Ezekiel 18:25-28; Psalm 25:4-9; Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew 21:28-32
In the gospel, the first son who replied to his father, “I will not,” afterwards changed his mind and did his father’s will. But the second son who said “Yes, sir” to the father did not do his father’s will. Jesus used the parable to address the chief priests and the elders who refused to accept him as the savior sent by God, although they were God’s Chosen People. The second son represents them. While the first son represents the tax collectors and prostitutes who believed in Jesus and repented. The gospel helps us to understand the first reading. The Jewish leaders were the virtuous persons who turned away from virtue to commit iniquity, and the tax collectors and prostitutes were the wicked who turned away from wickedness.
The readings do not stop at telling us what happened in the Old Testament and during the time of Jesus. The readings are an invitation to us to examine the way and manner we live out our callings and responsibilities. We make all kinds of commitments, promises, oaths, vows, covenants, and agreements when we accept our various callings and responsibilities. Many times, we fall short of them. In this way, we are like the second son.
St. Paul, in the second reading, instructs us that to be true to our callings and responsibilities, we are to have in us the same attitude that is in Jesus Christ who did nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory. Rather, he emptied and humbled himself and was obedient to God to the point of death on a cross.
We can name, from the readings, three vices which make us fall short of our callings and responsibilities and cause us to commit iniquity. The vices are pride, selfishness, and disobedience. These vices have brought the downfall of many people. Therefore, in order to preserve our lives, our callings, and our responsibilities, we are to keep away from those vices. Because of Christ’s humility, obedience, and selflessness, “God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name…” Therefore, if we embrace these virtues (humility, obedience, and selflessness), God will also raise us to greater heights.
We read in the first reading, “When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity and dies, it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die.” There are many instances of people who started very well, then veered off to bad ways, and ended up badly. There are, also, instances of people who changed from their evil ways and became successful. The conversion of St. Paul (the author of the second reading) is a good example. Again, we are invited to examine ourselves to know whether we have veered off from virtuousness and make a U-turn in time to prevent misfortune.
The first son replied, ‘“I will not,’ but afterwards, he changed his mind and went.” This son teaches us to reflect over our decisions and actions, know when we are in error, accept the necessary corrections, and make the necessary changes. Humility, obedience, and selflessness enable us to take corrections and make changes with less difficulty. But pride, selfishness, and disobedience keep us unrepentant and blind to truth. According to a research report, it takes 43 muscles to frown and 17 to smile.
The second son replied, ‘“Yes, Sir,’ but did not go.” Failed commitments, broken promises, broken oaths, broken vows, broken covenants, and broken agreements have left us with a broken world, broken countries, a wounded Church, broken institutions, broken communities, broken homes, broken marriages, broken relationships, broken friendships, and broken hearts. These cause much pain and distress to many people and the death of many people. We pray for conversion and healing.
Jesus teaches us in Matthew 5:37, “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.” May we be people of integrity who say ‘Yes’ to truth and say ‘No’ to evil. As St. Paul invites us in the second reading, may we have in us the same attitude that is in Jesus Christ as we answer our callings and carry out our responsibilities. Amen.
Fr. Martin Eke, MSP
25TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YR A, 2023
Isaiah 55:6-9; Psalm 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18; Philippians 1:20-24, 27; Matthew 20:1-16
In the first reading, Prophet Isaiah tells us that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts nor his ways our ways. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are God’s ways above our ways, and his thoughts above our thoughts. St. Paul says, “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God” (1 Corinthians 3:19).
Jesus’ parables are said to be earthly stories with heavenly meanings. The parable in today’s gospel is full of heavenly meanings and goes against the wisdom of this world. In the parable, those who worked all day received the same wage as those who worked for a few hours and those who worked for only one hour. Judging from human wisdom and standards, the landowner acted unfairly by paying all the workers the same amount.
However, Jesus did not tell this parable to teach employers how to pay workers. With this parable, Jesus taught the lawyers, the scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the priests that although the Gentiles received the message of salvation later than the Jews, the Gentiles would have equal share in the Kingdom of God. Salvation and heaven are not classed.
Before and during the time of Jesus, the lawyers, the scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the priests had entitlement mentality. In our time, there are places where some people, due to their entitlement mentality, deny others their rights and privileges. There are places where some people, due to their entitlement mentality, render others as nobodies. Jesus says in Matthew 5:22, “Whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into fiery hell.” St. Paul tells us in the second reading, “Only, conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27). The way of the gospel of Christ is as St. Paul writes in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Jesus prays for us in John 17:21, “I pray that they may be one….”
A song by Marty Haugen titled “All are Welcome” says,
Let us build a house
where love can dwell
and all can safely live,
a place where saints and children tell
how hearts learn to forgive.
Built of hopes and dreams and visions,
rock of faith and vault of grace;
here the love of Christ
shall end divisions.
All are welcome, all are welcome,
all are welcome in this place.
Countries, races, institutions, religions, organizations, communities, families, and we all in one way or another are guilty since exclusions, exceptions, and exemptions exist everywhere. Exclusions, exceptions, and exemptions that demean or cause suffering or endanger life is sinful.
The parable in today’s gospel is one of the biblical explanations why the Catholic Church performs the Last Rite (the Sacrament of Extreme Unction) on those in danger of death or the dying in the hope of the individuals’ repentance and God’s forgiveness of their sins and be welcomed into his kingdom. The dying thief crucified by the side of Jesus received forgiveness and was welcomed into paradise (Luke 23:43).
Jesus concludes his instruction in today’s gospel with the following words, “The last will be the first, and the first will be the last.” This reminds me of a boxing tournament where the boxer who had only 50 points knocked out his opponent who had 150 points within the last twenty seconds of the fight. There are many instances like this. The unemployed men who stood at the marketplace did not walk away in disappointment. They remained until 5:00 PM! Their perseverance, patience, waiting, and hoping paid off!
Therefore, be patient. Persevere. Keep hoping. Keep fighting. Keep trying. Keep praying. Do not give up. Do not walk away in disappointment. You may become a winner within the last twenty seconds. You may be visited by the Lord, the Landowner, at the nick of time. All we need to do is wait for Him! (Isaiah 40:31).
24TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YR A, 2023
Sirach 27:30-28:7; Psalm 103:1-4, 9-12; Romans 14:7-9; Matthew 18:21-35
While forgiveness is at the heart of Christian spirituality, retaliation and revenge are clearly enshrined in the beliefs and practices of some religions and some cultures and are deep in the way of life of many people. The first reading says, “Anger and wrath are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight.” The reading explains how forgiveness is important to our prayer life and our relationship with God: “Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven. Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the Lord? Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself; can he seek pardon for his own sins?” We pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us” (Matthew 6:12).
Last Sunday, God urgently invited us to forgiveness and reconciliation. The urgent invitation has continued this Sunday. The first reading admonishes us, “Remember the last days, set enmity aside; remember death and decay, and cease from sin!”
The second reading says, “None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.” If we are the Lord’s, then we will forgive as the Lord teaches us. On the Cross, he prayed for those who betrayed him, who judged him wrongly, and those who crucified him, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
One of the lessons we can draw from the gospel parable is that although we sin against God every day, he does not treat us according to our sins. Yet, many times, we are very unforgiving to one another, even over minor offenses. At the end of the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus cautions us, “If you forgive others their wrongdoings, your Father in heaven will also forgive yours. If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive you either” (Matthew 6:14-15). St. Paul encourages us, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).
Sometimes, we ask, “I have forgiven my neighbor, yet I still remember the offense. Does the remembering mean that I have not forgiven my neighbor?” We must not underestimate the power of memory. Some experiences can remain in our memory for a very long time, and sometimes, for life. However, if we permit God’s grace to be at work in us, prayer, time, and goodwill can heal and erase the hurt, even if we may still vaguely remember the experience.
We know that forgiveness and healing have taken place:
(1) When the offense is no longer vivid in our mind. We have forgotten the details.
(2) When we no longer refer to the offense to support any kind of claim or reason for our actions.
(3) We are no longer upset when we remember the offense or the offender, and when we meet the offender.
(4) When we do not plan to retaliate or punish or wish the offender evil.
(5) When we treat the offender with acceptance, understanding, and kindness.
(6) When we are grateful for the lesson or lessons learned from the experience. “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
(7) When we acknowledge that we have, also, offended other people many times. We, also, are in need of forgiveness.
Let us conclude with this story:
Two friends, Mike and Nick, were on a journey through a desert and a hill. As they walked on the sand of the desert, Mike tripped over. As he was falling, he held Nick to regain his balance. Unfortunately, Nick lost his balance also, and both of them fell. In order to remember where they fell, Nick marked the spot with his staff. Their journey continued. They got to a hill. Nick was unable to climb. Mike supported Nick and both climbed over the hill. In order to remember how they made it over the hill, Mike marked the spot with his staff where they got over the hill. On their way back, the mark made by Mike on the hill remained very visible. Both men happily remembered how they made it over the hill. Then, they journeyed across the desert and never saw the mark on the sand and never remembered where and how they fell. The spot Nick marked had been erased by desert wind.
We pray that the wind of the Holy Spirit blows on us and erases our offenses against one another, just like the desert wind erased the mark on the sand where Mike and Nick fell. Amen.
HOMILY OF TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A, 2023
FATHER MARTIN EKE, MSP
Ezekiel 33:7-9; Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9; Romans 13:13:8-10; Matthew 18:15-20
The people of Israel’s disloyalty to God resulted in their conquest and captivity by Babylon. While in exile in Babylon, God did not abandon them. St. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2:13, “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.” God called one of them, Ezekiel, to prophesy to them. In the first reading, God spoke to Ezekiel, “I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel…”
In the same way, God has appointed each one of us to watch over one another and to be one another’s keeper. Priests are appointed to watch over the faithful and the faithful are to watch over their priests. Family members are appointed to watch over one another. Neighbors are appointed to watch over one another. Church members, coworkers, business partners, colleagues, and so on are appointed to watch over one another. We are not appointed to fight and destroy one another. Rulers and leaders are appointed to watch over the citizens; not to neglect, abandon, mistreat, abuse, starve, or devour them. Let no one by like Cain who murdered his brother and questioned God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9).
God called Ezekiel to speak his words of truth to his people in order to save them. In the same way, God calls us to speak truth to one another and to save one another. God says, “If you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I shall require from your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life.” St. James writes, “Remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:20). Therefore, God has not called us to keep silent in the face of evil or to rumor, gossip, slander each other. Dietrich Bonhoeffer says, “Silence in the face of evil is evil: God will not hold us guiltless.”
Watching over one another and speaking truth to one another are acts of love. That is why St. Paul in the second reading says, “Owe no one anything, except to love one another… Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilment of the law” (Romans 13:8-10).
In today’s gospel, Jesus further teaches us another act of love. It is reconciling with one another. It takes a lot of humility and patience to follow the four steps to reconciliation that Jesus commanded. Step one: Don’t presume, don’t rumor, don’t gossip, don’t hold grudges, don’t malign or slander. Go to the person and speak up your grievances. If the person refuses to listen and reconcile with you, don’t give up, proceed to step two: Take someone he/she may listen to and go for a second round of reconciliatory talk. If the person still refuses to reconcile, don’t give up still, proceed to step three: Bring up the matter with the church leader, if the person practices his or her faith, or the leader of an organization the person identifies with. After these three steps and the person still refuses to reconcile with you, then step four: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Prayerfully, accept the person with empathy and love.
Jesus continues in today’s gospel, “Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:18-20).
While Jesus encourages us to gather, bind, loose, and pray; we are to do these without unforgiveness, bitterness, and hate. Proverbs 15:8, “The offering of the evil doer is disgusting to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is his delight. Also, in Proverbs 15:29, “The Lord is far from the wicked, but hears the prayers of the righteous.” Jesus says in Mark 11:25, “When you stand to pray, forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance, so that your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions.” Unforgiveness, bitterness, and hate render our gathering, binding, loosing, and prayer inefficacious.
I mentioned earlier that it takes a lot of humility and patience to forgive and to reconcile. The good news is the reward the Scripture promises: “The prayer of the humble passes through the clouds, and it will never stop until it draws near to God. It will never withdraw until the Most High takes notice, gives justice for the righteous, and executes judgment” (Sirach 35:21-22).
