Apparently Holy Mother
Church wants us to learn something about God’s justice and mercy, because the
themes of this Sunday’s Readings repeat, with variation, those of last week’s.
Last week we had to deal
with the difficult Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, which raised the
issue of whether God is “unfair” in his merciful generosity
This week the topic of
God’s “fairness” rises again at the beginning of the First Reading:
Reading 1 Ez 18:25-28
Thus says the LORD:
You say, “The LORD's way is not fair!”
Hear now, house of Israel:
Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?
When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies,
it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die.
But if he turns from the wickedness he has committed,
he does what is right and just,
he shall preserve his life;
since he has turned away from all the sins that he has committed,
he shall surely live, he shall not die.
You say, “The LORD's way is not fair!”
Hear now, house of Israel:
Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?
When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies,
it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die.
But if he turns from the wickedness he has committed,
he does what is right and just,
he shall preserve his life;
since he has turned away from all the sins that he has committed,
he shall surely live, he shall not die.
The Lectionary is brilliant and a great improvement over
what we had prior to the Council (Vatican II), but one could wish at times that
more of the context was included, especially for some of these First Readings.
In the present case, for example, one really needs to look
up Ezekiel 18 and read the entire chapter to grasp the significance of the few
verses we read in Mass.
Perhaps the assumption is that the homilist will do
this. He ought to, but then, there is so much that our priest-celebrants ought to do, but their time is limited.
In context, we discover that the people of Israel whom
Ezekiel addresses have adopted a kharma-like concept that one’s fate in life
was already determined by the righteousness or wickedness of one’s
parents. Thus they quoted a proverb: “The
fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”
The people of Israel were using this concept to explain
their current political, economic, and military setbacks as divine punishment
for the faults of the previous generation.
“We are experiencing the results of our parent’s behavior.” This attitude seems quite modern; in popular culture, all of our current social ills are because the "repressiveness" and "bigotry" of our parents' generation.
Yet what is surprising to our modern sensibilities is that this
supposed arrangement of reality was considered right and fair by the people of
Israel. When Ezekiel tries to preach
personal accountability, that each individual receives the punishment or reward
for their own actions, the people complain: “Why should not the son suffer for
the iniquity of the father?” (Ezek 18:19).
In fact, it is the doctrine of personal accountability—each judged for
his own sins or merit—that the people rebel against when they say: “The Lord’s
way is not fair!”
What seemed unfair to the people of Israel was particularly
the idea that a wicked person could repent, turn to God, and in this way gain
life and escape destruction. The
possibility of repentance and salvation seemed to be a scandal.
While we don’t share the Israelites’ “kharma-like” mentality
in contemporary culture, we, like them, have our own ways of blaming our
parents for our dysfunctions. Granted,
all of our parents were imperfect and did things that have hampered or harmed
our personal development. At the same
time, any good therapist or counselor will tell you that the patient who gets
stuck at the point of blaming his parents is not on the road to recovery. Recovery begins when we start taking responsibility for our actions and our life.
The oracle of Ezekiel proclaimed in this Sunday’s Mass is a
wake-up call for us to stop blaming other people, particularly the previous
generation, for the problems we are in—specifically, our spiritual
problems. Ezekiel calls us to take
responsibility for our actions, to repent of our sin, to turn to God and
receive life.
A comment is in order on Ezekiel’s doctrine of reward and
punishment, which seems too clean-cut for us.
According to Ezekiel, the evil doer dies and the righteous man
lives. But we all know counter-examples,
most notably the Passion of Our Lord.
How then are we to understand what Ezekiel is saying?
I would suggest, first of all, that we not neglect the
natural and literal sense of Ezekiel’s statement.
True, we all know situations where good people have suffered
or died untimely, or when wicked people have seemed to prosper for a long
time.
At the same time, there is a natural connection between
virtue and life, vice and death.
Those who are faithful to their spouses, hard working,
practice moderation in eating and drinking, treat others with honesty, pray,
etc. do live longer, healthier lives
on average, as this author shows.
On the other hand, vice shortens one’s life. Statistics show that the average violent
criminal has a life expectancy of just three years counting from his or her
first violent offense. Gang members in
America live, on average, to the ripe old age of 20 years and 5 months. See here.
However, if all we consider is temporal life,
counter-examples are easy to find, and Ezekiel’s words do not always hold
true. Ultimately the “life” and “death”
of which God speaks through Ezekiel are the same as the “life” and “death”
discussed in Genesis 2-3, and by Jesus in John 6: “This is the bread which
comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from
heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread
which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (John 6:50-51). We are talking about eternal life here. Even if the righteous man is cut short in his prime, he can trust in the eternal life that God promises "to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality" (Rom 2:7).
P. The Responsorial Psalm praises God for the generosity of his
mercy. Here again, our word “mercy” is hesed, “covenant faithfulness.” Hebrew employs an honorific plural to
emphasize concepts, so we find in this psalm the term hesadekha, “your mercies.”
This means “your great mercy,” not that God has more than one kind of
mercy:
Responsorial Psalm Ps 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14.
R. (6a) Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your love are from of old.
The sins of my youth and my frailties remember not;
in your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
and teaches the humble his way.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your love are from of old.
The sins of my youth and my frailties remember not;
in your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
and teaches the humble his way.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
2. Let the lector who opts for the short reading (Phil 2:1-5)
this week be anathema! How could we fail
to read the beautiful and famous Christ-hymn of Philippians 2?
Reading 2 Phil 2:1-11
Brothers and sisters:
If there is any encouragement in Christ,
any solace in love,
any participation in the Spirit,
any compassion and mercy,
complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love,
united in heart, thinking one thing.
Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory;
rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,
each looking out not for his own interests,
but also for those of others.
Have in you the same attitude
that is also in Christ Jesus,
Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
If there is any encouragement in Christ,
any solace in love,
any participation in the Spirit,
any compassion and mercy,
complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love,
united in heart, thinking one thing.
Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory;
rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,
each looking out not for his own interests,
but also for those of others.
Have in you the same attitude
that is also in Christ Jesus,
Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Paul calls us to a
participation in the “Spirit” which is characterized by “compassion and
mercy.” This is the Spirit of the God
who is eager to welcome back the sinner who repents, irrespective of his
previous sins or those of his parents.
We are called to imitate
the selflessness of Christ, who never grasped anything for himself or was
jealous of his own privileges, like the first workers from last week’s
Gospel. In Christ perfect and gratuitous
gift of himself, even to the point of death, we see God’s abounding mercy
perfectly demonstrated. Yet in Christ’s
exaltation and glorification at the right hand of the Father, we see God’s
justice perfectly displayed, since it is only just that Christ’s self-emptying
should be answered with such honor. In
this way God’s mercy and justice embrace.
G. Finally, the Gospel:
Gospel Mt 21:28-32
Jesus said to the chief priests
and elders of the people:
"What is your opinion?
A man had two sons.
He came to the first and said,
'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.'
He said in reply, 'I will not, '
but afterwards changed his mind and went.
The man came to the other son and gave the same order.
He said in reply, 'Yes, sir, 'but did not go.
Which of the two did his father's will?"
They answered, "The first."
Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you,
tax collectors and prostitutes
are entering the kingdom of God before you.
When John came to you in the way of righteousness,
you did not believe him;
but tax collectors and prostitutes did.
Yet even when you saw that,
you did not later change your minds and believe him."
"What is your opinion?
A man had two sons.
He came to the first and said,
'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.'
He said in reply, 'I will not, '
but afterwards changed his mind and went.
The man came to the other son and gave the same order.
He said in reply, 'Yes, sir, 'but did not go.
Which of the two did his father's will?"
They answered, "The first."
Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you,
tax collectors and prostitutes
are entering the kingdom of God before you.
When John came to you in the way of righteousness,
you did not believe him;
but tax collectors and prostitutes did.
Yet even when you saw that,
you did not later change your minds and believe him."
Here
we are faced with two groups that correspond to the two groups described by
Ezekiel in the First Reading: virtuous ones who turn away, and wicked ones who
repent.
The
tax collectors and prostitutes who are entering the Kingdom of God correspond
to the son who refused to go into the vineyard at first, but afterward did.
The
Pharisees correspond to the son who promised to go work, but did not.
It’s
important to emphasize that the “tax collectors and prostitutes” of whom Jesus
speaks are those who repented and changed their lifestyle at the preaching
of John the Baptist! Jesus is not saying that lifestyles of extortion
and/or sexual promiscuity are compatible with the Kingdom of God.
The
Pharisees Jesus castigates were people who had been trained in virtue from
their youth, and gave lip service to the principles of morality expressed in
the Scripture, but were skilled at finding legalistic loopholes that would
permit a lifestyle of self-indulgence, even at the expense of others. Not every Pharisee was like this, however. Some were noble individuals.
Jesus
indicates that the repentance of notorious public sinners (the tax collectors
and prostitutes) should have been a sign of the authenticity of the ministry of
John in the eyes of the Pharisees. They
should have recognized the principle that “by their fruit you shall know
them.” The fruits of repentance brought
by John authenticated his ministry.
Mother
Church is raising her voice at us—yes, even yelling at us—this Sunday to wake
up and not be like the Pharisees. How
not to be like a Pharisee? Don’t leave Mass thinking the Gospel wasn’t
speaking about you. Maybe we haven’t
practice extortion or committed sex acts for pay, but in Jesus standards, a
lustful look is adultery (Matt 5:28), and heaping up money for ourselves, even
by honest means, is the worship of a different god (Matt 6:24). We, too, need to repent.
The
Good News is the “mercies” of God: in order to forgive the repentant, he
gives himself completely for us and to us, having taken on the form of a man,
then the form of a slave, then the form of bread ...
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