28th Sunday Year A 2014

28^th. Sunday of Year (A) 

         (Isaiah 25:6-10; St. Paul to the Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20; Matthew 22:1-14)

Today we are celebrating God’s infinite goodness to us in Jesus Christ His Son, Our Lord, and also His yearly generosity to us in the harvest.  There is a close connection between these two aspects of God's love for us, because, in the course of Mass the celebrant says:

Blessed are You, Lord God of all creation, for through Your goodness we have received the bread we offer You, fruit of the earth and work of human hands: it will become for us the bread of life.

Similarly, when offering the wine he says:       

Blessed are You, Lord God of all creation, for through Your goodness we have received the wine we offer You, fruit of the vine and work of human hands: it will become our spiritual drink.

In that way we are led to recognize that not only is the whole of God’s creation good, but also that, because of its natural goodness, the whole of God’s creation can become a channel for our supernatural sanctification and ultimately -- most mysteriously -- share with us in a glorious restoration.

Creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.   (Romans 8:21)

Understanding this relationship between natural good and supernatural blessing, we are in a position to appreciate Isaiah's words:

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines. 

We recognize that such an earthly, natural, picture can well imply an infinitely more splendid, joyous and fulfilling, occasion: a banquet of heavenly consequence at which divine life and eternal beatitude is celebrated.  This Isaiah foresaw indeed, because after those words describing an earthly feast, he immediately went on to speak of the spiritual blessings of heavenly life, where suffering and death have no part:

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples… On this mountain He will destroy the veil that veils all peoples … He will destroy death forever.  The Lord God will wipe away the tears from every face; the reproach of His people He will remove from the whole earth….  For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain.

On this mountain, recalls those high places which ancient peoples used to climb in order to approach the Most High God as closely as they physically could, and where -- being able to see and admire the wonder of His creation all the more -- they might all the better worship Him.

 On this mountain relates most closely to Mount Sinai, where God revealed something of His glory and majesty, and gave Moses and the People of Israel the Law of election, blessing, and guidance.

Again, on this mountain embraces Mount Zion where Solomon built a Temple to Israel’s God -- using materials sedulously prepared for that purpose by his father David, a man ‘after God’s heart’ (Acts 13:22) -- and where, on the occasion of its dedication, he prayed:

May Your eyes watch night and day over this temple, the place where You have decreed You shall be honoured; may You heed the prayer which I, Your servant, offer in this place.  Listen to the petitions of Your servant and of Your people Israel which they offer in this place. Listen from Your heavenly dwelling and grant pardon.  (1 Kings 8:29s.)

Ultimately, on this mountain signified for the Jews of Jesus’ time the Temple in Jerusalem, rebuilt by Herod from the former, very modest, ‘second temple’ with such munificence and splendour as to make it renowned throughout the Roman world and be the pride and glory of the Jewish people, despite their hatred of Herod himself; indeed, it should have become the very centre of the nations (Ezekiel 5:5), from where the God-given treasure of the Law, committed to the custody of Israel, would have been proclaimed and transmitted to all mankind.

Today we do not ascend mountains nor even climb hills in order to approach God's heavenly dwelling, neither do we turn our eyes to any material Temple; no, we come to Jesus in Mother Church, which is the Body of Christ, vivified, guided, and protected to the end of time by the Holy Spirit of Father and Son; and there we lift up our eyes to heaven, just as Jesus did in prayer to His Father, joining our prayer to that which He now, in heaven, continually offers to His Father on our behalf.

In Mother Church then, the ‘Body of Christ’:

(God) will destroy death for ever and wipe away the tears from all faces, and the reproach of His people He will remove from the whole earth,

for all those, that is, who seek to find in her just how great is His goodness and how sweet His saving grace.

Today, very many people have little or no trust in God: indeed, in our Western world, many find themselves either so cossetted in their well-being or so full of cares and concerns about their well-being, that they have no conception of ‘salvation’; the world gives them all they can get and apparently holds all that they could want, with the result that they cannot see any need to pray to some imagined God.  Others, however, can’t quite shrug-off God altogether, and so they cautiously excuse themselves from giving Him any time or attention by saying they are so busy they just don’t have time for prayer; they would like to have, but in fact can’t find, time for God.    

And that is, indeed, the situation painted by Our Lord in the parable we heard about the wedding feast and those invited to it.  The Father had prepared this banquet for His Son and the guests ignored the invitation given them.  The Father sent a further, yet more urgent, request for their presence at the banquet: some of those invited, however, contented themselves with mocking the messengers as they went about more important matters purportedly needing their immediate attention, while others -- not a few -- went so far as to beat and even to kill those who brought the invitation.

There we can possibly recognize ancient Israel in the Promised Land, flirting with the gods of surrounding peoples and failing to understand the exclusive majesty of  the Lord their God Who had brought them out of Egypt, through the desert, and into their Promised Land; then came the prophets -- brave and faithful all of them, and some even glorious – who were, for the most part, mocked and progressively ill-treated until some were killed for the Saviour-to-come Who would fulfil in His own Body their testimony and crown with His own Blood God’s goodness and patience.

In the Gospel parable there were some, the poor and the needy, the good and the bad, who were almost forced by circumstances to come to the banquet; it did not matter who or what they were or from where they came, for God -- as St. Paul and then St. Augustine would most emphatically declare – had not been searching for, or requiring, any foregoing merit on their part, all that mattered was their bearing and behaviour in the banqueting hall. 

There, we are told that the King Himself came round to see His guests:

When the king came in to meet the guests he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.  He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?’ But he was reduced to silence.  Then the King said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’  Many are invited but few are chosen.

What is that so absolutely necessary “wedding garment”?    St. Paul tells us when, in his letter to the Romans, he says:

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil its lusts. (Romans 13:14)

How could anyone, however, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, commit themselves to Him, without first recognizing and acknowledging Him as the Son sent by God His Father?  In the parable, it would seem that the ‘friend without a wedding garment’ had managed to come to, get into, the wedding feast without even bothering about -- let alone recognizing and reverencing -- Him for Whom the feast was being held, and such dishonour to the Son redounded to even greater offense being given to the manifest presence of the great King himself.  Here we can recognize the chief priest and elders of the people, who had secured prominence for themselves as chosen ones in the Chosen People, and were now unable and/or unwilling to recognize Jesus as Son of the very God they claimed to worship, serve, and proclaim so faithfully:

It is My Father Who honours Me, of Whom you say that He is your God.   He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father Who sent Him. (John 8:54; 5:23)

Today, in our society, a like drama is being unwittingly prepared: our worldly well-being will end; for what -- but a short while ago -- seemed to be mere flies-in-the-ointment have begun to fester in many parts of the globe, and the bubbles may soon be bursting in our own neighbourhoods, indeed in our very faces.  Why?  Because neither godless rationalism nor military might can resist, let alone master, the forces of destruction -- let loose by disbelief in God -- rampant in the world today:

Whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith.  Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:4-5)

There is nothing in this world, neither power nor money, neither science nor technology, and most certainly not man’s moral pretensions, that can preserve us from the evil inclinations of the human heart and the weakness inherent to the human spirit.   God alone, in and through Jesus Christ, saves – by His Holy Spirit -- those who have faith in Jesus.

The rich and the prosperous refused the wedding invitation in the Gospel passage, and likewise, you will not find those in Church who, in whatever way, promote pride by seeking fame and renown, and cultivating power and influence.  Because, such people want to remain and proclaim their own selves, and ever further their own prospects, whereas we in Mother Church are called, on the contrary, to learn  this one supreme lesson -- as you heard and know well -- to put on Christ.

Our parable speaks of only one hypocrite being found in the wedding hall because it is the King, the Father Himself, Who instantly recognizes and discloses the one basic sin of all those called and rejected: failure to recognize and believe in His beloved Son.  That one supreme sin is the total cause and supreme expression of our vulnerability to Satan and alienation from God; and our Gospel message today is for all those members of Mother Church who, being truly humble and contrite, want indeed to put on Christ and sincerely endeavour -- by His Spirit -- to leave behind their own weak and sinful selves for His sake.

People of God, as our tables are once again covered with the fruits of this year’s harvest we cannot fail to recognize that God’s creation is both bountiful and beautiful, and that is a source of great joy for us.  However, we must not allow ourselves to get so wrapped up in the beauty and desirability of this earthly banquet as to ignore the invitation that comes along with it to that other eternal banquet celebrating an eternal harvest.  The God Who makes us so pleased with this world’s good things, can He not prepare even greater joys for us in His heavenly kingdom?  Of course He can.  Let us, therefore, take up His invitation.

God's call is, as we have said, non-judgmental, embracing all alike, be they previously bad or previously good according to the world’s estimation; He is both supremely generous in His help -- giving us His own Son and Holy Spirit -- and patient, as He awaits our faltering response to His repeated and glorious promises.  However, decisions must finally be made because judgment will eventually come, and for that we must prepare ourselves, since we do not believe in an impotent or indecisive God.

Therefore, as disciples of Jesus, let our lives echo the words of St. Paul in today’s second reading:

To our God and Father be glory forever and ever.     

Let us lift up our eyes to our blessed Lord Jesus Who has gone up on high to that mountain whither He calls us to Himself, that He might lead us His captives (Ps. 68:18) suitably clothed in wedding garments, into that feast of juicy rich food and pure choice wines, being celebrated before the face of His Father, where:

Many are invited, but few are chosen.                                    

27th Sunday Year A 2014

 27^th Sunday of Year (A)

   (Isaiah 5:1-7; Philippians 4:6-9; Matthew 21:33-43)

In the first reading from the prophet Isaiah we heard the prophet describe Israel as a vineyard planted by the Lord which, despite the care He had taken of it, failed to bring forth good fruit.  Therefore the prophet went on to warn Israel that the Lord would reject her:

Now, I will let you know what I mean to do to My vineyard: take away its hedge, give it to grazing, break through its wall, let it be trampled!  Yes, I will make it a ruin: it shall not be pruned or hoed, but overgrown with thorns and briers; I will command the clouds not to send rain upon it.  The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are His cherished plant; He looked for judgment, but see, bloodshed! For justice, but hark, the outcry!

In fulfilment of that prophecy the kingdom of Israel first of all, and subsequently the kingdom of Judah, were indeed destroyed: both were no longer kingdoms or political powers of any sort, just mere tracts of territory ruled by foreign lords, inhabited by vassals.

Therefore, when Jesus took up again the prophecy of Isaiah -- when He, in His turn, told a parable about a landowner who planted a vineyard, prepared for and protected it to the full, and then was unable to get his share of the fruit --- His hearers, the religious authorities in Israel and Judah of Jesus’ time, realised the significance of His words.

Some changes had been made by Jesus to the picture painted by Isaiah: the vineyard itself was fruitful, as you will remember Jesus’ other words:

The harvest truly is plentiful, but the labourers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest.  (Mt. 9:37s.)

Yes, the vineyard itself was capable of producing good fruit.  However, those in charge of the vineyard, the tenants, would not hand over any produce or profit to the landowner even though, eventually, the owner’s very son came to claim it for his father.

At this point the Jewish leaders were not paying attention to the detail about the Son: they were only intent on what they feared would be the final outcome: their power, their position of authority, being taken away from them.

Earlier, the prophet Isaiah had foretold of the destruction of the political kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and that prophecy had indeed been realized.  In the past, kings and rulers had resisted the prophets’ messages in order to maintain their own political power -- haven’t kings and potentates been doing that since the beginning of time?    But now something much more sinister was taking place: Israel’s religious leaders -- in particular the Pharisees and Scribes -- were fighting against Jesus for the establishment of God’s spiritual kingdom on earth, claiming their own teaching and traditions to be the unique authority for the spiritual formation of  God’s Chosen People.  Therefore, Jesus now speaks of the end of the Temple cult with its priests and Levites, and of the spiritual authority of the Scribes and Pharisees as authentic exponents of the Torah and guides towards the attainment of God’s ultimate promises.  Indeed, and above all, Jesus is now foreshadowing the end of the nations’ exclusive spiritual privilege as the People of God.

All these privileges, and the provisional type of divine worship they represented, would now have to make way for the future Church of Jesus Christ, the new and authentic People of God worshipping Him in Spirit and in Truth, and embracing not only Israelites, but all men and women of good-will who would hear and obey the Good News of God’s own Son authentically proclaimed to all mankind:

Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes’?   Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.

You can understand why Jesus was both feared and hated by the proud religious authorities of what had once been the kingdom of David: it now comprised nothing more than the two small and insignificant Roman provinces of Judea and Samaria, along with mistrusted Galilee in the north.  Yes, they hated the humiliation which had befallen their proud and once relatively prestigious country; and now this Jesus -- coming indeed from Nazareth in Galilee of all places -- was proclaiming Himself as the Son, yes, the very divine Son of God, come to harvest the fruit due God from the vineyard of His Law and the Prophets, promising no Messianic restoration of political power but, on the contrary, proclaiming that Israel’s hitherto unique privilege would no longer be their exclusive pride and glory but would be opened to all, including the presently disdained Gentiles and pagans who knew nothing of God, and even embracing the hated and despised Romans now ruling their country.

However, some might be thinking, all this is past history, how is it relevant for us today?  We understand that God punishes sin in His people and we recall that, as punishment for sin in His Chosen People, He once destroyed their temple at Shilo which the early Israelites had thought untouchable; and then had likewise brought the Temple of Solomon down to the ground; before finally, as Jesus foretold, humbling the supremely impressive and prestigious Temple of Herod.  We also recognise that the once wide-spread Kingdom of David had ultimately, under punishment for sin, become a political non-entity and a vassal state.  But what does all this mean for us?  There is no unique Temple today; we are from all nations not just one religious people: the Kingdom of God’s own Son cannot, surely, be destroyed as were those ancient indeed, but, nevertheless, temporal institutions?

Again, let us look at those who brought about the downfall of the Chosen People. The ones responsible for the twice-repeated exiling of Israel were predominantly political figures, kings, with their courtiers and sycophants, their emulators and opponents.   They did great harm to God’s People and were punished accordingly.  However, they opposed, resisted, God’s Kingdom in Israel for predominantly worldly reasons, being afraid of the political effect of God’s message of holiness proclaimed by the Prophets.  Later however, others, such as the Pharisees and Scribes, resisted the coming of God’s Kingdom, its flourishing in Israel, for religious reasons, by attempting to take control of God’s proclamation itself.  The first opponents were rejected by God and indeed thrown into exile by His instruments, those mighty powers they so cravenly feared and yet so foolishly sought to imitate.  The latter, however, were so proud of their own pseudo-holiness and so hungry for the power they presently held over the people, that they rejected God’s supreme authority and only-authentic holiness by their presentation and interpretation of His Law and inspired prophecies, to such an extent that their cancerous influence could not be uprooted, exposed, and condemned other than by the death and resurrection of God’s own most holy and only-beloved Son.

People of God we should be supremely careful of, solicitous for, the purity of our faith.

Today there are so many who set themselves up as teachers and guides in the ways of God and who, by means of labels and slogans that disturb and band-wagons that crush -- such as ‘sexist’, ‘racist’, ‘undemocratic’ and ‘out of touch with modern thought and sensitivities’, ‘rigid and intolerant’ -- seek to denigrate and divide whatever they oppose because their pride will not tolerate what their minds cannot subjugate; while themselves ever seeking the limelight of popularity to promote the proclaimed innocence and inevitability of their own actions with words such as ‘we had no option, could not avoid’, and the purity and simplicity of their own intentions with references to ‘the goodness and compassion of God’ and ‘the happiness and well-being of ordinary Catholics and Christians’.

There are, alas, too many Catholics and Christians who allow themselves to be wounded by such, at times ludicrous, but ever pernicious messages and deluded or devilish messengers.   Let us therefore look at the wondrous faith and steadfast love of Jesus our Lord and Saviour.

You will remember His night of torment in the Garden of Gethsemane when His human nature shuddered and trembled at the imminence of His Roman crucifixion.  He prayed three times in that garden, alone; only a stone’s throw away from His disciples’ help indeed, yet completely alone since such potential human comfort was, in fact, totally uncomprehending.  He prayed three times before His Father, He prayed intensely, His sweat being like drops of blood trickling, dropping, down from His forehead and face; He prayed persistently whilst His hardened disciples could not prevent themselves from sleeping through exhaustion; He prayed with patient love and total trust:

Abba, Father, all things are possible to You. Take this cup away from Me, but not what I will but what You will.   (Mark 14:36)

You know all that very well; but notice, He heard nothing from His Father. Subsequently He was scourged at the pillar, publicly mocked, spat upon, and crowned with thorns by surrounding soldiers; and still, nothing from His Father.  He carried the Cross to His place of execution and had to suffer several severe falls along the way, which evoked foul curses and coarse jibes from the soldiers driving Him on; but nothing, again, from His Father other than the sympathetic tears of a few women standing by!   And yet, He had prayed, so very intensely; so, perseveringly; and with such loving confidence, commitment, and trust!!

Jesus, however, never doubted His Father!   To calm and confirm His human frailty He had prayed not just once but three times … He knew, therefore, that His Father heard Him … as He once expressed it:

Jesus raised His eyes and said, “Father I thank You for hearing Me.  I know that You always hear Me; but because of the crowd here (at the raising of Lazarus) I have said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”  (John 11:41-42)

People of God,  as most sublimely exemplified by Jesus when His life and mission were climaxing in the degrading sufferings of His death,  there is only one true peace, God’s peace, and it has to be treasured at whatever cost; there is only one true way of progress and profit towards that peace and the fulfilment it bestows, and it has to be fought for in a constant struggle against self-seeking and the encroachments of worldly delights and aspirations; and that most loving master-class bequeathed to us by our Blessed Lord is today commended to our gratitude, our loving contemplation and humble imitation, by the Spirit-filled words of His faithful follower and fellow-sufferer, St. Paul, in our second reading:

Brothers, have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.  Keep on doing what you have learned and received in (Mother Church). Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.