Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
If
you only see me at weekend Masses, your idea of my interests is probably a
little skewed. That’s not any
condemnation of you or me, just probably a good presumption. It’s not that I’m being disingenuous
during Mass. But the Mass is a
formalized ritual: it has structure, a certain rhythm to it, and rules that are
supposed to be followed. And in
formal situations, I embrace the formal.
Not just to be formal, but because the formal expresses a certain
reality, that is an important part of our relationship with God. The ritual nature of the Mass allows us
not to wonder about what’s new this week, but allows us to go deeper into what
we are celebrating. If the Mass were
noticeably different each week, we wouldn’t have the opportunity to go below
what is perceived by our senses, and go to the things to which the sensible
realities point.
But
I’m not always formal. And that’s
why, those who only see me at weekend Masses, are often very surprised to see
me in boat shoes during the summer, or listening to country music (neither of
which, I don’t think, could be categorized as formal). The boat shoes are simply relaxing and
cool me off during the warms months.
The country music moves my soul, and to me sounds more like life as I’ve
experienced it (though I have not done everything you hear in country songs!). There’s something about country that
helps me enjoy a beautiful day while singing “Cruise” by Florida Georgia Line,
or even helps me commiserate during sad times in life while singing “I Drive
Your Truck” by Lee Brice. Those
who see me chant at solemn Masses would probably be surprised to see me
enjoying a cold, adult beverage and singing at the top of my lungs at an
Alabama or Scotty McCreery concert.
Sometimes
we can also get overly focused on only one perspective of Jesus. This isn’t a bad thing in itself, but
it’s important to recognize that Jesus has revealed Himself in many
lights. What do I mean? I mean as we look at the Gospel, we see
Jesus who welcomes the children, and the same Jesus calling the Pharisees and
scribes a brood of vipers and whitewashed tombs. As we look at the Gospel we see Jesus the just-judge
reminding us that as we did to the least of our brothers and sisters, so we did
to Him, and the same Jesus telling the woman caught in adultery that she is
forgiven and only needs to go and sin no more. Most people probably focus on one of those aspects (merciful
or just, welcoming or challenging), when in fact, we miss who Jesus is if we do
not acknowledge the other aspects of Jesus that do not come naturally to us.
For
example, we might think of Jesus as the perfectly fair one. And there are times in Scripture where
Jesus advocates giving each his due.
However, in today’s Gospel, His generosity is accentuated. Jesus reminds us that God is generous
with His love, which we cannot earn, and it doesn’t matter how long we’ve been
at this disciple thing: God will continue to shower His love on us. The workers who worked more expected
more (which would be fair). But
Jesus’ teaches us about God’s generosity even to those who have not earned
it. For the first to be last and
the last to be first does not quite seem fair. But in this passage, Jesus emphasizes God’s generosity, not
His fairness.
The
attributes of God that we tend to focus on also tend to be the things we want. For one who knows he or she is not
worthy of God’s love, the mercy of God is probably the sweetest part of the
Gospel. For one who wants the
world to follow the plan of God and has worked hard to follow that plan, the
consequences of sin is the best part of the Gospel. Or, the attributes of God that we tend to focus on are a
reflection of ourselves. God just
tends to look like a better version of us that legitimizes our own view
points. Someone once said that
Jesus’ mission was to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Maybe that doesn’t quite do it justice,
but the Gospel is meant to challenge all of us because while we can know who
God is, we can never exhaust who God is.
There is always a way in which each of us needs to be challenged by God
to grow in certain areas, and to be comforted by God to rest in Him in certain
areas. As long as we live, we are
never done being challenged by God; we are never done being comforted by
God.
That
is why the Prophet Isaiah reminds us in our first reading: “Seek the Lord while he may be found.” If we only look for God in the ways we
are expecting, we will miss the many blessings and challenges that the Lord has
in store for us to help us to grow in relationship with Him. When I was in high school, I had a
crush on a girl, and wanted a way to talk to her. I found out she liked country music, and started to listen
to it on my own. My crush went
away, but my love of country didn’t.
Because I was willing to try something new out of the desire for a
deeper relationship, I was able to appreciate what is, in my opinion, the best
form of music on the radio. If we
are willing to try something new for God–a Bible study, a new form of service,
serving at Mass, joining the Knights of Columbus or CCW or the choir–who knows
the truly great things that God has in store for us?!?
God
has revealed Himself in Jesus, and we can truly know who God is, though we can
never exhaust that knowledge.
Stretch yourself; get to know God in a way that you haven’t before. Pray in a new way. Seek the Lord while He may be
found. Call on Him while He is
near.