The gift of time, Sermon of September 18th

25^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Matthew 20:1-16a

And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner saying, “These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.”

As we hear the Savior’s parable in today’s Gospel, we might have a tendency to sympathize with the complaints of those workers who labored for whole day and yet received only the same payment as those who came in the final hour. Something within us says, “Well, if that’s the case, why work for the whole day? It would be better to just wait till the last minute and make a deathbed conversion!”

This is obviously not the way that we are supposed to think! The Lord is challenging us with this parable. He is trying to help us to see things from a different perspective.

When we consider this parable we generally tend to interpret it according to a much more personal model: We think of the various hours of the day as symbolizing the various ages of human life.

According to this interpretation, the laborers who came at dawn would be the cradle-Catholics while those who came at the end of the day would be the sinners who have a great death-bed conversion.

If we think of the parable in this way, then the message of our Lord is to tell us that there is only one task which we simply must accomplish in this life. Beyond all else, the one objective of our life on earth must be to die in the state of grace. If we die in the state of grace, our life is a great and even an heroic success. If we die in mortal sin, then our life has been a terrible terrible failure.

And yet, we also know that the best way to die in the state of grace, is to live in the state of grace! In any case, a Christian life is far more fulfilling and joyful than a materialistic life which searches only after worldly gains and vain delights.

The simple truth is that laboring in the Lord’s vineyard is its own reward. It is far better to spend our life in union with Christ, than to be separated from him. Far better to live out our days in the grace of Jesus, than to stand idle in the marketplace!

However, there is another meaning to this parable: The hours of the day and the various laborers represent the ages of the history of salvation. When Jesus spoke this parable, the original message had much more to do with this interpretation of the ages of salvation history.

The parable of the laborers in the vineyard is really all about the relationship between the Jews (who had been called first) and the Gentiles (who were called last). The workers who came at dawn and through till noon represent Adam and Abel, Abraham and Moses, Elijah and all the prophets. Those who came at 3 o’clock in the afternoon are, perhaps, John the Baptist, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Apostles. Finally, those who come at 5 o’clock, at the very end of the history of salvation, in the final hours, these are the Gentile Christians who have been converted through the preaching of the Apostles.

The eleventh hour is the time of the Church, it is the time which we are now in! All of us, we are those laborers who come at the very end of the day.

Now this is the meaning of the parable: If we follow Christ, we will receive the same reward which was promised to Adam, to Abraham, to Moses and to the prophets. Indeed, if we are faithful, we will be included in the same Church which was founded upon the Apostles – we will even share in the glory which has been given to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

How encouraging the parable is for us when we read it in this perspective!

And this is Christ’s point: We are to recognize how generous and gracious God is in giving us the gift of time. Time is a most precious gift! Time gives us the opportunity either to convert from sin and to follow God or, if we have already begun our spiritual journey, to strive forward in grace and to merit greater glory in heaven.

What a gift time truly is! And yet, how often do we squander this gift! Far too often we say that we are just “passing the time”, or we “kill time”. What ingratitude!

St. Alphonsus Liguori makes use of a helpful analogy. He has us imagine that we are in a bank and that the owner of the bank has opened the vault which is filled with money. The bank-owner tells us that we can have however much money we are able to count in one hour.

Now, what would we do? Would we simply sit back, idle, “killing time”? No! Of course not! We would rush into the vault and start counting the money as quickly as possible. Why, we would have so much zeal and energy!

And, it tell you truly, we wouldn’t waste our time on the little bills (the ones and the fives); no, we would rush for the hundreds and the other big bills! J

If only we would make the same good use of the time which God has given us earth. Here we are, with so much time – time to make acts of charity and to store up a greater treasure in heaven. These acts of charity, whether great or small, will be of great value if only we do them all with great love!

Why then do we waste our time holding on to grudges and anger? What good does it do? Nothing!

How generous God has been! He has given us time!

Remember, the history of the world did not have to continue to today. The Savior could have come to judge the world one hundred years ago, and then none of us would have even been conceived, none of us would have existed.

You and I, we did not have to exist; but God, in his love and generous mercy, willed that there should be time in history for all of us to come into existence.

This time given us on earth is the great gift of the opportunity to come to eternity with Christ, in life everlasting.

Christ, the merciful and compassionate King

Christ the King, Year C.

November 21^st, 2010

Luke 23:35-43

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

As Americans we have a hard time accepting the idea of kings and kingdoms; but as Catholics we know that Christ is not a president, he is a King. Christ did not found a democracy, he established a Church, which is his Kingdom. However, when we think of Christ as King, we must remember that he far excels all earthly kings and rulers, he is the Good King, the King of justice, the King of peace.

If we want to understand who Christ is as our King, we must consider what a good king is meant to do for his people: he provides for their needs, especially in difficult times. The good king judges his people in fairness, he is eminently merciful. Moreover, the good king protects and defends his people from outside invaders, he is their safeguard against the enemy.

This image of the good king, ruling over and providing for his people, is something of an image for the Kingdom of Heaven – that Kingdom of peace and justice, of security and eternal joy. When we consider that this is the Kingdom which Christ comes to establish, we ought not fear his coming, but we must look forward to that day with great joy – thus we pray, “Thy kingdom come.”

It is true that, when he comes again, the Lord will separate the just from the wicked, as sheep are separated from goats, but we need not fear – for we are the people he has redeemed, if only we turn to him in faith. The Kingdom which Christ brings is the fulfillment of our hope.

On the other hand, Christ wishes for us to know that we need not even fear his judgment, if only we entrust ourselves to his mercy. The Lord desires to prove to us that he is not a king who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses and suffering. And so we are given to think upon the Cross. It is particularly at this moment, when he is most humbled and most humiliated, that Christ reveals himself as our King.

The Kingdom of peace and justice is coming, yet we still suffer – but Christ proves that he knows our suffering, he shows that he is capable of compassion.

And, so that we might be more inclined to turn to his Divine Mercy, the Savior desired that the good thief should repent at the last moment. Then, in the midst of the greatest of all suffering, the Lord received the contrition of the penitent thief. A life of sin is reversed by the simple words, “Jesus, remember me. Oh my Jesus, do not deny me. Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Here we learn that the mercy of Christ is greater than all human weakness and sin. Witnessing such great Love, how could we turn away? How could we flee from Christ’s mercy?

One thing, however, will not due – unfortunately it is something which is very common today – the one thing which will surely separate us from Christ and plunge us into Hell is this: If we deny that we have sinned, if we act as though we are not sinners, if we pretend that we are worthy of heaven, then Christ will deny us. So many people today will say, “Oh, I am basically a good person. I haven’t done anything that bad.” What pretense! What arrogance!

Only this – denying that we are sinners in need of Christ’s mercy – only this can separate us from the Love of God.

As we come to the end of the Church’s liturgical year, and as we prepare to enter into the season of Advent, we look forward to the coming of our merciful and compassionate King. For those who are faithful, his Day of Judgment, shall be a day of vindication and the beginning of life everlasting.

On the last judgment, Sermon of November 14th

33^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C.

November 14^th, 2010

Luke 21:5-19

Jesus said, “All that you see here – the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down … But not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”

I would like to begin with a little thought experiment – take a moment and think about what your primary image of Christ is. When you think of Jesus, what image or what event first comes to your mind?

I am sure that, for many of us, we think of various moments in Christ’s life – either his birth or one of his miracles, perhaps his preaching or his love for the children; I am sure that many think of the crucifixion, when he proved his love for us. Perhaps even some have thought of the resurrection or Christ as he is now, reigning in the glory of heaven. And all of these are fine and good images of Christ – but none of these are the principle ways in which the earliest Christians thought about the Savior.

For the first Christians, the primary image of Christ was not something from the past (something from his life on earth), nor from the present (as he now is in heaven); rather, the central focus of the earliest Christians was a future event: the second coming and the day of judgment. When they thought of the Lord, they immediately thought of the end of time and the coming of God’s Kingdom.

Today’s Gospel, in which Christ speaks about the last days, would have been at the fore of everyone’s mind in the early Church – more than anything else, the early Christians looked forward. They focused on the goal; not only their own personal goal, which is salvation and heaven, but also the goal of all history: The last day, the final judgment, and the resurrection of the body.

Moreover, in the earliest days, the Church suffered intense persecution and grave trials. The first Christians would have identified with Christ’s words: For they were often betrayed and even killed by family and friends. They knew well that the whole world hated them. And yet they did not fear, for they knew that Christ would be coming soon.

It is our task, in these final days of the Church’s year (which begins anew at Advent), to make this fundamental disposition of the early Christians our own. We too must foster this longing for the Kingdom. Indeed, I am sure that we all desire that Christ would come again, for we all pray “thy kingdom come.” And yet, though we do want the kingdom to come, we often secretly add, “but please not today!”

Perhaps we are a bit afraid of the second coming, perhaps we fear the end of the world. But why are we afraid? It is Christ who is coming. It is the Lord, our Savior; he comes to bring peace for his people!

In these final two weeks of the Liturgical year, and as we prepare for Advent, we can consider what it is in our lives that makes us to fear the coming of Christ, and then offer that to the Lord.

Is it an attachment to sin in our own lives? Let us turn to Christ and ask for his healing love. We have the sacrament of Confession, it is a great means of healing and strength.

Or, do we fear the final judgment because we have loved ones who are estranged from Christ or from the Church? We should pray for them. Remember, Christ died for them; will he not convert them, if only we persevere in prayer? We need only entrust them to the Divine Mercy!

No, we must not fear the second coming, we must not fear the day of judgment. There will indeed be tumult and distress, but this will not be from Christ – it will be that final assault of evil, that sad moment of human weakness and sin. For the world will not slowly get better and better, progressing to become the Kingdom of God. Rather, the world will get worse and worse, and the Church will suffer intense persecutions and trials. But then, when it seems that the gates of hell are about to prevail against Christ’s Bride, then he will come!

The second coming will not be a time of chaos, but, for those who believe, it will be the end of all sorrow and the beginning of eternal peace. Indeed, for Christ’s faithful, the second coming will scarcely be a day of judgment – rather, it will be a moment of vindication!

When the Lord tells us that he will soon return in glory to judge the heavens and the earth, this is not a threat. No, it is a promise which gives rise to a great hope. And this hope wells up within us unto life everlasting.