Preaching at Liturgy
Preaching at Liturgy
The underlying principle of Chapter 18 of Ezekiel is that each person is responsible for his/her actions. There is a need for taking care of self and others, fulfilling our obligations, contributing to our communities to help the world become a better place. The Hebrews took into consideration that while each member retained personal responsibility, they were held accountable as a people. New Testament scholarship deepened the appreciation that Jesus called his followers into a community of disciples. What Elizabeth Schuasler Fiorenza calls "a communal discipleship of equals." Jesus reached out not only to mainstream people but to the excluded of society, welcoming all into a community that accentuated the equality and importance of each member.
How often have you heard someone say, "Why did God do this? Why is God punishing us? Why does God allow wars, hurricanes, forest fires, car accidents or anything at all that causes us to suffer?" Are we being punished for the sins of our ancestors? Ezekiel tells us no to this last question. God’s will is not that we suffer but that we be find God anew in the midst of our pain In a way today’s Gospel reading picks up this same idea of conversion, especially in our own actions.
In Matthew’s Gospel of the Parable of the two sons, the "vineyard" is symbolic of God’s chosen people, working for the kingdom here on earth. Jesus warns the chief priests and elders of the people that tax collectors and prostitutes will precede them into the kingdom of heaven. These people, who were considered by the religious leaders to be sinners, were watching and listening to Jesus and allowing the Gospel message, the Word of God, to change their lives. They had lived lives that said "no" but were now starting to respond to the invitation of Jesus to change their ways. The point of the story of the two sons is that neither son was right. The first son was saying "no" with his mouth, but doing "yes" with his behavior. The second son was saying "yes" with his mouth but doing "no" with his behavior. Clearly what Jesus is looking for are followers who say "yes" in word and deed.
The old saying "when push comes to shove" might be a wise insight. At what moment do we stop shoving all the questions away and out of our consciousness and begin to push ourselves or someone else we love to do what we know is right. When push comes to shove, it is only by deeds that we really prove what we are. We are commissioned to be Jesus’ presence wherever we may find ourselves.
People who live every day according to what they say they believe are our hope for the future. Words are not enough. We are called to give ourselves, to share everything that we have, to bring patience, acceptance and not judgment to every human encounter. We have been graced with free will and God allows us to choose, without comment, pressure, or blame. We are the "lowly people" who hold a treasure within us. The choice is ours, and it’s simple. Do we live a life with open hearts and minds and souls to God’s invitation or a life of shoving away the questions, worrying about image, appearances and lifestyle, like the people to whom Jesus was telling the parable to so long ago. It’s what we do that becomes the measure. Someone once wrote "the whole of our existence, the whole of our lives should cry the Gospel from the rooftops…not by our words but by our lives".
In Paul’s letter to the Philippians he encouraged the early Christians to live in solidarity and service, he says "complete my joy being of the same mind, and with the same love united in heart…Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus." God’s presence in our lives transforms our actions to such an extent that the effects of our actions will have infinite value. The results of these actions continue forever. No opportunity we have to serve God is too little to have a major effect upon our lives and the lives of God’s people. Opportunities pass and sometimes when opportunities are not taken advantage of, they may never appear again.
When we have disasters, we learn that we need to depend on one another. When suddenly the winds and waters overwhelm us, we realize that differences between us are only superficial. We are all human beings. We’re invited this weekend to think and reflect about what Christ meant to us during these past 186 years of being St. Catharine Dominicans. We want to say that Christ is the one who has given meaning to all we have done, all we have celebrated, and all we have prayed for all these years. We’re invited to reflect on what we will continue to celebrate with our new congregation. We are grateful to all those who have gone before us and celebrate our future as we continue to be committed to serving God’s people rooted in the Dominican charism.
Helen McCarthy, OP