By F. Luis Casasus, General Superior of idente missionaries
Commentary on the Sunday Gospel of 8-10-2017, Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Book of Isaiah 5:1-7; Letter to the Philippians 4:6-9; Saint Matthew 21:33-43)
Perhaps our reaction to the Parable of the Wicked Tenants is to think that it is very applicable to murderers, killers and people like that. But then we would miss the mark because the metaphor represents all forms of rejection of the realization of Christ’s rule in my heart.
The truth is, according to our faith that Jesus is constantly coming among us, especially in the suffering and the deep aspirations of our neighbors. God also comes to us in the person of every unborn child in the womb. He is trying to be born again into our world, in my life and your life.
Remember that there is more going on in your life than meets the eye. God has a bigger plan for your life than you can imagine. The circumstances that you are dealing with right now can be tools of transformation in God’s hands. He can use your difficulties to shape you into the person He created you to be so you are equipped to do the things He has designed you to do. This is one of the teachings of mystical life.
God invites you to see His hand at work in your life and the world around you. Nothing that is happening in your life is a surprise to God. His plan is to use everything for your good and His glory. But you have to trust Him enough to believe He is at work in your life even if you can’t see it, and that He will use your struggles for your ultimate benefit. And, you have to trust Him enough to respond as Mary did: I am the Lord’s servant…May it be to me as you have said. When you choose to follow God’s unexpected path for your life, miracles can happen because nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37).
His continued intention is to come to our heart to reign: Behold, I make all things new.
In order to experience the reign of Christ in our heart, we must be willing to surrender completely to Him. Very often, people make a profession of faith because they are looking for a quick fix to their problems. But there is a difference between just believing in Christ and genuinely surrendering to Christ.
Saint Luke gives us a perfect example in his account of a magician named Simon.
Simon liked what he saw. Simon was not fixed on Christ; he was fixed on the miracles and signs he was seeing. He did not covet a deeper union with Christ; he coveted what he could gain if he could acquire such power. The word “simony” is defined as: “The making of profit out of sacred things. The sin of buying or selling sacred things.” The origin of the word “simony” goes back to Simon the magician and sorcerer found in Chapter 8 of Acts. In today’s terminology, simony refers to the desire to have the life Christ promises without the surrender of all of life to Him. But Jesus said: I am the way, the truth, and the life. The account of Simon alerts us to the danger believing in Christ but being unwilling to surrender to Him. Simon wanted the power of the Holy Spirit to add to his bag of tricks for his own benefit.
The attitude of this magician and probably our own attitude as well, did not involve any physical violence, but it represents the reality of a dilemma, or rather a fight to the death between the kingdom of our ego and the Kingdom of Christ.
Pilate asks: Are You a king? Jesus answers: I am a King, but my kingdom is not of this world. The trouble is that we do not fully believe in this status quo, in this always tense and often violent relationship between the two kingdoms.
Surrender ourselves to God has several dimensions: prayer, fasting of our passions and accepting the cleansing and pruning the Holy Spirit will accomplish in our lives.
This intimate obedience is not something that we necessarily like because our nature tends to rebel against it. We want to stand up for ourselves. We don’t like the idea of being under someone else. We want to be number one in this world. But that is not the teaching of Christ. Jesus submitted Himself to the will of our Heavenly Father, even at the risk of serious misunderstanding; for instance when he agreed to be baptized by John publicly, Jesus let Himself open to a very serious misunderstanding that apparently could have crippled His ministry.
By contrast, what is the response of the divine Providence when we are faithful to its smallest suggestions? When we Submit to one another in the fear of God, ( Ephesians 5:21) we will experience a new joy, a new power, a new fellowship with God. You will walk with God in a deeper way. And as you do that, you will find that there will be power in your life, there will be a renewed joy of fellowship with God. God will become so real to you that you will feel His presence so close to you. We have the same experience Jesus had after his baptism: The Spirit in the form of a dove came to rest on him. That is to say, He was transformed, strengthened to fulfill his mission.
An important lesson of today’s scripture readings is that God’s plan cannot be wrecked by the sin of man. In His divine wisdom, He is able to take into consideration the freedom and sin of man in bringing about His plan of salvation. God knows too well that the instruments that He chooses for His salvific work might not always be perfect. God has and will always use human weakness for good purpose. He writes straight in crooked lines. He shows Himself to be triumphant even in hopeless situations. For this reason, the psalmist praised God for His marvels and wisdom. Yes, God is able to ensure that His plan would succeed in spite of man’s infidelity.
What happens when we want to become the owners of the vineyard? The parable of today’s Gospel reading provided the starting point for a Pope Francis’ homily (June 3, 2013), which focused on the three models of Christians in the Church: sinners, corrupt persons; and the saints. The Pope noted that there is no need to talk too much about sinners, because we are all sinners. …We recognize this from the inside, and we know what a sinner is. If any one of us does not feel that way, he should make a visit to a spiritual doctor.
The parable, he said, presents us with another figure, the figure of those who want to take possession of the vineyard, and who have lost the relationship with the Master of the vineyard. They, think they are strong, they think they are independent of God.
These, slowly, slipped on that autonomy, that independence in their relationship with God: ‘We don’t need that Master, who shouldn’t come and disturb us!’ And we go forward with this. These are the corrupt! These were sinners like all of us, but they have taken a step beyond that, as if they were confirmed in their sin: they don’t need God! But it only seems so, for in their genetic code there is this relationship with God. And since they can’t deny this, they make a special god: they themselves are god. They are corrupt.
The tenants represents all of us mankind, who have been given the trust to take care of the world since the beginning of time. But we have grown proud and we gave in to our human greed, beginning from the time when we succumbed to the temptations of the devil, who tempted us with knowledge and power. We are often like the tenants who sought by devious means to obtain the owner’s inheritance, and thus we become our own lord and master. There is a pride in the human that spurs us to take control of our lives and seek fulfillment apart from God and obedience to Him. Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life so that–living in Him and for Him–we may be faithful to God, know the peace and glory of His favor and protection, and return to Him the fruit that is His due.
Is sin our grief and burden? That is a proof that Christ reigns in our heart. Do we long for perfect freedom from all passions? That is a sign that we are partakers of his holiness. Jesus reigns to give us victory unto eternal life.
We should also be filled with hope and a sense of security; for, although the building -the Church- at sometimes seem to be breaking up, its sound construction, with Christ as its cornerstone, is assured.
When we think about the meaning of being in continuous prayer, it is important remember that in today’s Gospel we can see that God does not give us one chance but repeated chances. He never gets tired of helping us. He is always patient, forgiving and long-suffering. He never gives up hope on us. The parable of the vineyard speaks of this God who perseveres in saving us. Regardless of man’s sins and the evils he committed, God transcends all our sins. No one can thwart the divine plans of God, not even our sins and not least the devil, who seems to have a hold over humanity in the world. God is not only wise but He is omnipotent. He will ensure that everything, good or evil, will cooperate for the greater good of the Kingdom of God. He will use our sins for our growth and for the fulfillment of His plans for us. Like the psalmist, we cannot but marvel at the wisdom and wonders of God.
Even the rejection of Jesus turned out to be the way that God will establish His kingdom. Through His apparent failure and death, God made Him the cornerstone of our salvation. Indeed, just when we thought that with the rejection and death of Jesus, God’s plan would fail, Jesus’ death became the source of salvation vindicated by His resurrection.
What are we, as aspiring apostles, to do? St. Paul tells us in today’s second reading that we are to cling to whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious…. Of course the true, the honorable, the just, the pure … is the Divine will. The only antidote to the sins of selfishness and greed, and the fears that fuel the Culture of Death is the Spirit of the Gospel. If we live the Gospel of life, we will cultivate God’s vineyard so that it will bear only the finest and truest of fruit unto eternal life.
What are we to do? I do not know how to express this more clearly than with the words of our father Founder: Avoid anything that is not an act of obedience to the will of God. We should think carefully about that.
