As I pray over this Gospel, I can’t help but see the comparison between leprosy and Covid-19. Similar to leprosy, this pandemic is keeping us isolated and preventing us from being connected to each other as much as we would like. Those who have the virus need to be isolated, quaranteed from the community. But please God, covid-19 doesn’t keep up separated from our merciful, loving God. God’s mercy and love is the final word in our spiritual journey.
In our Baptism, we claim our baptismal identity. We become God’s beloved son and God’s beloved daughter in whom the Father is well pleased. We claim who we are and whose we are. We are sons and daughters of a loving Father; we are brothers and sisters to each other; we are welcomed into the Church, the Body of Christ. Such an incredible grace we receive in Baptism, and the grace of Baptism is lifelong. In the spiritual journey of each of us, we need to ask ourselves the question: Do we claim our own baptismal identity as a beloved child of God? When I am stressed out, when I am fearful and a bit anxious, am I claiming my baptismal identity as God’s beloved? The words spoken to Jesus are words that are spoken to us as part of our baptismal identity. May you hear this day and every day these words spoken to you by our loving God: “This is my beloved son; this is my beloved daughter in whom I am well pleased.”
There is no better model for us than Mary in opening ourselves to God’s plan for our lives. We know at the Annunciation when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was to be the mother of our Savior and Lord, Mary worked through her fear and confusion and said YES to God’s plan for her. With such an inspiring faith, Mary spoke these powerful words: “I am the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done to me according to thy Word.” Can we with Mary speak these words at the beginning of 2021: “I am the servant of the Lord. Be it done to me according to your word.”
Where is God as we celebrate Christmas in 2020 as we wrestle with the coronavirus? You can point to the heavens; you can point to the infant Jesus in the Bethlehem crib; but I would like you now to point to your heart as I ask the question: Where is God? As we listen to the Gospel, in one simple unassuming sentence, the Christmas mystery is revealed. From the evangelist Luke: “While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son.”
The prayer of Mary is so very different from what has been called the world’s most common prayer, the prayer in which we try to get God to do our will. The world’s most common prayer says: “My will be done,” whereas the world’s greatest prayer says, “Thy will be done.”
In ten words, St Paul expresses the theme of today’s liturgy: Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks. My hope for myself and for you is that the joy of Gaudete Sunday is the joy that you experience everyday as a disciple of Jesus: rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in all circumstances give thanks.
This Advent season is a waiting season for us in capital letters. We are waiting to get beyond the restrictions of these pandemic days. We are waiting for a vaccine. But may this forced time of waiting be an invitation for us to enter into the blessings of the Advent season of waiting. For me a slower pace of life is getting me in touch with the grace of the Advent season. I am trying to step back from the busyness of day to day activity and to simplify my day.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta tells the story her encounter with a very sick woman on the street in desperate straits. As is typical for Mother Teresa, she stopped and helped this woman in every way that she could. She did everything that love could do. Mother Teresa cleaned the person and put her in bed, and there was such a beautiful smile on her face. She took hold of Mother Teresa’s hands and said two words in her native language, Bengali: “Thank You.” Then she died.
On this the last Sunday of the Church year, the Scriptures draw our prayerful attention to the end times – the end of our own lives when we go home to God. At the conclusion of the story of every person on earth, when each is alone with himself and with God, only love will be significant. And we can never love others unless we feel a certain reverence towards them. From the Gospel, the life of each one will be considered a success or failure according to the commitment of the person in the elimination of six situations of suffering and poverty: hunger, thirst, exile, nakedness, sickness, imprisonment...: Did you feed the hungry? Did you shelter the homeless? Did you care for the sick? And our answer will be….
Our prayerful question is one of accountability. What are we doing with the talents God has given to us? Have we buried our talents, or have we used them to make a difference in the lives of others? What effect have these Covid days had on our accountability to use our God-given talents in the service of one another?
I would invite for your reflection two of the beatitudes: Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the poor in spirit…The poor in spirit are those who know they stand in need of God’s redeeming love. Our wealth doesn’t come from are material assets; our real wealth comes from God’s healing love for us. To tap into God’s unending love for us, we need first to recognize our need for God’s grace. This is to say we need to recognize our poverty of spirit which moves us to find an inner blessedness that is God’s gift to us. Blessed are those who have to rely on God for every breath they take. The greatest spiritual deception of all is thinking we are self-righteous; that our spiritual will power is the source of our holiness. That is the biggest illusion of all. The spiritual life begins with our need for God. Left to ourselves, we are poor; we stand in need. The grace of this situation is that it can lead us to trust not in ourselves, but to trust in God. And so, the beatitude, blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The love command is the guts of Catholic morality. Church practices and rules are there to help us avoid everything that is opposed to the “love command.” Sin in our lives is when we do not live up to our baptismal commitment, to our discipleship witness of loving God and our neighbor. In the Gospel account, the Pharisees understanding of what truth is could be found only in a multitude of laws. The Gospel affirms the witness of a God of love and a God of hope. The joy of the Gospel is discovered when we share the merciful love of Jesus with one another.
Ultimately, we belong to God and the service and love of God’s people is the source of meaning and happiness in our lives. Moreover, all of God’s creation bears the image of God. Our care for our environment, our stewardship of the earth is giving back to God what belongs to God. Even though none of us enjoy paying taxes, in the big picture, giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s is not the demanding component of today’s Gospel. Where we are challenged is: Giving to God what is God’s. God does not want taxes. He does not need your vote and He does not need you to take up arms in His defense. But God does deserve your heart and conscience. These should never be given to a human institution or even to a human relationship. Your greatest love, your greatest loyalty belongs to God. The Roman coin was stamped with the image of Caesar. The human heart is stamped with the image of God. We are made in His image and likeness. Perhaps, the question is, “Shall we, can we, and do we give to God what is God’s?”
Today’s Gospel parable is a conversion story. A man said to his first son: ‘Son out and work in the vineyard today. He said in reply, ‘I will not go,’ but afterwards changed his mind and went. Saying yes to God means giving up one’s own thoughts and accepting His. Conversion happens in our lives when we open ourselves to God’s plan for our lives. Where do we find ourselves in this Gospel parable?
Today’s Gospel parable gives us a glimpse of God’s measuring yardstick of what it means to be a disciple – it is a yardstick of generosity and forgiveness. Jesus asks us the grumbling workers: “Are you envious because I am generous? Thus, the last will be first, and the first last.” Now it is true that this parable of the “workers in the vineyard” can seem to be hard to understand. The parable deals with landowners and workers, wages and profits, and fair and unfair labor practices. But to understand the parable, we need to delve into what the kingdom of God is like.
Bishop Matano writes: “The recent news of the tragic death of Mr. Daniel Prude and the visible pain of his family cause a deep sorrow in the hearts of all. We ask ourselves how we can work together in solidarity for a more just society where tensions are able to be reduced, where conflicts can be settled, where peace prevails, and where life is sacred and reverenced? “ In affirming the sacredness of community - in our family life, in our Church life, in the streets of our cities, and in all ways we come together with others -- we have to learn to forgive, we have to learn to care, we have to learn that strangers are no longer strangers, that we are brothers and sisters to each other. What would it be like for us as Americans if Democrats and Republicans committed themselves to affirm the sacredness of our community life and sought to build up each other? What would it be like if on the streets of our cities, instead of racial violence, we affirmed the dignity and the sacredness of each other; what would it like in our Church life, if we all prayed together the prayer of Jesus, that they may be one in unity and love?
In our time of suffering, may we discover the inner strength that comes from God who is within us to trust that God’s love for us is unending. Yes, in your life and in mine, stuff happens that we don’t like – dealing with Covid-19 and the social distancing restrictions that is demanded of us. Who of us planned that our lives would be turned upside down since last March?
What keys has the Lord entrusted to you? Part of the take-home message of today’s gospel is that certain keys have been entrusted to each of us. With the keys that have been given to us, we are to open the way to Jesus for others instead of locking those doors. We should welcome more people that we turn away and serve more people than we refuse. Jesus comes to give us Good News that we are to share with others.
In the words of Martin Luther King, “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. He then goes on to say: I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” I would add: “We have a dream that we will pray and live in a Church where everyone belongs, where we celebrate that all of us are the recipients of the merciful love of Jesus.
The Lord speaks to us in the stress and craziness of life as well. When in your life do you experience the turbulence of the sea and your fears and anxiety get the best of you? Are there times when you panic there is too much to do and not enough time to do it? As a parent or grandparent, what happens when you do not approve of the choices your children are making? As a teen or young adult, what happens when your heart is broken from a relationship that falls apart? How is it for you when you are disillusioned by those in authority – in the government, in the Church, or in your place of business? Personally, when happens loneliness or depression gets the best of you, where do you turn? In the Gospel account of the storm of Sea of Galilee, the evangelist Matthew tells us that Jesus came to the disciples during the fourth watch of the night. That is 3:00 am.