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26th Sunday in OT, Sept 28, 2008: Doing the Father’s Will Means Humbly Seeing and Acting Scripture Readings First Ez 18:25-28 Second Phil 2:1-11 Gospel Matthew 21:28-32 Prepared by: Fr. Jonathan Kalisch, OP 1. Subject Matter •
The power of turning away (metanoia) from sin and obediently following Christ – even when it is initially rejected. The readings reveal that obedience entails the humble action of following.
2. Exegetical Notes •
“Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?”(Ex 18:26). Jesus gives the Gospel parable, immediately after the Jewish leaders tried to trap him by questioning His authority. In Mt 21:28-32, it is the leaders who end up accusing themselves.
•
The vineyard signifies Israel (Is 5:1-7) or the Kingdom of God. The word for ‘repented’ signifies change of mind and heart vis-à-vis God. Ironically, the selfishness and vainglory of the religious leaders does not allow them to become humble or obedient enough to initiate this metanoia (in imitation of Christ – see Phil 2:1-11) that will prepare them for the Kingdom.
•
Tax collectors and prostitutes are regarded as immoral not only because of their sins, but because of their collaboration with the occupying forces of the pagan Romans. The parable forces the chief priests and elders (who will condemn Jesus to preserve the status quo) to condemn themselves, thereby admitting that they have been less responsive to the initiative of God than these (tax collectors and prostitutes) collaborators. Still, they refuse to change their minds.
•
The irony of the parable is that while the Pharisees and Sadducees went to hear John preach (Mt 3:5-7), they did not repent. However the tax collectors and prostitutes who had said no to God by their sins, have accepted His message.
3. References to the Catechism of the Catholic Church •
CCC # 2470: “The disciple of Christ consents to ‘live in the truth,’ that is, in the simplicity of a life in conformity with the Lord's example, abiding in his truth. ‘If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth.’”
•
CCC #1733: “The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to ‘the slavery of sin.’”
4. Patristic Commentary •
Clement of Alexandria: “The doors are open for all who sincerely and wholeheartedly return to God; indeed, the Father is most willing to welcome back a truly repentant son or daughter. The result of true repentance, however, is that you do not fall into the same faults again, but utterly uproot from your souls the sins for which you consider yourself worthy of death.”
•
Clement of Alexandria: “Genuine conversion, however, means ceasing to sin without any backward glances. God pardons what is past, then, but for the future we are each responsible for ourselves. By repenting we condemn our past misdeeds and beg forgiveness of the Father, the only one who can in his mercy undo what has been done, and wipe away our past sins with the dew of his Spirit. And so, if you are a thief and desire to be forgiven, steal no more. If you are a robber, return your gains with interest. If you have been a false witness, practice speaking the truth. If you are a perjurer, stop taking oaths.”
•
Pseudo-Chrys: “’A certain man had two sons.’ Who is he but God, who created all men, who being by nature Lord of all, yet would rather be loved as a father, than feared as a Lord. The elder son was the Gentile people, the younger the Jews, since from the time of Noah there had been Gentiles. And he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. Today, i.e. during this age. He spoke with him, not face to face as man, but to his heart as God, instilling understanding through the senses. To work in the vineyard is to do righteousness; for to cultivate the whole thereof, I know not that any one man is sufficient.”
•
Pseudo-Chrys.: “This He brings in because the Priests had asked not in order to learn, but to tempt Him. But of the common folk many had believed; and for that reason He brings forward the parable of the two sons, showing them therein that the common sort, who from the first professed secular lives, were better than the Priests who from the first professed the service of God, inasmuch as the people at length turned repentant to God, but the Priests impenitent, never left off to sin against God. And the elder son represents the people; because the people is not for the sake of the Priests, but the Priests are for the sake of the people.”
5. Examples from the Saints and Other Exemplars •
St. Agnes, martyr: “I already have a spouse, and I will not offend him by pretending that another might please me. I will give myself only to him who first chose me. So, executioners, what are you waiting for?”
6. Quotes
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Pope Benedict XVI: “It is not the power of an ancient or modern Goliath, but power stemming from obedience, that is, from a relationship that is responsibility for being, the responsibility of truth and the good. As portrayed in the hymn to Christ in the Philippians (2:5-11), it is humble power.” Pope Benedict XVI: (Quoting Romano Guardini), “’Jesus’ entire existence is the translation of power into humility…into obedience to the will of the Father. Obedience is not secondary for Jesus, but forms the core of his being…’ For his power there is therefore ‘no limit coming from outside, but only one from the inside…the will of the Father freely accepted.’ It is a power that has such complete control over itself ‘that it is capable of renouncing itself.’” Pope Benedict XVI: “Faith requires conversion and that conversion is an act of obedience toward a reality which precedes me and which does not originate from me…it is I who make myself over to it, whit it always remains above me…it is Christ, the Word made flesh…He is the new ‘I’ which bursts open the limits of subjectivity and the boundaries dividing subject from object, thus enabling me to say ‘It is no longer I who live’…following in Christ’s footsteps is the only way of losing oneself which attains the desired goal.” Pope Benedict XVI: Jesus “’emptied’ himself and, surrendering existence for himself, entered into the pure movement of the ‘for’. But precisely therein, the passage goes on to say, he has become the lord of all, of the whole cosmos, before whom the latter performs the proskynesis, the rite and act of submission, which is due to the real king alone. The willing subject thus appears as the ruler; he who humbled himself to the utter abasement of emptying himself of his own being is for that very reason the ruler of the world.” Pope Benedict XVI: “He who does not cling to himself but is pure relatedness coincides in this with the absolute and thus becomes lord. The Lord before whom the universe bows is the slaughtered Lamb, the symbol of existence that is pure act, pure ‘for’. The cosmic liturgy, the adoring homage of the universe, centers round this Lamb (Rev 5).” Pope Benedict XVI: “God has a will with and for us and it must become the measure of our willing and being; and the essence of ‘heaven’ is that it is where God’s will is unswervingly done. Or, to put it in somewhat different terms, where God’s will is done is heaven.” Luigi Giussani: ‘Communion’ means a capacity for personal life so deep that a person cannot realize it alone: this capacity lies at the origin of our being, where it is made by God (significantly this is called ‘capacity for obedience’)…it is an irresistible force with which, little by little, God unites with Himself those whom He chooses according to His mysterious freedom.” Luigi Giussani: “Obedience means to abandon yourself to follow an Other, and obedience is the only true sacrifice, because sacrifice for the Christian is not necessarily pain or denying yourself something, but rather identifying your will with that of an Other, of God.”
7. Other Considerations •
We are obedient to the Father’s will when we go and work in his vineyard, as asked. The surprises of the vineyard (Mt 20:1-16) challenge our notion of worldly justice. Yet the refusal to change our mind (in attune with God’s way of thinking) in response to graces seen (sinners returning to the Lord) threatens our ability to enter the Kingdom.
Recommended Resources Benedictus: Day by Day with Pope Benedict XVI, ed. by Peter John Cameron, OP. Magnificat, 2006.
John Bartunek, The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer, Hamden, CT: Circle Press, 2007. Peter John Cameron, OP, To Praise, to Bless, to Preach, Huntington: Our Sunday Visitor, Inc., 2001. Luigi Giussani, At the Origin of the Christian Claim, trans. Viviane Hewitt, Buffalo: McGillQueen’s University Press, 1998. Luigi Giussani, The Journey to Truth is an Experience, trans John Zucchi, Ithaca: McGillQueen’s University Press, 2006. Daniel J. Harrington, SJ, The Gospel of Matthew, Sacra Pagina Series, Vol. 1, ed. by Daniel J. Harrington. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1991. The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 8, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995. http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerus/index_fra.html
The power of turning away (metanoia) from sin and obediently following Christ – even when it is initially rejected. The readings reveal that obedience entails the humble action of following.
2. Exegetical Notes •
“Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?”(Ex 18:26). Jesus gives the Gospel parable, immediately after the Jewish leaders tried to trap him by questioning His authority. In Mt 21:28-32, it is the leaders who end up accusing themselves.
•
The vineyard signifies Israel (Is 5:1-7) or the Kingdom of God. The word for ‘repented’ signifies change of mind and heart vis-à-vis God. Ironically, the selfishness and vainglory of the religious leaders does not allow them to become humble or obedient enough to initiate this metanoia (in imitation of Christ – see Phil 2:1-11) that will prepare them for the Kingdom.
•
Tax collectors and prostitutes are regarded as immoral not only because of their sins, but because of their collaboration with the occupying forces of the pagan Romans. The parable forces the chief priests and elders (who will condemn Jesus to preserve the status quo) to condemn themselves, thereby admitting that they have been less responsive to the initiative of God than these (tax collectors and prostitutes) collaborators. Still, they refuse to change their minds.
•
The irony of the parable is that while the Pharisees and Sadducees went to hear John preach (Mt 3:5-7), they did not repent. However the tax collectors and prostitutes who had said no to God by their sins, have accepted His message.
3. References to the Catechism of the Catholic Church •
CCC # 2470: “The disciple of Christ consents to ‘live in the truth,’ that is, in the simplicity of a life in conformity with the Lord's example, abiding in his truth. ‘If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth.’”
•
CCC #1733: “The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to ‘the slavery of sin.’”
4. Patristic Commentary •
Clement of Alexandria: “The doors are open for all who sincerely and wholeheartedly return to God; indeed, the Father is most willing to welcome back a truly repentant son or daughter. The result of true repentance, however, is that you do not fall into the same faults again, but utterly uproot from your souls the sins for which you consider yourself worthy of death.”
•
Clement of Alexandria: “Genuine conversion, however, means ceasing to sin without any backward glances. God pardons what is past, then, but for the future we are each responsible for ourselves. By repenting we condemn our past misdeeds and beg forgiveness of the Father, the only one who can in his mercy undo what has been done, and wipe away our past sins with the dew of his Spirit. And so, if you are a thief and desire to be forgiven, steal no more. If you are a robber, return your gains with interest. If you have been a false witness, practice speaking the truth. If you are a perjurer, stop taking oaths.”
•
Pseudo-Chrys: “’A certain man had two sons.’ Who is he but God, who created all men, who being by nature Lord of all, yet would rather be loved as a father, than feared as a Lord. The elder son was the Gentile people, the younger the Jews, since from the time of Noah there had been Gentiles. And he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. Today, i.e. during this age. He spoke with him, not face to face as man, but to his heart as God, instilling understanding through the senses. To work in the vineyard is to do righteousness; for to cultivate the whole thereof, I know not that any one man is sufficient.”
•
Pseudo-Chrys.: “This He brings in because the Priests had asked not in order to learn, but to tempt Him. But of the common folk many had believed; and for that reason He brings forward the parable of the two sons, showing them therein that the common sort, who from the first professed secular lives, were better than the Priests who from the first professed the service of God, inasmuch as the people at length turned repentant to God, but the Priests impenitent, never left off to sin against God. And the elder son represents the people; because the people is not for the sake of the Priests, but the Priests are for the sake of the people.”
5. Examples from the Saints and Other Exemplars •
St. Agnes, martyr: “I already have a spouse, and I will not offend him by pretending that another might please me. I will give myself only to him who first chose me. So, executioners, what are you waiting for?”
6. Quotes
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Pope Benedict XVI: “It is not the power of an ancient or modern Goliath, but power stemming from obedience, that is, from a relationship that is responsibility for being, the responsibility of truth and the good. As portrayed in the hymn to Christ in the Philippians (2:5-11), it is humble power.” Pope Benedict XVI: (Quoting Romano Guardini), “’Jesus’ entire existence is the translation of power into humility…into obedience to the will of the Father. Obedience is not secondary for Jesus, but forms the core of his being…’ For his power there is therefore ‘no limit coming from outside, but only one from the inside…the will of the Father freely accepted.’ It is a power that has such complete control over itself ‘that it is capable of renouncing itself.’” Pope Benedict XVI: “Faith requires conversion and that conversion is an act of obedience toward a reality which precedes me and which does not originate from me…it is I who make myself over to it, whit it always remains above me…it is Christ, the Word made flesh…He is the new ‘I’ which bursts open the limits of subjectivity and the boundaries dividing subject from object, thus enabling me to say ‘It is no longer I who live’…following in Christ’s footsteps is the only way of losing oneself which attains the desired goal.” Pope Benedict XVI: Jesus “’emptied’ himself and, surrendering existence for himself, entered into the pure movement of the ‘for’. But precisely therein, the passage goes on to say, he has become the lord of all, of the whole cosmos, before whom the latter performs the proskynesis, the rite and act of submission, which is due to the real king alone. The willing subject thus appears as the ruler; he who humbled himself to the utter abasement of emptying himself of his own being is for that very reason the ruler of the world.” Pope Benedict XVI: “He who does not cling to himself but is pure relatedness coincides in this with the absolute and thus becomes lord. The Lord before whom the universe bows is the slaughtered Lamb, the symbol of existence that is pure act, pure ‘for’. The cosmic liturgy, the adoring homage of the universe, centers round this Lamb (Rev 5).” Pope Benedict XVI: “God has a will with and for us and it must become the measure of our willing and being; and the essence of ‘heaven’ is that it is where God’s will is unswervingly done. Or, to put it in somewhat different terms, where God’s will is done is heaven.” Luigi Giussani: ‘Communion’ means a capacity for personal life so deep that a person cannot realize it alone: this capacity lies at the origin of our being, where it is made by God (significantly this is called ‘capacity for obedience’)…it is an irresistible force with which, little by little, God unites with Himself those whom He chooses according to His mysterious freedom.” Luigi Giussani: “Obedience means to abandon yourself to follow an Other, and obedience is the only true sacrifice, because sacrifice for the Christian is not necessarily pain or denying yourself something, but rather identifying your will with that of an Other, of God.”
7. Other Considerations •
We are obedient to the Father’s will when we go and work in his vineyard, as asked. The surprises of the vineyard (Mt 20:1-16) challenge our notion of worldly justice. Yet the refusal to change our mind (in attune with God’s way of thinking) in response to graces seen (sinners returning to the Lord) threatens our ability to enter the Kingdom.
Recommended Resources Benedictus: Day by Day with Pope Benedict XVI, ed. by Peter John Cameron, OP. Magnificat, 2006.
John Bartunek, The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer, Hamden, CT: Circle Press, 2007. Peter John Cameron, OP, To Praise, to Bless, to Preach, Huntington: Our Sunday Visitor, Inc., 2001. Luigi Giussani, At the Origin of the Christian Claim, trans. Viviane Hewitt, Buffalo: McGillQueen’s University Press, 1998. Luigi Giussani, The Journey to Truth is an Experience, trans John Zucchi, Ithaca: McGillQueen’s University Press, 2006. Daniel J. Harrington, SJ, The Gospel of Matthew, Sacra Pagina Series, Vol. 1, ed. by Daniel J. Harrington. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1991. The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 8, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995. http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerus/index_fra.html
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