Readings: Isaiah 55: 6-9; Psalm 145: 2-3, 8-9, 17-18 (18a); Philemon 1: 20c-24, 27a; Matthew 20: 1-16a
Grow to Capacity!
There are a few key things I want to ask you to focus on today. God invites us all into the fullness of his love, but do we allow ourselves to grow in the capacity to truly understand and recognize that fullness? That invitation is especially given through God’s gift of forgiveness, as it is shared with us in our witnessing the Good News of His Son Jesus Christ. But as we see in today’s Word, God’s ways are not our ways, nor can we demand that our ways, be His. Pope Francis stole the headlines again this past week, as he married twenty couples at St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican in Rome. These are the first weddings presided over by a Pope since John Paul II performed a wedding for eight couples back in the year 2000. ABC News began its article this way, "In another signal that Pope Francis’ Catholic Church is not your mother’s Catholic Church, the transformative pontiff married 20 couples at the Vatican on Sunday, some of whom had lived together and one who had a child out of wedlock." While some celebrated the ceremony with phrases like, "I love the Pope", or "That's different!" Others complained wondering if the Pope was endorsing invalid cohabitation, or having children out of wedlock, or now has decided to allow bare shoulder dresses in the Basilica, basically saying, "Hey, that's not fair!" No matter the headline, compliment, complaint or the perspective, our Holy Father has once again grabbed our attention to point us in the direction of embracing a Gospel that calls us to understand that God's love is for all, and that His ways are not always our ways. Like the landowner in today’s Gospel, Pope Francis, offers us a great example of our Lord’s invitation: We need to invite others to come closer to Christ, and back into His Church. Those newlyweds from all walks of life? Their response, like that of the work crews invited into the vineyard, challenge us to grow in our own capacity to recognize the gift of God's love and forgiveness.
My friends, this is not a new concept, and our Holy Father Pope Francis is not writing new rules, or making special exceptions. No. He is simply re-emphasizing the Good News of Jesus Christ as the radical Truth that it has always been. Francis said in his Homily to the couples, that marriage was "real life, and not a TV show." I would add that this is also true for those who are looking for healing, or who are getting ready to begin a new start in life. We all come to the Lord from our "real life", and His invitation is genuine and ready when we are!
Today's Gospel parable is both a story of that sort of invitation and the preparation on our part to truly ready ourselves to know the God who loves us. The owner of the vineyard went out to find help to assist him in harvesting his vineyard. In our world companies post available jobs, and wait for you and me and countless others to come to them to apply, with the logic being that there is an endless supply of workers who would want to work in the company, and they get to choose the best. But the Gospel, on the other hand, reflects a reality that there is only a limited amount of workers available; in this case, for the various vineyards to share. That is why the landowner went into town at dawn to seek out and hire, at a normal day's wage, what he thought to be a big enough crew. When he needed more help, he was pleased to find workers still available even at 5pm to help with the harvest. Notice the teaching moment of the parable, for when the day ended, the landowner asked them to be paid starting with the last crew who only worked an hour, and so on, making the first crew wait. In our experience of work, I know we can relate with the frustration of the crew who put in more clock hours than the others. But the landowner did say that they were being hired for "the usual day's wage, and that was the agreement." The early workers just grumbled, and said, "Hey, that's not fair!" Notice that the early crew didn't seem to recognize the genuine appreciation of the landowner as he was able to put together a crew throughout the day to get the job done. They just focused on fairness, instead of the Good News that others were invited to benefit as they had. If you’re stuck in the fairness of it all, hear the Lord speaking in today's First Reading from Isaiah, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways." Meanwhile, the late crew must have said something like, "I like that guy!" or, "This is different!" But I’m sure they understood the owner’s appreciation when they received his generous gift. And that is the crux of it all. We must grow in our capacity to recognize when God's fullness in our midst. This is why Isaiah invites us to "seek the LORD while he may be found, [and] call him while he is near."
So, we’re all invited, and we’re all promised a reward, no matter the starting point. But let me ask this: What will be our work in the Lord’s Vineyard? One invitation was made last week, so I hope you were able to prayerfully consider your Catholic Charities Pledge, and you either jumped online, or brought your card to place in the basket today! Another invitation is for us to hand on our faith! Today is Catechetical Sunday, and I’d like for us to consider the great work being done by those who teach and share the Good News right here in our own community. St. John's is blessed with over 2600 registered families, each called in their own way to teach the faith; some to their children. Our Religious Ed. weekly program has 750 students taught by 115 teachers and aides. This includes a youth group reaching close to 200 kids each week. Our parish school has 450 enrolled, taught by 32 teachers. Over 100 of our young people from the parish attend John Paul II Catholic High! There is also a vibrant Home School Co-Op of close to 50 students... That's over 1200 kids, taking the Good News to their public and private schools, and back into their homes! And on top of that, our life long learning continues in an Adult Education Program that welcomes well over 200 participants every week. Including close to 75 in an RCIA process that has begun. If you're interested in joining us, please come Wednesday evening at 7:15pm in the Church Basement.
God's ways, are not ours, but when He invites us into the vineyard He does so because there is work to do, and He wants us to grow in our faith and understanding so that we can truly recognize His! As the Catechetical Sunday posters in the vestibule say, the goal is "Teaching About God's Gift of Forgiveness”, another homily all together. But its fitting to hear this as this is the starting point for us all! Parents and teachers are dedicating their time and efforts to the cultivation, care and harvesting of a new crop of believers. You are providing them with an example to follow, so that they too may grow in their ability to recognize the fullness of God’s love. When they learn that God's priceless gifts of love and forgiveness are for all to embrace, and they share the invitation with others to grow in their faith and come closer to Christ, just like the Holy Father did this past week, and you parents, catechists and teachers do every day, we all become a Church that is more capable of recognizing the true nature of God, and the Good News of Jesus Christ that continues to be the same as it ever was!
My friends, this is not a new concept, and our Holy Father Pope Francis is not writing new rules, or making special exceptions. No. He is simply re-emphasizing the Good News of Jesus Christ as the radical Truth that it has always been. Francis said in his Homily to the couples, that marriage was "real life, and not a TV show." I would add that this is also true for those who are looking for healing, or who are getting ready to begin a new start in life. We all come to the Lord from our "real life", and His invitation is genuine and ready when we are!
Today's Gospel parable is both a story of that sort of invitation and the preparation on our part to truly ready ourselves to know the God who loves us. The owner of the vineyard went out to find help to assist him in harvesting his vineyard. In our world companies post available jobs, and wait for you and me and countless others to come to them to apply, with the logic being that there is an endless supply of workers who would want to work in the company, and they get to choose the best. But the Gospel, on the other hand, reflects a reality that there is only a limited amount of workers available; in this case, for the various vineyards to share. That is why the landowner went into town at dawn to seek out and hire, at a normal day's wage, what he thought to be a big enough crew. When he needed more help, he was pleased to find workers still available even at 5pm to help with the harvest. Notice the teaching moment of the parable, for when the day ended, the landowner asked them to be paid starting with the last crew who only worked an hour, and so on, making the first crew wait. In our experience of work, I know we can relate with the frustration of the crew who put in more clock hours than the others. But the landowner did say that they were being hired for "the usual day's wage, and that was the agreement." The early workers just grumbled, and said, "Hey, that's not fair!" Notice that the early crew didn't seem to recognize the genuine appreciation of the landowner as he was able to put together a crew throughout the day to get the job done. They just focused on fairness, instead of the Good News that others were invited to benefit as they had. If you’re stuck in the fairness of it all, hear the Lord speaking in today's First Reading from Isaiah, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways." Meanwhile, the late crew must have said something like, "I like that guy!" or, "This is different!" But I’m sure they understood the owner’s appreciation when they received his generous gift. And that is the crux of it all. We must grow in our capacity to recognize when God's fullness in our midst. This is why Isaiah invites us to "seek the LORD while he may be found, [and] call him while he is near."
So, we’re all invited, and we’re all promised a reward, no matter the starting point. But let me ask this: What will be our work in the Lord’s Vineyard? One invitation was made last week, so I hope you were able to prayerfully consider your Catholic Charities Pledge, and you either jumped online, or brought your card to place in the basket today! Another invitation is for us to hand on our faith! Today is Catechetical Sunday, and I’d like for us to consider the great work being done by those who teach and share the Good News right here in our own community. St. John's is blessed with over 2600 registered families, each called in their own way to teach the faith; some to their children. Our Religious Ed. weekly program has 750 students taught by 115 teachers and aides. This includes a youth group reaching close to 200 kids each week. Our parish school has 450 enrolled, taught by 32 teachers. Over 100 of our young people from the parish attend John Paul II Catholic High! There is also a vibrant Home School Co-Op of close to 50 students... That's over 1200 kids, taking the Good News to their public and private schools, and back into their homes! And on top of that, our life long learning continues in an Adult Education Program that welcomes well over 200 participants every week. Including close to 75 in an RCIA process that has begun. If you're interested in joining us, please come Wednesday evening at 7:15pm in the Church Basement.
God's ways, are not ours, but when He invites us into the vineyard He does so because there is work to do, and He wants us to grow in our faith and understanding so that we can truly recognize His! As the Catechetical Sunday posters in the vestibule say, the goal is "Teaching About God's Gift of Forgiveness”, another homily all together. But its fitting to hear this as this is the starting point for us all! Parents and teachers are dedicating their time and efforts to the cultivation, care and harvesting of a new crop of believers. You are providing them with an example to follow, so that they too may grow in their ability to recognize the fullness of God’s love. When they learn that God's priceless gifts of love and forgiveness are for all to embrace, and they share the invitation with others to grow in their faith and come closer to Christ, just like the Holy Father did this past week, and you parents, catechists and teachers do every day, we all become a Church that is more capable of recognizing the true nature of God, and the Good News of Jesus Christ that continues to be the same as it ever was!
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