leaders' repeated rejections of God's call for justice and their plans to now kill Jesus.  The parable begins with vineyard owner's attempts to collect rent from his tenants in the form of a share of the grapes at vintage time.  We hear that twice the rebellious tenants not only refused to pay the owner but also seized his slaves and “beat one, killed another and stoned a third.”  Finally, the vineyard owner decides to send his son, thinking, “They will respect my son.”  When the wicked tenants see the son, they recognize him as the heir and decide to kill him so that they may “have his inheritance.”  The parable ends with the tenants apparently succeeding in their plan.  They seize the son, drag him outside the vineyard, and kill him.  But the tenants have tragically miscalculated, for the vineyard owner is still alive, and so Jesus asks the chief priest and elders, “What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do to those tenants when he comes?”  With great irony, the leaders condemn themselves by saying, “He will bring that wicked crowd to a bad end and lease his vineyard out to others who will see to it that he has grapes at vintage time.”

            Rather than simply limiting this parable to a judgment of the chief priests and elders of Jesus' time, let us hear it as a warning to ourselves.  We, as tenants in the Lord's vineyard, have the responsibility to respond to God's call for the fruits of right judgment, justice, and peace.  Have we met the challenge or have we attempted to steal the inheritance for ourselves?

26th Sunday A

 26^th Sunday of the Year A

Readings: Ezekiel 18:25‑28   Philippians 2:1‑11   Matthew 21:28‑32

            A central doctrine of both Judaism and Christianity is that God's mercy calls sinners to repentance.  Both religions reject a fatalism that would say people are predetermined in their conduct, and, instead, take the hope-filled position that God's mercy always makes it possible for the sinner to freely turn from a life of sin and find the new life God offers.  The correlative truth, however, is that the good person may turn from virtue and life to iniquity and death.  As we struggle in freedom to embrace God's mercy, let us pray in the words of the responsorial psalm:

“Your ways, O Lord, make known to me;/ teach me your paths,/ guide me in your truth and teach me,/ for you are God my savior” (Ps 125:4‑5).

            In the Ezekiel reading, the prophet is instructing the Israelites who are complaining that “the Lord's way is not fair!”   They are enduring twin tragedies: the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile to Babylon, and many, believing that these punishments are due not to their own sins but those of their forefathers, are complaining: “Fathers have eaten green grapes,/ but their children's teeth are on edge.”  In response to this complaint Ezekiel insists on both God's mercy and justice and the corresponding freedom and responsibility of each Israelite.  On the one hand, if a virtuous person turns to sin, death will result.   But, on the other, if a wicked person rejects sin and does what is right and just, "he shall surely live, he shall not die."  The virtuous are to persevere, and the wicked are to repent.

            The second reading continues the selections from Philippians with Paul's magnificent hymn to Christ who triumphed over sin through self‑emptying love.  In the context of exhorting the Philippians to give up selfish and petty jealousy, Paul uses this early Christian hymn as the foundation for the Christian life of selfless love.  The pattern, established in Jesus, of death to self and resurrection through God's power is to mark the life of the community.  Christ, in contrast to his anti-type Adam, did not grasp at being godlike, but, like the suffering servant in Second Isaiah, took the form of a slave and emptied himself by becoming fully human, even to the point of obediently accepting the degradation of death on a cross.  God responded to this act of self- emptying love by exalting Jesus and bestowing on him lordship over the cosmos, so that at the mention of his name all beings in the universe might acknowledge him as Lord and Messiah.

            Jesus' parable about the two sons is addressed to the chief priests and elders who are challenging his authority for cleansing the Temple.  This bitter controversy will lead to their decision to arrest and execute Jesus.  After they had questioned him about his authority to drive the money changers out of the Temple, Jesus responded by asking them whether John's baptism was “from God” or “from human origin.”  Jesus’ challenge exposes their hypocrisy.  For, if they say, “from God,” Jesus would ask why they had not believed in John's call to repentance, and, if they say, “of human origin,” they fear the crowd who revered John as a prophet. Caught in their hypocritical web, they refuse to answer.

            Now Jesus challenges the chief priests and elders to repent by asking them to judge the case he proposes in the parable.  A father has two sons.  When the first son is asked to work in his vineyard, he says, “I am on my way, sir;” but he never went.  On the other hand, the second son initially refuses to obey his father's command, but “afterward (he) regretted it and went.” Jesus then asks the leaders, “Which of the two did what the father wanted?”  After they answer, “the second,” Jesus uses the parable to contrast their response to John's preaching with that of the "tax collectors and prostitutes."  The later, like the second son, repented of their sins when they heard John's preaching and thereby “are entering the kingdom of God.”  The leaders, however, like the first son, claim to be willing to do the father's will, but “put no faith” in John's preaching, even after they saw the repentance of the tax collectors and prostitutes.   Their smug religiosity keeps them from true repentance and belief in God's call through John's preaching.  

God's call is both challenge and offer of mercy.  If we have said "yes" to God, we must always ask, "Have I followed through in deeds?"  If we have rejected God in the past, we must remember His mercy always offers the opportunity for repentance and change.

25th Sunday A

 25^th Sunday of the Year A

Readings: Isaiah 55:6‑9  Philippians 1:20‑24,27  

Matthew 20:1‑16

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,/ nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord” (Isa 55:8). In our relationship with God, we may be tempted to calculate our standing on the basis of human conceptions of justice.  Today's readings challenge us to accept the surprising ways of God's mercy.   Let us be open to God's mercy to others, as we sing our responsorial psalm: "The Lord is near to all who call him" (Ps 145).
The first reading from the concluding poems of Second Isaiah is an invitation to the wicked to repent.  It is modeled on a priestly invitation to come to the sanctuary for sacrifice, but Second Isaiah makes this appeal in exile where the Jews have no sanctuary.  The prophet stresses two important features of God's call.  First, it comes at certain propitious moments: "Seek the Lord while he may be found,/ call to him while he is near."    Second, God "is generous in forgiving," and his mercy is beyond all human reckoning. “As high as the heavens are above the earth,/ so high are my ways above your ways/ and my thoughts above your thoughts.”
            For the next four Sundays our second reading will be from Paul's letter to the Philippians.   As is evident from today's reading, Paul writes this letter while he is in prison and awaiting trial for preaching the gospel.  He is not sure whether he will be condemned to die or be released so that he may continue his apostolic work, but he sees advantages in both possibilities: "I long to be freed from this life and to be with Christ, for that is the far better thing; yet it is more urgent that I remain alive for your sakes."  Paul's faith tells him that the outcome is in God's hands and that in either case "Christ will be exalted" by bringing forth "life" from a situation which, to human eyes, is fraught with death. “For, to me, ‘life’ means Christ; hence dying is so much gain.  If, on the other hand, I am to go on living in the flesh, that means productive toil for me . . .”
            The Gospel parable is traditionally called "The Laborers in the Vineyard," but it might be better entitled "The Generous Vineyard Owner."  Jesus' story gives us a glimpse of both God's generosity and the revolutionary character of "the reign of God."   The "owner" and "vineyard" are traditional images, drawn from the prophets (see Isaiah 5 and Jeremiah 12), for God and Israel.
            In the first half of the parable, the owner, apparently anxious to complete his grape harvest, hires workers at "dawn," "mid-morning," "noon," "mid-afternoon," and finally "late afternoon."  Concerning the workers hired at dawn, we learn that the owner "reached an agreement with them for the usual daily wage."   So far, the parable, with its anxious vineyard owner and unemployed day laborers, seems to be a typical picture of agrarian life in the time of Jesus. 
            In the second half of the parable, however, we, and those who had "worked a full day in the scorching heat," are shocked by the owner's actions.  For some unstated reason, he instructs his foreman, "Call the workmen and give them their pay, but begin with the last group and end with the first."   Then, in defiance of any profit driven business practice, he gives those hired at the last hour “a full day's pay.”  Naturally, the full day workers, having endured the indignity of being paid last, “supposed they would get more,” but they too “received the same daily wage.”
            The dialogue between the disgruntled all day workers and the owner contains the punch line of the parable.  Understandably, the full day workers are upset at the apparent injustice of their being paid the same wage for twelve hours of work as those who only worked an hour.  But the master of the vineyard reminds them, “My friend, I do you no injustice.  You agreed on the usual wage, did you not?  Take your pay and go home.”  Then the owner goes on to give an explanation for his behavior.  “I intend to give this man who was hired last the same pay as you.  I am free to do as I please with my money, am I not?  Or are you envious because I am generous?”  God's generosity is not calculable on a human scale of "good business" or justice, and, in fact, often strikes the dutiful as injustice.  In Jesus' own ministry, he was often criticized by the religious leaders for his association with "tax collectors and sinners."  Within Matthew's community, there was concern about the entrance of Gentiles into an originally Jewish Christian community.  To all those who would put limits upon those called to "the reign of God," Jesus says, "`I am free to do as I please with my money, am I not?  Or are you envious because I am generous.' Thus the last shall be first and the first shall be last."

24th Sunday A

24^th Sunday of the Year A

Readings: Sirach 27:30‑28:7  Romans 14:7‑9  Matthew 18:21‑35

            Forgiveness of those who have wronged us may be one of the most difficult teachings of the Jewish and Christian traditions, but in today's readings we learn that it is absolutely essential if we are to truly experience the God of Moses and Jesus.  Conscious of our own need for forgiveness and the necessity of extending forgiveness to others, let us gratefully sing this Sunday's responsorial psalm: "The Lord is kind and merciful/ slow to anger, and rich in compassion" (Ps 103). 

            The wisdom sayings of the Book of Sirach remind us that Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness of the enemy is a continuation of his own Jewish tradition.  Sirach's reflections about the destructive nature of wrath and anger are rooted in his understanding of the nature of the covenant God of Israel.  In mercy the Most High has entered a covenant with Israel and overlooked its faults, and as a consequence the children of Israel are to set aside vengeance and to forgive one another.  They cannot directly repay God for his forgiveness; only if they extend forgiveness to others, do they properly understand the demands of God's covenant love. “Forgive your neighbor's injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven. Should a man nourish anger against his fellows and expect healing from the Lord? Should a man refuse mercy to his fellows, yet seek pardon for his own sins?”

            Paul's reflections in the Romans reading come in the midst of a chapter in which he is urging two factions in the community to be considerate and non‑judgmental of one another.  The "weak in faith" (probably Jewish‑Christians) are keeping certain dietary restrictions and observing special days (the Sabbath?), but others are eating whatever they want and consider every day alike.  In both cases, the individuals are acting in sincerity "for the Lord."  Therefore, Paul urges both groups to leave judgment to the Lord.  The basis for this attitude is that Christians are no longer their own masters.  They belong to the Lord, to Christ who died and came to life again for them.  They are to live and die as his responsible servants, and each of them will have to give an account before the judgment seat of God. “For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die,   we are the Lord's.  For this is why Christ died and came to life, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.  Why then do you judge your brother? Or you, why do you look down on your brother?  For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; . . .” 

            The Gospel reading continues the theme of forgiveness with the unforgettable story of the unforgiving servant.  The context for Jesus' parable is the conclusion of the discourse in Matthew 18 on relations among Christians.  Peter tries to force Jesus to make a legal determination of how often one must extend forgiveness to a brother who has wronged him.  Peter's initial proposal of forgiving “seven times” seems quite generous, but Jesus replies that forgiveness should be unlimited.  “No, not seven times; I say, seventy times seven times.” 

            He then proceeds to illustrate the folly and tragedy of not being forgiving with a parable about the “reign of God.”  The behavior of the king in the parable is surprising.  At first when he discovers that one of his officials owes him 10,000 talents (a huge sum equivalent to billions of dollars in our currency), he orders that the official be “sold, along with his wife, children, and all his property.”  But, when the official begs, “My lord, be patient with me and I will pay you back in full,” the king is moved with pity, releases the official, and writes off the debt. 

            The next scene mirrors the first with, of course, significant differences.  When the same official, having just been forgiven a huge debt, goes out, he meets a fellow servant who owes him 100 denarii, a debt that could reasonably be repaid.  But when his fellow servant asks for patience in the same words as the official had, “Be patient with me, and I will pay you back,” the official refuses and has his fellow servant put in jail until he pays back what he owed.  When the master hears of the official's callous behavior, he confronts him with his lack of compassion: “You worthless wretch!  I canceled your entire debt when you pleaded with me.  Should you not have dealt mercifully with your fellow servant, as I dealt with you?” Jesus ends his parable by warning, “My heavenly Father will treat you in exactly the same way unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”