Bulletins from September 2023

The gospel passage this weekend tells the story of two brothers whose father sent to work in the vineyard. One refused, but eventually did go, while the other brother agreed to work, but never did. Jesus asks the question as to which son did what his father wanted, and the answer is clear that it was the one who had originally said he would not do the work. God’s grace often enters our lives, not along straight lines, but through torturous curves and turns, sometimes even reversing direction, as in the son who eventually went to the vineyard. Let us be open to that grace, whenever it comes to us and let us try to be that grace – God’s abiding presence in our world – to one another

In this Sunday’s gospel reading, Jesus teaches us about the coming Reign of God. Set in terms of the owner of a vineyard who hired workers throughout the day and paid all the same “usual daily wage” that had been agreed upon, no matter what time of the day they began work. Perhaps, we might agree with the complaint of those who worked a full day when they discovered that even those who worked only one hour were paid the same amount. But the question asked by the landowner should make us think: “Am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?” It is true that faith comes to us in the context of family and community, the gospel passage urges us to do our best and not to compare the progress of our growth in the life of Baptism with that of others. In doing the best that we can, we trust in the mercy and love of God Who, like the parable’s landowner, is generous beyond our imagining. Perhaps we can also be so generous in the ways we are with one another.

The Old Testament reading this Sunday (Sirach 27:30 -28:7) complements Jesus’ parable on forgiveness, as found in the Gospel of Matthew 18:21-35. From Sirach (also known as Ecclesiasticus), we will hear: Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight. The vengeful will suffer the Lord’s vengeance, for the Lord remembers their sins in detail. Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven. Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the Lord? Could anyone refuse mercy to another like oneself, can he seek pardon for one’s own sins? In the end, we should not expect from God that which we refuse to extend to others: mercy, forgiveness and love. If we continue to “hug tight” our anger, then we are on a path that leads not to forgiveness for our sins, but, in the words of the parable, “to be handed over to the torturers.” Let us not be that way with us… Remembering God’s mercy toward us, we are moved to forgive those who have wronged us.

In terms we might use today, Jesus is advising subsidiarity… Resolve issues at the most basic level, between the two individuals who are at odds with each other. If that does not work, then bring in others and, only as a last resort, should the two go to a larger group (the Church or the Courts). Subsidiarity implies that most differences can be resolved privately. Not all things need to be referred to a central governing authority. This should be true in our homes, in our Church and in civil society. The urge to litigate disputes of every kind can rob individuals of their own ability to make peace by way of mutual understanding and even compromise. As if to magnify the “power of two,” Jesus promises that “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Through His Spirit, Jesus is the bond than unites us and empowers us in the ways of reconciliation and peace.

Immediately following (in last week’s gospel) the declaration by Peter that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” there is a not-so-pleasant encounter between Peter and the Lord. For Jesus, the revelation of His identity was inextricably bound with His coming suffering and death. In the gospels, everything builds to the event at Caesarea Philippi and flows from there toward the Crucifixion. This is not what Peter or the other Apostles had been expecting, so Peter tries to persuade Jesus to follow another path (“God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”), to which the Lord responds: “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” Jesus could not and would not follow Peter. Instead, he invites him to “Get behind me,” to follow the Lord, instead of trying to lead along the easier path. Nearly 2000 years later, we believers are still tempted to take the path that leads from pain, suffering and loss. Jesus sees in us, too, obstacles to the work that He still needs to accomplish in our lives and in the world. In the end, we cannot avoid sorrow and suffering any more than Jesus did. It is the cost of being a disciple today, as it has been in every age.