A call to a life of Synthesis between words and actions! (26th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Yr. A)

A call to a Life of Synthesis between Words and Actions!

(Homily for the 26th Sunday of Ord. Time Yr. A)

Ez. 18:25-28; Phil. 2:1-11; Mt.21:28-32

          The conscience of personal responsibility seems to be central and predominant in the readings of today. To the Babylonian exiles who accused God of injustice, God says “Is what I do unjust? Is it not what you do that is unjust? When the upright abandons uprightness and does wrong and dies, he dies because of the wrong which he himself has done. Similarly, when the wicked abandons wickedness to become law-abiding and upright, he saves his life” (Ez. 18:25b-27). Both of them are responsible for their actions. Interestingly, Jesus teaches us in the Gospel, what true personal responsibility is, and it is manifested not merely in speaking (words), but majorly in action, as the parable reveals. And in the second reading, St. Paul gives us the example of Christ, an example of responsibility and coherence, the Yes of Christ is an operative one, incarnated in actions (works) for the realization of our Redemption.

           The responsibility, we are talking about here, is not a mere responsibility which has as object human duties and responsibilities towards his fellow man, rather its object is man's relation with God. In the context of this responsibility, responsible person is the one that repents and believes. In this sense, the exiles of Babylon did not comport themselves well, when instead of repenting, they murmured and accused God of acting unjustly. So also, the chief priests and elders of the people, because John came to show them the way of salvation, and they neither believed nor converted. Instead, the publicans and the prostitutes responded to the preaching of John with repentance and faith. For this Jesus said “the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God ahead of you” (Mt. 21, 31).

          Among the major prophets of the Old Testament, Ezekiel is known for his insistence on individual responsibility for sin. For as a matter of fact, in the history of Israel the value of communal living is a paramount cultural heritage, to the extent that a man is hardly distinguished from his community. At the heart of this cultural value was communal solidarity, and as such individual guilt was believed to have corporal consequences. For this prophet Ezekiel vehemently warned that “the soul that sins shall die” (Ez. 18:20), and the belief that “the parents have eaten unripe grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge” (Ez. 18:2) is abhorrent. Little wonder, he emphasized on individual responsibility. And speaking about individual responsibility the prophet equally foresaw the possibility of an individual turning from wickedness to righteousness and vice versa. However, a person is judged by the new life to which he has turned to, and no longer by the previous life.

          The responsorial psalm (Ps. 25) brings to light the consciousness of an individual aware of his own sins, but relying on God's mercy. Interestingly, the first reading and the psalm view a man's life divided into the past and the future in the present moment. While the past is characterized by sin, the future is filled with hope for spiritual maturity. Indeed, the refrain to the psalm “Remember your mercies, O Lord” (Ps. 25:6) calls our attention to an important biblical conception of “remembrance” (“ricordare”-bringing to heart), and when God brings to heart, when He remembers, it is not merely a recalling of an event of the past, rather He brings it out from the past and makes it effective in the present.

          This type of responsibility is measured in the present. God through prophet Ezekiel admonished “when the upright abandons uprightness and does wrong and dies, he dies because of the wrong which he himself has done” (Ez.18:26). Jesus explained it with the parable of the two sons in the Gospel. The first son that represents the High priest and the elders, that claim to have impeccable character, but rejected God's call to conversion, and to faith for salvation, they say “yes” in words, but in action “no”. Their act is irresponsible. But the second son, who represents the publicans and prostitutes, lived in an irresponsible way in his relation with God in the past, but even though he said “no” with his words, now with his work of adherence and conversion, has started responding “yes” to God. His previous irresponsibility has been purified through his present responsibility. And in this two categories of people we see the bisection of conventional and anonymous Christians. For in the eyes of God, the past does not count much, even though it is important and merits consideration. More important is the present, our responsible yes daily.

          The gospel above all, is equally suggestive of an appeal to repentance and conversion addressed to backsliders in faith and the so called conventional Christians. For some of us today, our situation as Christians really reflects that of the older son that said Yes, but never accomplished it, conventional and nominal Christians. Whereas the reality of the second son is reflective of the situation of those that have turned to Christ in adherence to His words, and these could be called in the parlance of Karl Rahner: anonymous Christians (tax collectors and prostitutes).

          Above all, the second reading surpasses the incoherence between the past and the present, between yes and no, by showing us in Jesus Christ, an eloquent example of total coherency and responsibility before God, His Father. A perfect synthesis between words and actions! The past of Christ does not differ from his present conduct, nor his “yes” of words different from his “yes” in action. Little wonder, St. Paul exhausts us to have “the same sentiments that were in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5) whose life and existence were a unified “yes” to the Father's will. In the words of Jesus “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me, and to complete his work” (Jn.4:34; cf. Heb. 10:7).

          For this, Paul VI affirmed that, “the modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 41), those who are heralds of what they preach. And I would like to add, that every authentic Christian should be able to synthesize these two dimensions in his or her life of faith, that is the spheres of word and actions, for sometimes, the gap between our words and actions may plunge us into spiritual and moral schizophrenia.

 Actio: The story of the two sons in the gospel calls our attention for a deeper and personal reflection, “intus legere”, to read inwardly; to read ourselves from within to know where we fall, whether within the tendencies of the first son or that of the second son. Do my words and profession of faith reflect in my actions?

Oratio: Jesus we thank You for standing as a model for us, in the call to authentic Christian living. Give us abundance of your Grace to be able to live a coherent and sincere life, in adherence to your words, help us to bridge the gap between what we say and what we do. May our existence as Christians be that of an eloquent synthesis between words and actions. Amen!!!

(Fada Vitus M. C. Unegbu)

Do Not Question God's Generosity To Others!

Do Not Question God's Generosity To Others!

(Homily for the 25th Sunday of Ord. Time Yr. A)

Is. 55, 6-9; Phil. 1, 20-24; 27a; Mt. 20, 1-6a

        In the liturgy of the Word today, the theme around which revolves the paramount message is the two ways “the way of man” and “the way of God”. The way of man is manifested in desire of human justice, sometimes expressed with envy: “They were murmuring against the Master saying: The men who came last have done only one hour, and you have treated them the same as us, though we have done a heavy day's work in all the heat” (Mt. 20:11-12). Afterwards, we see the way of God: “My friend, I am not being unjust to you; did we not agree on one denarius? Take your earnings and go. I choose to pay the last comer as much as I pay you” (Mt. 20:13-14). For this, in the first reading, the prophet makes it glaring: “My thoughts are not your thoughts and your ways are not my ways, declares Yahweh” (Is. 55:8-9). Above all, St. Paul in the second reading, indicated to us what should be the way of a Christian, thus: “I am caught in this dilemma: I want to be gone and to be with Christ, and this is by far the stronger desire and yet for your sake to stay alive in this body is a more urgent need” (Phil. 1:23-24). The way of the Christian is that of God's will, as it manifests in time.

         In the Scriptures, we see some passages that manifest explicitly the divine logic, the way and thought of God. We can see it in the episode of the sacrifice of Cain and Abel, the one who found favour in God's sight was not the first born Cain, but Abel the second son (Gen.4:1-16). We see it equally in the context of the anointing of David, David the youngest of the sons of Jesse was chosen to be the King of Israel (1 Sam 16). Also for the Incarnation of Jesus, a small and insignificant village was chosen, Nazareth where no good thing was expected (John 1:46). God's thought and way is really different from our ways. In the divine logic and parlance God often chooses the weak to make them strong, or to say it with our Mother Mary: “you pulled down the mighty from their seats and raised the lowly” (Lk. 1:51-52). And in another passage Jesus says something very emblematic: “the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God ahead of you” (Mt.21,31).

           The first reading (Isaiah 55:6-9) starts with the invitation to seek the Lord while he may be found and to call him while he is near. God invites us through the prophet to enter into communion with him, assuring us of his unfathomable mercy. He therefore invites the wicked to forsake his ways, and to the unrighteous his thoughts. It is God himself who speaks to us, and says “my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are not your ways”. The psalmist confesses that “God is great and worthy of all praise… how good is the Lord… the Lord is just and holy”. This serves as a preparation of our minds to what is to come in the Gospel. “N'ezie uche Chineke, n'uzo ya adighi ka nke mmadu”.

         Today Jesus begins the gospel with a story that beats the human imagination, that apparently seems unjust.   In that passage, Jesus narrates a story of God's justice or rather of his mercy, a man went out in different times to call labourers for his vineyard and he bargained with all at the same amount. Later he paid all of them as they agreed, the same amount, but starting from those that started late. This gave rise to jealousy, and when they complained, he reminded them of their earlier agreement “did you not agree with me for a denarius?” “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?”. The Psalmist once said that “God is in heaven and does whatever He wills” (Psalm 115:3), and that seems to manifest here in the gesture of the Owner of the vineyard.

          The passage can be divided thus into two: -first part presents a generous and sensible man who shows compassion to the needy: that is the thought of God. –second part presents the thought of man, expressed in the complaint of the “first arrived workers”. They were envy of God's goodness (ndi ihe oma mere ndi ozo n'echu ura). The landowner narrated by Jesus represents God, the God that cares for all men, especially the abandoned. The God that calls all, all the times, in different situations, what is needed is to respond to His love. In the case of the workers of the last hour, the master had compassion on them. It reveals that God looks at our needs and not on our merits or on our faults.

           In the passage of the gospel, is as if God calls our attention and says: “Be careful, for my relation with man is not that of a Boss and his worker/employee”. For man tends to apply the categories of a contract, of merit and of commutative justice to his relation with God. Little wonder, in the prophecy of Isaiah, Yahweh says: “For the heavens are as high above earth as my ways are above your ways, my thoughts above your thoughts” (Is. 55:9). With this, it suffices to say that man has not entered into the reality of God's way, the way of freedom and goodness of the Father. This way of God keeps the “just” man uncomfortable. But that is why, man has to pass from the mentality and state of the “just” to that of a “justified”. The kings in Psalm 138:5 understood of His ways, little wonder, the psalmist said that “they sing of Yahweh's ways”.  

           In the history of the chosen people one of the names of God is the “Just”, but God does not choose this way of the Just in His relation with man.  Moreso, the divine revelation speaks of “God's justice”, however, not in commutative terms, but in salvific terms. God is just in that He justifies us, He saves us from our sins, and He redeems us through His Son. His justice has to change the human justice, for His justice is imprinted with love and goodness. His justice is not a contract justice or a justice based on merit or what is ones due. For this, the last phrase of the gospel passage is discomforting for the “just”: “Thus the last will be first, and the first, last” (Mt. 20:16). For the justice and way of God are distant and distinct from man's.

           In all, the prophecy of Isaiah in the first reading underlines the teaching of the Parable of the laborers in the vineyard. And therein, God's justice is characterized by mercy and love. We humans are always in search of justice, but today Jesus shows us the other side of the coin. Jesus shows us the divine justice that transcends the human justice. Mercy and love are immanent in divine justice, while merit and fairness are immanent in human justice. In Hebrew tsedeka stands for both justice and mercy, and it could be interpreted that in God Mercy and Justice are interwoven. We should therefore, learn from God, how not to allow anybody to put a limit to our goodness and generosity. Sometimes we may get angry and ask why things work well even for the person we know that does wrong, rather the right attitude is to thank God for his mercy and goodness, for who are you to question God's generosity? Sometimes, we act like the “first arrived workers”, who murmur and lament when things are working out for others, rather we should learn how to appreciate God's goodness to others.

Model: the second reading presents St. Paul as a man who later in his life understood God's way and thought, and decidedly followed in His path, even while in prison.

Prayer: Jesus our Brother and Savior help us to worship you with a sincere heart and a generous spirit. And May the power of your Word dispel from our minds and hearts the tendency of the “first arrived workers”. Help us O Lord to be less of self and more of God. Amen!!!

(Fada Vitus Chigozie)

Welcome to our Rhema blog!

It is our ardent desire to bring the Word of God at the doorpost of your hearts. The Word we are talking about is not a mere word, rather it is Rhema:Word-event, a Word that produces effects and transformation to it's hearers. So, as you read and listen to the Word of God through us, may it's echo bring about change in your life! I was touched by this Word, may be you too will be touched not only by it, but also by Him!