First Reading Commentary
We are “children” of God and the words “not
fair” are likely to be very familiar words to those of us who are parents. Young children say it frequently. But this Reading has nothing to do with who
has more presents under the Christmas tree or who gets to stay up later on a
school night. This Reading is about sin
in the worst degree -- mortal sin. And
the consequence of mortal sin is separation from God or spiritual death.
As Catholics, Confession is how we are once
again reconciled to God. That sacrament
is how we preserve our life, turn away from sin and do “what is right and just”.
Consider the love and mercy our Lord has for us:
Since God is Perfection, and therefore cannot be in error, He still listens to
our complaints, and because He is God, knowing that we are wrong, He,
nevertheless, became Man and took all our faults upon Himself, our sentence
upon Himself, in order that we may spend eternity with Him. Who still wants to say, “The Lord’s way is
not fair?”
Second Reading Commentary
Although a shorter version of this Reading is
permissible, the beauty of the longer version is that it explains why we need
to avoid selfishness and conduct ourselves in love, mercy, compassion and put
the needs of others before our own.
As we read on in the second half of this Reading,
which is excluded in the shorter version, we learn that loving us and humbly
putting us before Himself is exactly what Jesus did; and following in His
Footsteps is how we ideally live our lives.
To read that Jesus “emptied Himself” means that He made Himself of no
account whatsoever; it is a fulfillment of the psalmist’s words: “I am a worm,
and no man, the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people” (Psalm 21 [22]:7). Of course, the love we share, unlike Christ’s
love, has its limitations and conditions.
Our hearts would implode if we fully understood
the Love that compels our Lord’s actions described here in this letter from
Saint Paul. At His Name alone “every
knee should bend” which was prophesied by Isaiah: “Every knee shall be bowed to
Me” (Isaiah 45:24).
The Creator of all that is known and unknown
joined the ranks of humanity, mere specs of dust in this vast universe,
subjecting Himself to our lower nature and becoming a willing Victim for that
fallen nature. The reason He loves us so
much will likely never be fully comprehended in this life. Contemplate how close our Savior surely keeps
us to His Heart. Unfortunately, our lack of fully understanding God’s love for
us will for this lifespan cause us to fall short in expressing our gratitude to
God for saving us. Jesus does teach us,
however, what it is we must strive for with the help of His grace: “Be perfect,
as also your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew
5:48).
Gospel Commentary
“What
is your opinion?” is a dangerous question when it comes to revealed truth. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches
that we must humbly cleanse our hearts of certain false images drawn from this
world (cf. CCC
2779).
God the
Son revealed to us God the Father when He taught us how to pray. God the Father revealed Jesus as His Son at
His baptism by John, and also at the Transfiguration. It was also at Christ’s baptism that God the
Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove.
According
to “Status of Global Mission, 2008” there are about 39,000 Christian
denominations. This hardly seeks to
comply with Christ’s prayer: “Holy Father, keep them in Your Name whom You have
given Me: that they may be one, as We also are” (John 17:11).
The United
States Catholic Bishops as well as other members of the clergy have stood up to
defend and clarify Church teaching because of the erroneous interpretations of
it that have come forth from some of our politicians and the secular media.
In the
parable that Jesus presents to us in this Gospel, the first son tells his
father that he will not work in the vineyard but later changes his mind and
ends up laboring in the vineyard. In our
own faith many might humorously refer to this as good, old fashioned Catholic
guilt. The other son, however, agrees to
work in the vineyard but doesn’t show up.
He verbally indicated it was a worthy task but had second thoughts. Again, using our own faith, this appears to
be what is commonly known as cafeteria Catholicism -- picking and choosing what
is worthy of being believed or not believed about the faith.
You may
recall in the Gospel three weeks ago that Jesus identified the Church as the
final authority, having the power to bind and loose. This is revealed truth. It’s right there in the pages of Scripture. Cafeteria Catholicism is caused by what the
Catechism defines as false images drawn from this world. It’s no secret that within the Church there
are ordained members whose behavior has been considerably less than
Christ-like; and unfortunately this also includes some of the hierarchy. It’s easy, then, for a rational human being
to hypothesize that if morally ignoble activity is occurring within the Church,
then what Christ said about the Church must not be true or what He said was badly
translated. And if what He said isn’t
true or misunderstood then the question that naturally follows is: What else
isn’t true? And then one starts to
develop his/her own ideas about what is true and what is false and suddenly another
among the faithful becomes a cafeteria Catholic. This is dangerous and conforms to the explanation
of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI about moral relativism. Picking and choosing what is worthy of belief
is a blueprint for moral relativism -- becoming one’s own god or pope.
What
appears to be a somewhat unpracticed teaching among the members of the Church
today is the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Strangely enough, statistically there are Catholics who no longer
believe in the Real Presence. What are
those false images drawn from this world that are punching holes into the faith
of God’s people? There are many answers
but certainly at the top of the list is rampant secularism, corruption within
the Church, desensitization to immorality, and even natural disasters can lead
to questioning God’s love for us. This
is a trap that is fallen into when one allows the world to dictate his/her
faith or lack of it. All of these
examples and more lead to a question that has no absolute discernible answer: How
could a loving God allow these things to happen?
Getting
back to revealed truth, Sacred Scripture has words pertinent to this topic
worthy of further reflection: “Woe to the world because of scandals. For it is necessary that scandals come” (Matthew 18:7). “You will hear of wars and reports of wars;
see that you are not alarmed, for these things must happen. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom
against kingdom; there will be famines and earthquakes from place to place” (Matthew 24:6-7). “Many will be led into sin; they will betray
and hate one another. Many false
prophets will arise and deceive many; and because of the increase of evil
doing, the love of many will grow cold.
But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:10-13). “Beloved, do not be surprised that a trial by
fire is occurring among you, as if something strange were happening to
you. But rejoice to the extent that you
share in the sufferings of Christ” (1
Peter 4:12:13). “Be sober and
vigilant. Your opponent the devil is
prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
These
are only some examples; there are plenty more.
But after reflecting on what Scripture reveals, feelings of God
abandoning us or not existing at all because of the condition of the world
should be lessened as well as doubts about what the Church teaches. Outside of Scripture, the Catechism and the writings
of the Fathers expound abundantly on the teachings of the Church, much of which
can be accessed via the internet.
Some of
the hard sayings from Jesus Himself as well as from others under the guidance
of the Holy Spirit may not be easy to accept, but they are, nevertheless, the
truth. As we live and work together in
these trying times, comfort can be found in the fact that God is true to what
He has revealed; and His Truth is eternal.
And faithfulness to Him promises everlasting joy and peace.
