A Cycle – 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time 26
Mt. 21:33-43
As a young boy, I remember hearing adults referring to people as “do gooders.” It did not take me long to realize it was not a complimentary comment. It implies we should avoid becoming a “do gooder.” Which is directly opposite of God’s encourages us to become. In the scriptures God tell us – “do good.” To humbly think of all others as superior to us. Th psalmist said, “. depart from evil and do good” (Psalm 34:14). We are encouraged to “.” trust in the LORD and do good” (Ps.27:2). Even the prophet Isiah encourages us to “. learn to do good” (Isa.1:7). That is one reason the scriptures became the moral guide for the early church. Perhaps that is the reason the Vatican II counsel told us, “Hunger for the scriptures as much as we hunger for the Eucharist.” Every word, every action by all the great figures in the scriptures reveal God to us reveals who we were created to become.
The readings we have heard today reveal something about our human nature. The first reading reveals how we ignore what God has done and by doing so we become the opposite of what we have been created to become. It is not about a vineyard it is about us. It reinforces what one of the proverbs tell us, which is “. left to our own devices we would do no good thing.” God speaking to us through the prophet Isiah is telling us we have received everything we need to be holy and yet we have not appropriated the grace of salvation as we should have. We have failed to appropriate the grace of our baptism, the sacraments, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the death of Jesus for our sins.
Instead, it seems the sin of Adam which was a lack of trust in God’s goodness remains within us. We have become more dependent on we are practicing our faith than on what God has done for us. Because we depend on ourselves, we are exactly like those workers in the vineyard. We believe we deserve and are entitled to a greater reward for our efforts. After all, they had worked daily harvesting and processing the crops; they never missed a day. How many times has Jesus told us in parables, actions, and teachings that salvation is ours by embracing it. Faithfulness by showing up and performing tasks will never guarantee us any more than Jesus has already provided for us. It is not what we do that is important to God but instead it is how we respond to what He did. We have become today’s Pharisees and even the harsh words of Christ fail to awaken in us a desire to discover what is “good and pleasing” to God.
We do not realize we were created and gifted by God for a reason. The scriptures tell us to rise from our slumber, awaken, and stay attentive. What will it take to awaken us? We can look at one figure in the scriptures who believed he was doing God’s will and that is Saul of Tarsus. Paul’s conversion is one which provides us with our own need for conversion. It reveals how we should respond to what Christ has done. He understood and boldly proclaimed “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works he has prepared in advance that we should live in them” (Eph. 2:10). He embraced what God had created him to become and totally changed. So much that he had trouble convincing the Christians and the disciples he had changed.
What would happen if each one of us, young and old, began a quest to discover the good works God has prepared for us every day of our life. Most likely our response is “not me Lord.” I am not gifted like those individuals. I am too old, too young, not able to speak, and have no resources or time. We can become creative in resisting the call of God to do good today and expect no reward. But you need to remember Moses objected because he had a speech impediment. Abraham was too old, Samuel and David were too young, Jeremaih was suicidal, Pal was an unbeliever and Peter too impulsive. Age, talent, and situation do not matter. Paul wrote letters from prison and continued to evangelize those who were seeking what the Christians had discovered.
Let me tell you a simple story about someone who did good without realizing it. What she discovered shocked her. She worked in Cleveland, Ohio. Daily drove to work on a city street that was heavy with traffic. Each day at a certain stop light there was a vagrant who would clean car front windows. As they stopped at a traffic light. He was hoping to be given a cash gratuity. Most drivers ignored him, while some others did give him one or two dollars. When he did, she faithfully lowered her window and handed him a dollar bill but kept her eyes focused on the stoplight. One day as he was cleaning her window and as she reached for her purse she discovered she had left it at home. As he approached her, she lowered her window and looking him in the eyes she apologized for not having anything because she had left her purse at home. Hiis response changed her life.
He said, miss, what you just did was to look me in the eye and you spoke to me as an individual, a person. No one looks at me; they hand me more than money. You just gave me respect and acknowledged I am worth something. She decided to do a small deed and give him a dollar because he was generous. But now it grew into something greater, a good deed that changed them both. Her action was the catalyst for a group in our parish who one cooked a meal for those in the inner city. Initially they saw their ministry as providing a hot home cooked meal. Her action inspired them to add several people who would greet them at the door, sit with them as they ate and talk with them. That small action changed the very nature of the meal and made an enormous difference in the ministry’s effectiveness.
Everyone of you has been gifted to achieve that clever work God has prepared in advance for you. Did you ever consider your marriage a perfect opportunity to give of yourself and ensure everything you did was for the good of your spouse? Parenting is an opportunity to evangelize the future members of the church instead of leaving that task to the church. Homebound individuals can pray for the needs of those in our faith community who need prayers. Alter servers are an opportunity to become visible in your belief by your willingness to be seen, especially if you are a teenager. Bible discussion groups are an opportunity to discuss faith, doubt and grow together as the body of Christ. Yes, liturgical ministry as lector, eucharistic minister to the home bound or facilities. Those in facilities can pray for each other and discuss the readings of the day.
It all begins if you simply pray as you begin your day, “: Lord let me today discover the good work I am destined to achieve today and give me the wisdom, grace, and ability to achieve the end you desire. If we did that, we would be a fruitful community of faith. We would produce what is good, what is holy and what draws others to desire what we have discovered. Which would achieve the purpose for which we were created.
