From this Sunday (26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A), the Gospel readings for the rest of this liturgical year, which ends with the week of the 34th Sunday (Christ the King Sunday), are taken from Jesus’ teaching during his last days in Jerusalem. These are the days reflected in the Holy Week, which starts on Palm Sunday (Passion Sunday). As you remember, the Gospel reading for Palm Sunday Procession for this liturgical year was from Matthew 21:1-11. So, we know that what we read from the Gospel for the remaining Sundays of this liturgical year are what Jesus preached in Jerusalem as his prophesized death was fast approaching. Below you see the Gospel readings for the Sundays of the rest of this liturgical year.
|
26th
Sunday |
Mt
21:28-32 |
|
27th
Sunday |
Mt
21:33-43 |
|
28th
Sunday |
Mt
22:1-14 |
|
29th
Sunday |
Mt
22:15-21 |
|
30th
Sunday |
Mt
22:34-40 |
|
31st
Sunday |
Mt
23:1-12 |
|
32nd
Sunday |
Mt
25:1-13 |
|
33rd
Sunday |
Mt
25:14-30 |
|
34th
Sunday (Christ the King) |
Mt
25:31-46 |
All of these are Jesus’ response to the Pharisees,
and other religious leaders, upon agitating them by his cleansing act in the
Temple (Matthew 21:12-17). During his last days in Jerusalem, Jesus had rather
more intense arguments with the religious leaders, who were critical of his
authorities (Matthew 21:23-27). So, as
you read and reflect the Sunday Gospel readings for the rest of this liturgical
year, keep this in mind. There is a heavy
emphasis on the Kingdom with an eschatological tone to prepare us for
the week of Christ the King Sunday to conclude this liturgical year.
The Gospel reading for the 26th Sunday
(Matthew 21:28-32) bears a similar pattern to the Gospel reading for the 25th
Sunday (Matthew 20:1-16a), because not only both of these Gospel narratives
refer to the Kingdom with a metaphor of vineyard but Jesus makes a point in his
teaching by contrasting two types of people. In Matthew 20:1-16a, the contrast
was between the vineyard workers, who worked all day long, and the vineyard
workers, who were recruited later, and therefore, worked less hours. On the
other hand, in Matthew 21:28-32, Jesus draws a comparison between the two sons
of the vineyard owner: the son, who said no to his father’s order to work but
later changed his mind and actually worked, and the son, who said yes to his
father’s order to work but did not work at all.
So, what did Jesus try to teach by making such
comparisons, in facing those who challenge him during his last days in
Jerusalem?
Basically, Jesus tells who are to be entitled to the
Kingdom and who are not, pointing toward the eschatological judgement.
In Matthew 20:1-16a, the workers who worked all day
long complained to the landowner that he paid the workers who worked less hours
the same daily wage. To this, the landowner indicated to the complainers to go
somewhere else if they did not like the way he manages the affair of his
vineyard. This indicates that we may lose our privilege to enter into the
Kingdom if we are not content with the providence of God, as well as grace of
God, though Jesus paid the price for us, sinners, to be acquitted from
condemnation and to be entitled to his Kingdom, on the Cross. In Matthew
21:28-32, a point Jesus makes is that what matters to our privilege for the
Kingdom is to do God’s will.
Given the Gospel readings for the 25th
Sunday (Matthew 20:1-16a) and the 26th Sunday (Matthew 21:28-32),
Jesus’ message for us to prepare for the Kingdom at the eschaton is:
1. To
be content with what we have received from God, not to envy or to feel jealous
about others for what they have received from God.
2. To
do the will of God for us, keeping our promises to His will, with humility
recovered upon contrition.
In Matthew 21:28-32, the son who said not to his
father’s command to work in his father’s vineyard but changed his mind and
actually worked represents those who have been despised as “sinners” but
actually have gone through metanoia
and renew themselves, committing themselves to God and His will. Jesus gives an
example of tax collectors and prostitutes for this type of people in the narrative.
On the other hand, the son who said yes to his father’s command to work in the
vineyard but never worked represents hypocrites, who are self-righteous but
their actually behaviors do not match their professed faith and promise to God.
And, according to Jesus, the religious leaders, whom Jesus responded to their
challenge on his authority, are this type of people.
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. Matthew 21:32
This is why Jesus told that sinners who repented, as
John the Baptist called for, represented by tax collectors and prostitutes, are
going to the Kingdom ahead of the self-righteous religious leaders, who refused
to convert and therefore failed to do the will of God as the religious leaders.
And in Matthew 23, Jesus goes extensively on sharply rebuking their hypocrisy,
which matches the son who promised his work in his father’s vineyard but never
did.
The contrast between the son who first refused to
work but later changed his mind and actually worked and the son who first
promised to work but never worked in the Gospel reading (Matthew 21:28-32) is
echoed in the First Reading (Ezekiel 18:25-28), which contrast a virtuous person
turning away from virtue and committing iniquity and a sinful person who turns
away the sins that he or she committed and acts right and justly. Ezekiel
prophesizes the former will be condemned but the latter will be saved. So,
Jesus indicates that repenting sinners are going to the Kingdom ahead of
hypocrites who fail to fulfill their promise to God because they are unable to
recognize their need of metanoia, due
to their pride in self-righteousness.
If you think that you have nothing to repent because
you are virtuous or righteous, you may be at risk of forfeiting your privilege to
the Kingdom, for which Jesus has paid with his blood on the Cross. And, such
mindset is leading you to the failure to do your work for the will of God, you
are in danger to losing the privilege to the Kingdom.
Those who were anointed as the religious leaders
started out with virtues and promised God to do His will. However, as pride
kicked in and grew in them, they have turned away from virtues and begun to
become hypocrites, failing to do God’s will – failing to fulfill their privileged
vow to God. As in Zechariah 11:4-17, they have failed and become subject to God’s
condemnation. And, it was their pride that really led them to fail.
This is why Paul in the Second Reading (Philippians 2:1-11)
calls us for humility, which is exemplified by Jesus. Who else can be as humble
as Jesus, who is God but dared to come to reach out to sinners in the world by
incarnating with the human flesh and died for us? Has his act of redemption for
us on the Cross wakened us up to repent our sins and serve the will of God,
starting with self-denial to carry our cross?
In this Second Reading, Paul also discourages
self-centeredness as it prompts us to fail as the those Jesus rebuked in the Gospel
Reading and as those condemned by God in the First Reading. For us to keep our privilege
to the Kingdom, Paul encourages us to do the will of God, putting others’ needs
ahead of us. Namely, this reflects the spirit of Jesus’ Mandatum Novum (John 13:34-35). It is also incorporated in “los hombres (y las mujeres) para los demas”,
an objective of Jesuit education, as Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ, has put it. Namely,
it is agape, and the Gospel Reading
for the 34th Sunday (Matthew 25:31-46) reminds us how important this
is to the judgement to enter the Kingdom.
We are on the pilgrimage journey to the Kingdom,
being on exodus from sins, with contrite heart for metanoia and reconciliation, with grateful heart so that we are
content with God’s providence, and with humble heart so that we are aware of
our need of metanoia, not falling
into self-righteous blindness to fail to do God’s will.
No comments:
Post a Comment