Righting the World
Jesus and justification
Announcements for September 26, 2020:
Last weekend, we let you know about the Diocesan Ministries Appeal. This yearly appeal - what used to be known as the Bishop's Annual Appeal - allows us to contribute to the good work our diocese is doing in Morris, Sussex, and Passaic Counties.
Let's plan on our (now) regular offering of Masses this weekend. I'll send a text/email update Sunday morning to confirm. If you haven't been receiving these notifications, let me know.
Our weekend Masses are: Saturday 5:15pm in the church; Sunday at 7:30am and 9:00am in the church; Sunday at 9:00am at Walmart; and Sunday at 11:00am outside.
Please be in touch with me if you need anything at all, or if you'd like to share any questions or concerns.
Dear Saints,
When we hear Jesus' parables, we are inclined to think that we know what he's driving at. The pictures Jesus paints, after all, leap off the page; his images make an impression.
This is both the power and the problem of parables. They leave a mark, to be sure, but is it the mark Jesus wants to make? (He actually answers this, somewhat cryptically, in Matthew 13.10-17).
The parable we encounter in our Gospel passage this weekend seems more straightforward than most. In it, Jesus has a father ask his two sons to work in his vineyard. The first says no, but later goes; the second says yes, but doesn't follow through. Jesus closes it out by telling the Temple authorities that, "Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you."
There are complexities to Jesus' dispute with the elders and chief priests that give character and depth to this parable. The religiopolitical rulers want to know who Jesus thinks he is: If he's going to act like he owns the Temple, he should out himself as the Messiah. Jesus has no intention of playing this game on their terms.
Instead, he puts his opponents on the defensive by asking them to take a stand on John the Baptist: Was his baptism of heavenly or earthly origins? If they say earthly they stand to lose the people and their power; if they say heavenly they'll have to answer for their failure to repent and reform their lives.
More to the point, if John's baptism was of heavenly origin, then we have a straight line - from Jesus' anointing in the Jordan and his action in the Temple - to Jesus' claim to be God's king, having rightful authority over the chief priests' domain.
No wonder Jesus' interlocutors plead ignorance: "We don't know!"
Whether or not it fits his opponents' agenda, Jesus is the rightful King of the Jews. His parable gives voice to this reality, and contains within it a summons to the religious rulers to imagine, grapple with, and give themselves over to God's loving rule.
On the one hand, then, we have the chief priests and elders. Though their lives looked like a thoroughgoing "yes" to God, these sinners rejected John's call to repentance. Israel's high-and-mighty, wrapped up in self-righteousness, couldn't come to terms with either John's call to repentance or the Messiah in their midst.
And on the other hand, we have the prostitutes and tax collectors. Though their lives looked like a big "no" to God, these sinners heeded John's call to repentance. Israel's unworthies and ne'er-do-wells, repenting and returning to God's way, came face-to-face with God's merciful love and allowed the Messiah to right their lives.
If I may ask, my friends, where is our yes to God only skin deep? Where are we falling short of Jesus' full "yes" to the Father? And, perhaps more to the point, where are we challenging the powers of this world with the proclamation that Jesus is its rightful Lord?
I love you, and I look forward to seeing you very soon.
Christ's Peace,
Father Daniel
δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ
PS Don't forget the Diocesan Ministries Appeal. Click here or below:
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Check out this weekend's readings:
Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
