Sincere “No” Rather Than Insincere “Yes”!

 (Homily 26^th Sunday in Ordinary Time Yr-A)

     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). Everyone is responsible for his or her actions and inactions. 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. 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 His mission and our Redemption. The three readings set out to teach us that man is free in his choices and, therefore, he is accountable for his actions. So, the exiles of Babylon ought to have assumed responsibility and repented for their actions, instead 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 repented. 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).  

     The first reading (Ez. 18:25-28) presents the intervention of Prophet Ezekiel in the bid to correct the erroneous conception of his contemporaries. 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 speaking about individual responsibility the prophet equally foresaw the possibility of an individual turning from wickedness to righteousness and vice versa. In his words, “when the upright abandons uprightness and does wrong and dies, he dies because of the wrong which he himself has done” (Ez.18:26). However, a person is judged by the new life to which he has turned to, and no longer by the previous life. Be that as it may, the prophet opposed this erroneous idea vigorously: God does not punish the sons for the sins of the fathers or the fathers for the sins of the sons, everybody will be held responsible for his or her actions. Everyone has the possibility to be saved, if only the person wants, God’s continuous mercy and forgiveness to repentant sinners is a proof. The Good News of Ezekiel is that we are not slaves to our past sins. He affirms that we can shake off our past and form new habits; a change of life is possible: “when the wicked man abandons wickedness…Having chosen to renounce all his previous crimes, he will most certainly live, he will not die” (vv. 27-28).

     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 maybe 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.

     In today’s Gospel (Mt.21:28-32) Jesus brought to the fore the need for the conscience of personal responsibility and responsible freedom, with the parable of the two sons. The parable exposes the Jewish leaders who pledged obedience to God but reneged on their promises, whereas the tax collectors and public sinners, who at first refused keep the commands of God are now been converted by the preaching of John the Baptist. The second son represents the High priests, the elders and the Jews, 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 first son, who represents the publicans, prostitutes and pagans, 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 these 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.

     This passage 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 second son that said Yes, but never accomplished it, conventional and nominal Christians. Whereas the reality of the first 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. As a matter of fact, from all indications Jesus must have told this parable to vindicate his proclamation of the Good News of the Kingdom of heaven against those who were criticizing him, “the tax collectors and prostitutes who receive me now will enter into the Kingdom of heaven at the last judgment rather than you, who criticize me for welcoming them”. Indeed, at the heart of this parable is the proclamation of God’s mercy to sinners, His unending mercy.

     In the parable of the two sons, Jesus illustrated the importance of the personal responsibility and collaboration in one’s salvation. Jesus used this parable equally to correct the erroneous and unhealthy claims of the Jews, in particular the Pharisees, who considered themselves as the privileged people of God, the chosen people, thus holding tight to the privileges of the past, without a present effort, they are like the son that said yes to the father. There are also all others, the pagan, the publicans and sinners, those who initially said no to God but later accepted the message of salvation. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and Jews for their pretentious behavior and maintained that it is not enough to be children of Abraham or to hold on to the past privileges. Salvation is a personal thing, and one makes the decision depending on the attitude he assumes before God and before the Good News of Christ.  God’s salvation is for all, it is not a patrimony of a particular set of people, but to all who accept the Word of life proclaimed by Jesus and live accordingly. Even though God’s design is for all to be saved, but there is need for a personal consistent choice, we need to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (cf. Phil. 2:12), unfounded familiarity cannot save. Indeed, the words of John the Baptist to  the Pharisees and Sadducees speak volume on this, “do not presume to tell yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father,” because, I tell you God can raise children for Abraham from these stones” (Mt. 3:9). God has offered salvation for all men and women; it now depends on the free response of each person.

     Furthermore, Jesus insisted on another aspect: that is on the concreteness of one’s response. “It is not anyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” who will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Mt. 7:21). It is not the one who is contended with mere sentiments and unfounded affiliation, but he who translates daily into concrete gestures and actions his believe and adherence to God. This is why the son who said no at first and later carried out the will of their father is preferred to the one who said yes but did not fulfill his yes. Jesus calls us in our daily decisions to let our actions reflect our Christian values. It is a call to imbibe the value and principle of orthopraxy: right believing and right living. The theme of personal responsibility which is predominant in today’s readings, especially the first reading and the Gospel, emphasizes that even though our salvation is the work or the gratuitous gift of God for man, however, it requires our human collaboration and freedom. Little wonder, St Augustine will say that “the God who created you without you, will not save you without you.” The CCC puts it thus: “God created us without us: but he did not will to save us without us.” Therefore, we need to express our human freedom making effort daily to convert from evil to good. No one should be blocked irremediably in his or her past life.

     This parable should inspire us to action, for a sincere examination of conscience, how true are we to our profession of faith in God? Do we accompany the Yes we say to God with concrete actions or our Yes is empty, unbelievable and devoid of obedience of faith? How are we making effort daily to maintain and concretize the Yes we have said to God at Baptism? To which of the sons do we identify ourselves more with? Brethren, the risk is grave because if we undermine the daily concrete effort of living out our calling and filial identity, our Yes will be inauthentic. In fact, as St. Peter would have it, “Instead of this, brothers, never allow your choice or calling to waver; then there will be no danger of your stumbling, for in this way you will be given the generous gift of entry to the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2Pt. 1:10-11). The words of Jesus: “tax collectors and prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you” (v.31), should spur us on to reflect deeply on our manner of life. We are therefore called to a life of synthesis between words and actions!

     In the second reading (Phil. 2:1-11) we see the great Christological hymn. The hymn presents Christ as a model and it concentrates on ethical exhortation. As such, Christ becoming our model, we are therefore expected to live as Christians distinguished by unity, love, humility and consideration for others. By so doing, we manifest the same attitude that Christ showed when he humbled himself to become man and to accept death on the cross. According some exegetes we have to be careful while interpreting this passage, so that Christ will not just be seen merely as an external example, for he is the source of redemptive life. St. Paul offers us wonderful suggestions that will help us to express authentically our free adhesion to God’s plan of salvation manifested to us in Christ. Let us make the words of the apostle a program of life this week and beyond: “be of a single mind, one in love, one in heart and one in mind. Nothing is to be done out of jealousy or vanity; instead, out of humility of mind everyone should give preference to others, ‘everyone pursuing not selfish interests but those of others” (vv.2b-4). St. Paul shows us in Jesus Christ, an eloquent example of total coherency and responsibility before God, His Father. A perfect synthesis between words and actions! His “yes” of words is never 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). 

     In all, as it is suggestive of today’s message we cannot but remember the words of Paul VI: “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 and doers 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. Therefore, 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? We manifest our love and adherence to Him when we put His words into practice. Jesus says: “If you love me, keep my commandments” (Jn. 14:15). Lord 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!!!

(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC) 

Do Not Question God’s Generosity To Others!

 (Homily 25^th Sunday in Ordinary Time Yr-A)

          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 the desire for 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). 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, indicates what should be the way of a Christian: “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 ought to be influenced by God’s will, as it manifests in time. The overriding message of today emanates from the Gospel and that is the fact that it’s never too late for God. God offers full wages to all, whether we have served him all our lives or we have turned to him at the eleventh hour. However, man may say it’s not fair! Is God fair?

          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). God’s ways and thoughts are indeed different from man’s. We cannot but remember that experience of St Thomas Aquinas, on his deathbed, when he was caught up with the realities of human finitude and the density of the divine mystery, he kindly begged that all his writings on the nature of God be destroyed, because he was convinced of their limitations and inadequacy. Even though this request of his was never carried out, but this remains as a reminder to us that the reality and the logic of God transcend the human mind and logic. Perhaps, God is indeed infinitely greater than any concept of him the human mind can form or speculate. St. Paul upon having a dint of the uniqueness, density and diversity of the thoughts and ways of God exclaimed: “How rich and deep are the wisdom and the knowledge of God! We cannot reach to the root of his decisions or his ways. Who has ever known the mind of the Lord? Who has ever been his adviser?” (Rm. 11:33-34).

          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 prophet cautioned the community of the chosen people for operating on purely human scales and standards. He therefore insisted that God's ways and thoughts were not to be determined by Israel's ways and thoughts. The words of prophet Isaiah: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways” (vv.8-9) underline the teaching of the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. The psalmist on his part 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.    

          Today Jesus begins the Gospel (Mt. 20:1-6a) with a story that beats the human imagination, a story that apparently seems unjust. In that passage, Jesus narrates a story of God’s justice or rather of his mercy and generosity, 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 the first hired workers 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. With this parable, Matthew intends to portray the nature of belonging to Christian community and the Kingdom of heaven. Thus, he acknowledged the leaders and other exemplary Christians in the community. He however, pointed out the eleventh-hour members of the Christian community who did not possess the credibility like those others. He thus advised all to emphasize on God's capacity to give, not humankind's tendency to restrict and control. Mathew proposed a Jesus who transcended purely human parameters and standards of reward. He presented Jesus in the image of his Father: a giver of gifts. In this passage, we see the thoughts of man, the first arrived workers began to murmur. They were jealous of God’s generosity. Jesus narrated this parable because of the Pharisees who were scandalized of his attitude towards those at the margins of their religion, or outsiders like publicans and sinners. This parable was born out of this negative reaction of the Pharisees, and thus Jesus intends to let the Pharisees understand that the Kingdom of heaven is open to all even those they have written off by their own standards, no special merit for the order of arrival. In God’s standard the last workers automatically were made partakers of the Kingdom like the old chosen people (cf. Eph. 3:6).

          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 or employee”. For man tends to apply the categories of a contract, of merit, of reward 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 the “justified”. In Mathew’s Gospel, Jesus used this parable of the laborers in the vineyard as an invitation to Christians not to crave for rewards. Even though rewards are not denied, but they are by no means the aim of toiling for Christ and for the Kingdom of heaven.  

         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. The landowner narrated by Jesus represents God, the God that cares for all men, especially those in need. God 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 history of the chosen people one of the names of God is the “Just”, but God does not choose this way in His relation with man.  More so, 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 is imprinted with love and goodness. His justice is not a contract justice or a justice based on merit or what is ones due. 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.

          The first workers complained and came up against one of life’s realities and perturbing assertion: It’s not fair, life is not fair. So many times and in different circumstances life leaves us feeling cheated. In fact, think about the couple who pray for a child, spend thousands on fertility specialists and drugs, still they have no baby of their own. Then even as they try to adopt they enter into a long waiting list, maybe all to no avail. Meanwhile, a young boy and a young girl make one mistake and one-time, the girl ends up pregnant. Then the couples lament, it’s not fair. In all, the truth is that life is not meant to be fair. Some people are battling with cancer or heart disease for instance, while others no. Some are rich while others are poor. In fact, an existential lesson we learn early in life is that life is not fair. Then here comes the question of questions: Is God fair? I will answer in the negative, No, God is not fair, God is generous. God is merciful, loving and forgiving. God goes beyond being fair, He is a Giver of gifts.

          The passage ends with the intervention of the owner of the vineyard: why should you be envious because i am generous? The question of Jesus and the entire episode reveals that while justice measures merit, goodness and generosity measure the need. The Landowner was generous to the last hour workers because the wages of one hour work will not be able to take care of their families; upon this consideration he paid them the full salary of the day. The parable is therefore not a description of an act of arbitrariness, but the gesture of a man animated by goodness, generosity and full of sensibility towards the poor. That’s how God is! This is what Jesus was intending to communicate by means of this parable, that God is so good that He even makes publicans and prostitutes participants of His Kingdom.

           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 and fairness, 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 and to treat people not as they deserve, but with love and kindness. 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.

          The second reading (Phil. 1:20-24; 27a) presents St. Paul as a man who later in his life comprehended a bit God’s ways and thoughts, and decidedly followed in His path, even while in prison. Today we shift from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, which we have been reading for several Sundays now, to his letter to the Philippians, which was written the time Paul was imprisoned. In our present passage, Paul faces the thoughts of a possible martyrdom. Indeed, the passage presents the apostle’s meditation on the prospects of life and death. He found himself in a state of confusion. However, whether he dies or lives Paul was convinced that Christ will be honoured in his body, either by his labors for the Gospel or by actual martyrdom. St. Paul believed that his martyrdom will perhaps contribute more effectively than his apostolic labors, to the fulfillment of God’s designs in the salvation history. Going back to our earlier reflection on reward, we can as well link Paul’s reflection on martyrdom with the parable of the Gospel. For like the disciples in Mathew, Paul left all and followed Jesus, bearing his apostolic witnesses in and through suffering. As such, it could be tempting for the apostle to crave for reward when he suffers martyrdom. Although, one may argue that his longing “to be with Christ” is reward oriented, but Paul resisted that temptation. In the end St. Paul tells us the only necessary thing: “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ” (v.27a).

          Above all, in the first reading, we heard God say: “My ways are not your ways.” And the event that took place in the Gospel evidenced that fact. The men who worked all day long were paid a day’s wage, and the last hired worked an hour and received the same full day’s wage. Each of them was paid not what he earned but what he needed to feed his family. God is a Giver of gifts, He is generous. We need to imitate God’s generosity and loving kindness. Today in this Eucharistic celebration we have gathered around the altar of our Lord Jesus Christ and with humility like those last arrived workers of the parable, we are going to receive unmerited and undeserved blessings and favors, and we shall go home full of joy because of God’s generosity and kindness towards us. 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!!!

(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)