Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

MATTHEW 21:33-43
A GOOD THING ABOUT GRANDCHILDREN IS THAT YOU SEE HUMAN BEHAVIOR WITHOUT FILTERS. I WITNESSED A FIGHT ONE TIME BETWEEN TWO GRANDCHILDREN. THEY WERE ARGUING OVER A TOY THAT HAD COME OUT OF A HAPPY MEAL AT MCDONALDS. AS THEY DISPUTED WHO TRULY OWNED THE TOY, ONE TOLD THE OTHER THAT IT WAS HIS BECAUSE HE HAD TAKEN IT FROM HIS SISTER. KIND OF LIKE THE TENANTS IN THE VINEYARD, WHO FORGET WHO OWNS THE GRAPES.
I SUSPECT THIS GOSPEL STORY HAPPENED PRETTY MUCH THE WAY MATTHEW TOLD IT. JESUS TOLD HIS PARABLE TO SCRIBES AND PHARISEES, AND THEN ASKED THEM, “WHAT WILL THE OWNER OF THE VINEYARD DO TO THESE TENANTS WHEN HE COMES?” YOU CAN ALMOST HEAR THE PASSION IN THEIR VOICES, YOU CAN ALMOST SEE THE SMOKE COMING FROM THEIR EARS, AS THEY REPLY, “HE WILL PUT THOSE WRETCHED MEN TO A WRETCHED DEATH...!” OF COURSE WE SEE THIS PARABLE AS INDICATIVE OF THE FACT THAT JESUS IS BRINGING IN A NEW COVENANT TO THE WORLD, WHICH WILL, NOT REPLACE SO MUCH AS TAKE UP WHERE THE OLD ONE LEFT OFF. AFTER ALL, GOD DOESN'T GO BACK ON HIS PROMISES, AND IN SOME WAY, THE JEWISH PEOPLE EVEN TODAY HAVE NOT REALLY BEEN FORGOTTEN, HAVE NOT REALLY BEEN ABANDONED.
BUT THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE GOING ON HERE. THE VINEYARD WORKERS APPEAR TO BE SURPASSINGLY BLOCKHEADED. FIRST, IN A TIME WHEN THERE WAS LITTLE IN THE WAY OF JUSTICE, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE ON THE LOW END OF SOCIETY, THEY SEEM TO THINK THAT THEY HAVE SOME CLAIM ON THE PRODUCTS OF THE VINEYARD. THEY ARE AFTER ALL, CONTRACT FARMERS, AND AS WE LEARNED TWO WEEKS AGO, THEY ARE GETTING A DAILY WAGE. THE REASON FOR THEIR EXISTENCE, THE REASON FOR THEIR LABOR, IS TO PRODUCE FRUIT FOR THE OWNER OF THE VINEYARD. IN DECIDING THAT THE PRODUCTS OF THEIR LABOR BELONGED TO THEM TO DO WITH WHAT THEY WANTED, THEY LOSE THEIR OWN MEANING; THEY NO LONGER SERVE THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH THEY WERE HIRED. YOU AND I ARE ALWAYS IN DANGER OF THE SAME THING. OUR JOB, OUR VOCATION, OUR DESTINY IS FULFILLED IF WE TAKE WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN US AND BEAR FRUIT FOR GOD. JESUS MADE IT VERY CLEAR: FROM HIM TO WHOM MUCH IS GIVEN, MUCH WILL BE EXPECTED. IF WE ARE USING THE GOOD THINGS PRIMARILY TO MAKE OURSELVES COMFORTABLE, TO SECURE OUR FUTURES, TO ENJOY THE GOOD THINGS OF LIFE, WE HAVE LOST SIGHT OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A CHRISTIAN; WE HAVE BECOME USELESS IN GOD'S EYES. THE BALANCE BETWEEN USING OUR GIFTS FOR OURSELVES AND USING THEM FOR OUR NEIGHBOR, FOR OUR CHURCH, FOR OUR SOCIETY, IS A VERY DELICATE ONE. BUT EVEN HERE SCRIPTURE AND THE LIFE OF JESUS GIVES US SOME CLARITY. IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, TEN PERCENT, TEN PERCENT OF EVERYTHING BELONGED TO GOD. YOU COULD GIVE MORE, BUT TEN PERCENT WAS THE BARE MINIMUM. THE MUCH MALIGNED PHARISEES WERE SO SCRUPULOUS ABOUT THIS THAT WHEN THEY GREW SPICES, THEY WOULD COUNT OUT THE SEEDS – ONE FOR GOD, NINE FOR WHATEVER ELSE. AND JESUS IN A WAY CONFIRMED THIS IN HIS OWN LIFE: HE GAVE ABOUT TEN PERCENT OF HIS LIFE TO THE PUBLIC MISSION TO WHICH GOD ASSIGNED HIM; THE REST WAS NAZARETH, CARPENTRY, TAKING CARE OF MOM. AND WE CAN'T BREAK THIS DOWN; WE SAY, TIME, TALENT, TREASURE; IT IS ALL A GIFT FROM GOD, AND TEN PERCENT RETURN OF EVERY GIFT IS WHAT HE EXPECTS.
THE SECOND BLOCKHEADED THING ABOUT THE TENANTS IS THAT THEY THINK THEY WILL GET AWAY WITH IT. THOSE WHO ARE SENT FIRST ARE ABUSED, EVEN KILLED. WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF A SECOND WAVE OF SERVANTS, MORE NUMEROUS THAN THE FIRST, WERE TO SHOW UP? BUT THEY DIDN'T LEARN, THEY DID THE SAME THING. AND THEN THE SON COMES, AND THEY KILL HIM. DO THEY WONDER WHETHER THE OWNER WILL EVER DO ANYTHING? YOU AND I WOULD WONDER; AFTER ALL, HE'S RICH, HE HAS THE LAW ON HIS SIDE, AND IF WE HAD KILLED HIS SON, WE'D PROBABLY BE HIGHTAILING IT FOR EGYPT. BUT, NO, THEY THINK THESE ACTIONS WILL RESULT IN SOME SORT OF MAGICAL TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP. AND WE ARE LIKE THIS AS WELL. ALL OF US SIN, AND MOST OF THE TIME WE GET AWAY WITH IT. WE START WITH LITTLE THINGS – WE COME LATE, WE LEAVE EARLY FOR SUNDAY MASS. NOT A BIG DEAL, BUT A DEAL, NEVERTHELESS. WE WATCH A FEW R RATED MOVIES; AFTER ALL, WE'RE ADULTS. WE CUT CORNERS HERE AND THERE, MINOR THINGS ALWAYS. BUT AS WE DO THESE LITTLE THINGS, NOTHING HAPPENS, AND ALMOST WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT IT, OUR CONSCIENCES BECOME DULL. AND WE DO WORSE, AND NOTHING HAPPENS, UNTIL FINALLY WE MIGHT COMMIT A MORTAL SIN, AND IT DOESN'T SEEM SINFUL, AND OUR DULL CONSCIENCE WHICH WE HAVE DELIBERATELY NEGLECTED TELLS US THAT WHAT WE DID ISN'T SO BAD. AND ONE OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF A DULL CONSCIENCE IS THAT WE DON'T LIKE TO BE REMINDED OF HOW THINGS WERE WHEN OUR CONSCIENCE WAS SHARPER; SO WE AVOID THOSE OCCASIONS WHEN WE MIGHT BE TOLD THAT ADULTERY IS WRONG OR CHEATING CUSTOMERS IS WRONG OR ALLOWING ABORTION TO HAPPEN IS WRONG. BUT BECAUSE WE'VE DECIDED THAT SOMETHING IS ALRIGHT DOESN'T MAKE IT SO. AND DEEP IN OUR HEARTS WE KNOW THAT SOMEWHERE THERE IS A VINEYARD OWNER WHO WILL HAVE JUSTICE FOR OUR ABUSE OF WHAT HE HAS GIVEN US.
AND THE TENANTS IN THE VINEYARD ARE NOT THE ONLY BLOCKHEADS IN THIS STORY. THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES WHO SO QUICKLY JUDGE AND CONDEMN THE TENANTS, MISS THE WHOLE POINT OF THE STORY. THEY HAVE NOT LISTENED TO THE PROPHETS; THEY HAVE NO INTENTION OF LISTENING TO THE SON WHO STANDS BEFORE THEM. AND I THINK TO SOME EXTENT WE CAN IDENTIFY WITH THEM AS WELL. EVERY ONE OF US ONLY HEARS THE PART OF JESUS' MESSAGE THAT WE WANT TO HEAR. SOME OF US LIKE HIS WORDS OF MERCY AND COMFORT. SOME OF US NOD IN AGREEMENT AS HE CONDEMNS HYPOCRITES. BUT WHEN HE AND HIS CHURCH SAY DIFFICULT THINGS – MARRIAGE SHOULD BE BETWEEN A WOMAN AND A MAN; ABORTION IS THE TAKING OF A HUMAN LIFE; EUTHANASIA IS NEVER THE ANSWER, EVEN WHEN SUFFERING SEEMS UNBEARABLE; THERE REALLY IS A HELL; AND JESUS IS REALLY PRESENT UNDER THE APPEARANCE OF BREAD AND WINE -- WE TUNE OUT. THESE TEACHINGS AND SO MANY OTHERS WE SIMPLY BURY UNDER A RUG SO THEY DON'T DISTURB US.
SO IN TODAY'S GOSPEL, WE MEET SOME PRETTY DENSE PEOPLE. BUT THEY ARE PEOPLE, AND SO ARE WE, AND MAYBE ON THIS SUNDAY WE NEED TO ASK WHETHER IN SPIRITUAL THINGS WE ARE A LITTLE DENSE AS WELL. I KNOW THAT I AM.