Second Reading: Philippians 2:1-11
Brothers and sisters:
If there is any encouragement in Christ,
any solace in love,
any participation in the Spirit,
any compassion and mercy,
complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love,
united in heart, thinking one thing.
Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory;
rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,
each looking out not for his own interests,
but also for those of others.
Have in you the same attitude
that is also in Christ Jesus,
Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Gospel: Matthew 21:28-32
Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people:
“What is your opinion?
A man had two sons.
He came to the first and said,
‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’
He said in reply, ‘I will not,’
but afterwards changed his mind and went.
The man came to the other son and gave the same order.
He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir, ‘but did not go.
Which of the two did his father’s will?”
They answered, “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you,
tax collectors and prostitutes
are entering the kingdom of God before you.
When John came to you in the way of righteousness,
you did not believe him;
but tax collectors and prostitutes did.
Yet even when you saw that,
you did not later change your minds and believe him.”
Here is my homily for the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time:
The root of the verb “to obey” is the Latin oboedire (OH-bow-deer), which means “to listen.” How do you know if your child has heard you when you assign them a chore? Is it when they respond, “Okay, Mom – Okay, Dad – I’ll get to that!” No. You know that they’ve heard you, that they’ve listened, when they do the chore you assigned them. To obey is to listen. If a child fails to carry out the chore his or her parents have given them to perform, they have not listened to their parents.
There is an ancient tradition, especially among Eastern Christians, of Our Blessed Mother conceiving Jesus by the Holy Spirit through her ear. Why? Because Mary listened and obeyed, as Elizabeth declares when Mary comes to visit her: “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
St. Ephrem of Syria, the fourth century theologian and Doctor of the Church, wrote of this in one of his poems:
By means of the serpent the Evil One
poured out his poison in the ear of Eve
The Good One brought low His mercy
and entered through Mary’s ear
Through the gate by which death entered,
Life also entered, putting death to death.
Listen to the word of God and act on it! To do so is our salvation.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives an example of two sons. Both were instructed by their father to go out to work in the vineyard. The first refused his father’s instruction, but clearly gave it more thought, and did as his father told him. The second readily agreed to do his father’s bidding, but never got to it. Which son obeyed his father? Which son listened to his father?
It seems that Jesus is not terribly impressed with what people say. He is impressed with what they do. There were those in Jesus’ day, and there are those in our day, who talk a lot about God, who write a lot about God, about the sort of life that pleases God. But, when push comes to shove, it’s all just that – talk, words, and no action. God wants deeds, not words!
In his spiritual classic, The Imitation of Christ, Thomas à Kempis writes: “At the Day of Judgment, it will be demanded of us, not what we have read, but what we have done; not how well we have spoken, but how holy we have lived.”
This is why those whose religion is mostly words will be surprised when those they presume to be sinners enter the kingdom of God before them. Those who are sinners, and know they are sinners, are eager to embrace God’s mercy. They long for God’s mercy. They know that God’s mercy is their only hope for salvation.
That’s why the tax collectors and prostitutes put their faith in John the Baptist. When John spoke words of condemnation, those words convicted them, because they knew they were sinners. Those who think they are righteous are never convicted by the admonitions of the truly righteous. They think the truly righteous are crazy, out of their minds! Those sinners who listen to the message of the Baptist and turn their lives around will enter the kingdom of God, while the unrighteous who think they are righteous, and so think they have no reason to listen, will languish in despair. As the prophet Ezekiel promises in our first reading: “he who turns from the wickedness he has committed, and does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life; since he has turned away from all the sins that he has committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.”
Listen to the word of God and act on it! To do so is our salvation!
St. Paul admonishes us to “have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not deem equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave.”
The Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the eternal Son, emptied Himself of all His outward glory, and became one of us, like is in all ways except sin. Jesus is “Emmanuel,” that is: “God-with-us.” Think of it! He who held the highest position, the living God of the universe, emptied Himself and assumed the lowest position, that of a slave. Brothers and sisters, when we consider how the eternal Son emptied Himself of His glory to become one of us, for the sake of saving us, how can there be room for pride in any human heart? The eternal Son emptied Himself and became a slave. A slave to what? A slave to our wills? No! Rather, a slave to the will of the Father. Why did He do this? For the sake of our salvation.
The disobedience of Adam introduced sin and death into our world and alienated us from our Father. The perfect obedience of Jesus conquered sin and death and reconciled us to our Father.
Just as the disobedience of Adam to the will of the Father was the curse that separated us from God, so a life lived in perfect obedience to the will of the Father, even to the point of death, was the sacrifice Jesus offered to reconcile us with God. It was that life, lived in perfect obedience to the will of the Father, that led Jesus ultimately to the cross, because the world would not tolerate such a life.
Yet Jesus, who could have called ten thousand angels, freely bore that suffering, freely bore that cross, freely bore the weight of sin and death, because the sin and death that Adam’s disobedience introduced into our world could only be overcome by the perfect obedience of one who freely took on sin and death so to conquer both.
Because of His freely chosen perfect obedience, even to the point of death, Jesus is given the name above every other name. And what name is that? LORD! Jesus Christ is LORD! Because of His freely chosen perfect obedience, even to the point of death, Jesus is exalted by the Father above all who occupy the three realms of creation: those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth. Because of His freely chosen perfect obedience, even to the point of death, every tongue shall give glory to the Father by confessing Jesus Christ as LORD!
Listen to the word of God and act on it. To do so is our salvation!
And our attitude is to be the same as that of Christ Jesus, our Lord. An attitude of emptying ourselves of any glory we think we may have. An attitude of perfect obedience to the will of the Father, even to the point of death. St. Paul is calling us to participate in the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ. We are not to be mere receivers of God’s grace for the sake of our salvation. No, we are to be active participants in the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ, so that the lives of perfect obedience that we live, even to the point of death, will be efficacious for our salvation and for the salvation of the world.
How do we participate in the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ? First and foremost, in the Mass. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the one sacrifice of Christ made present on the altar so that those gathered throughout the centuries may participate in that one sacrifice. When we receive our Lord’s Body and Blood, we are transformed into Christ. We become Christ, members of His Body! As members of Christ’s Body, we become ambassadors of reconciliation, partners with Christ in the work of reconciling the world to our Father.
A second way we participate in the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ is to unite our sufferings, such as they are, to those of Christ on the cross. To be human is to suffer. To be a Christian is to suffer with Christ, uniting our sufferings with His so that our own sufferings become the means of reconciliation to the Father for ourselves, our families, our neighbors, and even the whole world.
It’s not hard to do. Whenever we suffer some loss, some pain, some difficulty, some curse, no matter how small, say to our Lord: “Lord Jesus, I unite my sufferings, such as they are, to your sufferings on the cross for the salvation of the world. Amen.” It’s as simple as that! But by this redemptive suffering, our sufferings are transformed into grace for the salvation of the world.
This redemptive suffering can include also the small sacrifices we make, especially the sacrifices of time, talent, and treasure to those in need, to the poor, the outcast, the ones society has forgotten. The only things we get to take to heaven are the things we gave away to those in great need, including material things, but also the grace won by uniting our sufferings with those of Christ.
St. Paul says, “What do you have that has not been given to you?” All that we have has been given to us by God, and God only gives that what He gives might be shared with others for the benefit of all. That extra coat you have in your closet? That doesn’t belong to you. That belongs to the one who has no coat. Those shoes you haven’t worn in ages, they belong to one who has no shoes. That extra winter hat or autumn sweater from years past hiding in the back of your bureau, they belong to those who need them, not to you. Why are you keeping what belongs to others?
If this sounds like Socialism, it’s not. In Socialism, the government conscripts resources from those who’ve earned them and distributes them to others, usually those who already have more than they need. Rarely to the poor. You think a certain senator from Vermont is going to sell any of his multiple homes and distribute the profits to you? No! He’s going to confiscate and sell your home and distribute the profits to the government. That’s Socialism.
What I’m talking about is the economics of Jesus: the freely-given time, talent, and treasure of which the Christian heart empties itself for the sake of others. Just as Jesus’ heart was torn open and poured forth His saving grace, so may our Christian hearts be torn open and pour forth the freely-given sacrifices of our time, our talents, and treasure for the sake of our neighbors in need.
And as with the material treasures poured forth from your open hearts, just so the grace that could be won by your sacrifices and sufferings. That grace belongs not only to you, but to those in need of God’s mercy, His love, His salvation. So, don’t hoard the grace. Rather, unite your sacrifices and sufferings with those of Christ on the cross, and allow Him to pour out the grace won by your sacrifices and sufferings to those in need of His mercy, His love, His salvation.
Thanks be to God!
Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.
