The Last Shall Be First

                  25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                      

     

We have to remember that the prophets of the Old Testament were not so much tellers of the future but perceptive commentators on their own times. Isaiah was no exception. In today’s first reading he is telling the Israelites living in captivity in Babylon that it is hard for them to see the big picture. Indeed, just like us the Israelites in Isaiah’s day seemed to identify their thoughts and ways with the will of God. Especially in an election year politicians and political commentators of all persuasions insist that their ideas and programs are certain to lead us to the promised land.

Even though we believe that we are made in the image of God, in actual practice we tend to talk and act as if God was made in our image. Yet in today’s reading we hear the Lord say,

      My thoughts are not your thoughts,

      Nor are your ways my ways.

Is there an other place in the Gospels where the disparity between the Lord’s ways and ours is more pronounced than in today’s reading from Matthew? I’m sure that most of us sympathize with the workers who had been toiling in the vineyard all day but then get the same pay as those who only worked a short time. If we were to take a poll I think that an overwhelming majority would say that the landowner was being unfair and unjust.

Commentators on Matthew say that in this parable the evangelist is making a point that newly converted pagan Christians will have as much right to enter the Kingdom of God as the initial Jewish Christians.

Nevertheless, it might be a good idea to take this parable in its context. In the passage immediately before this parable, Matthew had recorded these words of Jesus:

 But many who are first now will be last, and many who are last now will be first.

Then Jesus tells the parable and ends with the same words, “Even so, the last shall be first, and the first last."

Matthew then recounted an incident that occurred immediately after. The mother of James and John, two of the first apostles called by Jesus, asks Jesus to place her sons in a place of honor in his Kingdom. Apparently she has not understood the parable. Jesus explains that she does not know what she is asking for, and tells all the Apostles that true greatness lies in humility.

Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; even as the Son of man has not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

The parable then would appear to be a warning against complacency. Because many of us have toiled years in the vineyard of life, it does not mean that we can take on airs or assume we are better than anyone else. Even the best of us can trip and fall. And the least of us can experience a miraculous recovery.  

In today’s passage from the letter to the Christian community at Philippi St. Paul says that though he longs to die and be with Christ, he is content to keep working in the vineyard as long as the Lord requires. “If I go on living in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me.”

Those who have trouble with the parable of the workers in the vineyard should consider that the opportunity to work a long time in the vineyard is a great gift. Working in the vineyard is its own reward. The more we work in the vineyard the more we will understand the concern and love of Jesus for those who have fallen away. In the gospels there are so many examples of the Father’s love for those who have returned even at the last minute.

Perhaps the greatest example occurred on the Cross when Jesus promised the Good Thief that “this day you will be with me in Paradise.” 

Titian: The Good Thief

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Reading 1. Isaiah 55: 6-9

Reading II. Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a

Gospel. Matthew 20:1-16a (the last will be first).

Patience and Anger

The Book of Sirach is part of the ancient wisdom of Israel, but today’s first reading is easy to understand. Not only can we agree that “wrath and anger are hateful things,” but we also know that we can hold them tight, like precious possessions. Even children know this feeling. It is easier to hold on to your anger, no matter how hurtful, than to give it up.

But Sirach points out that it is not only good to give up your anger, but also very practical.

“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?”

After hearing this passage, it is not hard to guess what today’s gospel account will be about. It is the parable of the unjust or unforgiving servant. Actually, today’s passage follows immediately from last week’s gospel. Remember that last week Jesus said the following to the Apostles:

Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

We usually understand these words to mean the instruction to the Apostles and their successors to forgive sins in the sacrament of Penance. However, these words are also directed to us in our relations not only with our enemies but also with our families and friends.

The words of Jesus place an incredible responsibility and power on all of us. If we refuse to forgive someone who has offended us, we and they are likely to suffer some very serious consequences. In ways that we do not realize or understand, we may cause irreparable harm to the person against whom we hold a grudge. Failure to forgive will also inflict serious damage on ourselves.

In today’s gospel Peter asks how often he should forgive his brother, and answers the question himself. He knows that Jewish law required forgiveness three times, but Peter goes further and suggest forgiving seven times. When Jesus goes even further and suggests seventy- seven times, he is really saying that forgiveness should be unlimited. We should forgive in the same way that his father forgives.

Jesus then adds the famous parable of the servant who owed his master a great sum of money probably because of fiscal mismanagement or outright theft. The servant gets down on his knees and begs for forgiveness. His master not only forgives him but also wipes away all the debt. Incredibly, after his debt is forgiven, he is not even required to do acts of penance or penitence. Or is he?

The man’s penance surely would have been not to just say five Our Fathers and Hail Marys, but to forgive those who owed him money. Unfortunately, he did not see the connection, and when someone asked him for forgiveness, he responded unmercifully.

He had received a great gift but could not bring himself to share it with others. Despite his own wrongdoing he had been forgiven and let off the hook but he could not let go of his anger against his fellow servant. As a result, he forfeited the great gift he had been given. His anger hurt himself as well as his neighbor.

None of us are immune to anger. Anger seems part of our fallen human nature. I suppose it is how we deal with anger that counts. We may not think it’s serious but anger, like all the other vices, has the power to get out of control and take over our lives. We used to speak of the seven deadly sins or vices. Each of them had its corresponding virtue that could help us when tempted.

The virtue that works against anger is patience. The word “virtue’ actually means “habit.” In other words, we have to practice the virtues over and over until they become habits. Don’t athletes practice the same shots or plays over and over again until they can do them without even thinking about it?

For us, anger management must start with the practice of patience. Someone once told me that it helped her to deal with anger by sleeping on it. If someone or something offends us, it is a good idea not to react immediately. Patience is a great virtue. Sometimes things don’t look so bad when the sun rises on a new day.

Unfortunately, often those closest to us are the ones we offend, or who offend us. Why should we risk the loss of a close family member or a close friend when a little Patience would have healed the wound? In today’s second reading, St. Paul tells us that “none of us lives for oneself.”

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Justice and Mercy

                                    23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

                                 

As usual today’s first reading sets the tone or theme for the rest of the readings. The inspired word of the Prophet Ezekiel warns us that we must act like watchmen for our neighbors. In other words we must be on the lookout to warn them of approaching danger. Like any watchman who falls asleep on the job, or leaves his post, we will be held responsible when those who are entrusted to our care suffer a spiritual death.

There are two problems that go with this responsibility. First, we all know that many will not listen even to the best-intentioned and wisest advice. Second, we may not be up to the task, and may even be the ones who need to be warned about our own behavior. Who are we to tell others what to do?

In today’s gospel Jesus gives us some very practical and specific advice. He is talking about cases where someone has sinned against us, injured, or harmed us in any way. What is our responsibility? How are we to react? He tells us not to broadcast the offense or put it up on our Facebook account. He recommends that we take the person aside and speak to him or her one on one.

This may sound like a trivial example but I think of the way coaches at almost every level will publicly berate a player for some error or mistake committed during a game. I have seen this happen at every level. Maybe I don’t know enough about coaching, but I wish more coaches would just take the player aside and point out the mistake without humiliating them in front of everyone.

Getting back to the gospel, if one on one doesn’t work, Jesus insists that we still should be willing to go the extra mile. Get a second or even a third opinion. In today’s language we might call this seeing a mediator, or even convening an intervention. If nothing works, Jesus says that you have no choice but to treat the offender as a Gentile or tax collector. In modern language we might say ignore or have nothing to do with them as long as they remain obstinate and unrepentant.

To me the most important words in today’s gospel are the following:

Amen, I say to you,

Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,

And whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

These words place an incredible responsibility and power on all of us. If we refuse to forgive someone who has offended us, we and they are likely to suffer some very serious consequences. In ways that we do not realize or understand, we may cause irreparable harm to the person against whom we hold a grudge. Failure to forgive will also inflict serious damage on ourselves.  How does it help us to hold a grudge against someone over what is often a trivial matter?

In the same way, offering forgiveness to those who have wronged us will often give unimaginable benefits to them and to ourselves. I knew a man who refused to forgive his sister for years over a really trivial slight. How did that benefit her or him?

In today’s second reading St. Paul tells us that all the commandments are summed up in the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. In the great Gothic cathedrals statues personifying justice and mercy were often placed side by side. Justice and mercy are two great virtues but they can sometimes be in conflict with each other. Justice demands that when someone offends us, they should be punished or at least pay some kind of restitution. Mercy, on the other hand, demands that they be forgiven. How can we reconcile the conflicting claims of justice and mercy? Above the statues of Justice and Mercy there would usually be placed a statue representing Charity or Love, the greatest of all the virtues. It is Love that will reconcile.

As St. Paul pointed out in his letter to the Romans:

Love does no evil to the neighbor;

Hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.

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Reading 1. Ezekiel 33: 7-9

Reading II. Romans 13: 8-10

Gospel. Matthew 18: 15-20 (If your brother sins against you...)