(Was a) Deacon's Blog

He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

Welcome as we continue our Ordinary Time journey of study and re-commit ourselves to the work of following, witnessing to, and sharing Jesus.

We have spent weeks focusing on God’s great generosity: unlimited forgiveness; full payment to all workers whether they are old school faithful or new followers; His offer of opportunities to change, turn and repent, and His invitation to all to put on the wedding garment of regeneration. Last week we even considered His generosity in making right choices for us.

We also considered the fact that regardless of our civic leaders, we are called to live as followers of Jesus and members of the
Kingdom. Our witness, justice, love, compassion, and forgiveness must surpass that of the unrighteous.

We see in last week’s gospel something that continues into this week’s teaching and for the weeks that follow as we start considering the last things, Jesus’ return in glory – and that is our response to God’s generosity. In simpler terms, are we ready for Jesus’ return? 

Being ready is not a complex process. It does not require jumping through hoops, being extraordinary in what we do, or even being heroic in our actions. It simply means we must follow the gospel life Jesus provided us with, and care in real ways.

Core to that gospel life is our love of God and our neighbors. Jesus tells us that everything depends on this act of love. Indeed, love is an act, not just a warm fuzzy feeling.

To the world and the worldly, to the unsaved, our action of love, our purposeful work of love, our attendance at Sunday worship, our praise and thanksgiving toward God and our mutual charity within His family may indeed seem out-of-the ordinary. Some might even say we are extraordinary or even heroic. To others, we are just those oddball people who give up our Sunday morning and care for people who don’t really matter.

We have chosen to follow Jesus, to obey His teaching, to walk in His way. As such our every action in conformity with His gospel is the response we offer to the Father’s generosity and our readiness to meet Him.

At that he said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”

Welcome as we continue our Ordinary Time journey of study and re-commit ourselves to the work of following, witnessing to, and sharing Jesus.

We have spent weeks focusing on God’s great generosity: unlimited forgiveness; full payment to all workers whether they are old school faithful or new followers; His offer of opportunities to change, turn and repent, and His invitation to all to put on the wedding garment of regeneration.

Today we encounter a challenge cooked up by the religious authorities of Jesus’ time on earth. What should a faithful person do about government and rulers?

Jesus gives a classic answer we all remember: “repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”

A brief thought crossed my mind in preparing for this week. If we are so focused on God’s generosity, why would we ever consider government, rulers, and taxes?

We start by turning back to our first reading where Isaiah recounts God’s words for the ruler Cyrus made in advance of Cyrus’ birth. This prophesied Cyrus would rule all ancient Babylon and would free the people of Israel. Not only would he free them, but he would make their return to Israel smooth.

Throughout the Old and New Testament, the prophets and Apostles point to God’s selection of rulers and government that were ostensibly pagan and did not know God. Yet they were working for God. We are told to honor them, be subject to them, to be obedient, and even pay our taxes without complaint. 

This seems odd doesn’t it, especially in our day. Some so-called Christians fight awfully hard for certain candidates for office. Some people channel their anger and louder than life voices behind others. This is why we are called today to consider God’s way of doing things.

In the end, it comes down to whether we trust God’s generosity or not. We heard: there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 

So, what should a faithful Christian do about government and rulers? As followers of Christ, we must let God make the choices for us, and not invest in following politicians. God will establish them even if they are pagans. What is key is how we live as followers of Jesus and members of the Kingdom. Jesus has many more instructions about that.

‘Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.’ The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests. 

Welcome as we continue our journey of study and re-commit ourselves to the work of following, witnessing to, and sharing Jesus.

Today we will welcome Travis and Christopher into the Body of Christ, the Holy Church, through the waters of regeneration. 

Travis and Christopher, like every other person coming into the Church have been gathered in, have been issued Jesus’ new invitation. Along with us they will join in the work of following, witnessing to, and sharing Jesus. 

I would like to take a moment to help us recall the gospel messages we have received over the past three Ordinary Time weeks. Jesus calls us to embrace and live out the Father’s model of generosity. Today, we consider this generosity again.

Now, going back, we have seen God’s generosity in His unlimited forgiveness; His full payment to all workers whether they are old school faithful or new followers; and His offer of  opportunities to change and soften our hearts toward His will for us. We are invited to turn and repent.

Today we heard about the invited guests. Jesus uses the illustration to show the listeners of His time that being the “chosen people” was not enough. Being part of the select does not allow one to slack off or to take God’s invitation for granted.

In stark terns Jesus shows how their disobedience, terror, dishonesty, and neglect of the Father’s invitation will lead to new invitations being issued. Those are given to us, the Gentiles. 

Within this telling is a warning to us, one we need to take very seriously. While the Father’s generosity invites us in, while it invites people of every background regardless of the past, we must enter faithful to the invitation.

The guest who showed up unchanged, trusting in generosity, but neglecting his obligation to change in light of that generosity is thrown out.

For Travis and Christopher today is a start as it is for each of us as we confess and approach. May they, like us, continually put on the white garment of regeneration and live faithful to the Father’s generosity.

“’What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?’”

Welcome as we continue our journey of study and commit ourselves to the work of following, witnessing to, and sharing Jesus.

Last Sunday we talked about celebration, and the many reasons we, who follow, witness to, and share Jesus have for celebrating.

We learned last week of the amazing generosity of God’s forgiveness. After Peter’s question related to accounting for forgiveness Jesus replies that forgiveness for those who follow Him is not a thing to be counted. Rather, our forgiveness must remain uncountable. We are not in Jesus’ gospel life as scorekeepers. The limitless forgiveness of our good and loving God is to be the forgiveness we are known by. 

Our reconciliation and salvation, our redemption all come from the uncountable gift of God’s only Son, and His self-giving to save us.

Imitating God’s uncountable forgiveness we can look at ourselves and each other differently, as freed people.

This Sunday we are once again reminded of God’s generosity.

Jesus’ well-known parable of the landowner and the workers covers several points again related to counting, and there is more to it than what is at face value.

The first workers are looking at the generosity of the landowner and admire it. Wow, this guy is so generous I can’t wait to see what I get. After all, these latecomers are not as good and deserving as I am. They lazed around all day, they’re bums. I’m a hard worker. They felt them less worthy than themselves (counting and judgment). When they get the same, they grumbled.

The early workers are grumbling not just because of the wage, but because of the generous redemption practiced by the landowner. All work was redeemed without counting the score or the before.

St. Paul reminds us to conduct [our]selves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ. That, brothers and sisters, means that we must refrain from counting what others have or have not done, from looking at someone’s past, and from judgmentalism.

Some figure they are at the front of the line for God’s blessing based on history alone. Jesus tells us it is not so. Our generosity modeled on the Father’s in the now (the last thing) is what matters.

“You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

Thank you for joining today as we continue our Ordinary Time journey focused on listening to, obeying, and witnessing to Jesus.

We’ve seen quite a bit over August. In our gospels we experience the Transfiguration, Jesus revealed to Peter, James, and John as the Son of God. Moses and Eli’jah give witness to Him. 

The power of Jesus was further revealed as He walks on the sea, teaches Peter a lesson in faith, and calms the sea. He heals the Canaanite woman’s child after her faith is tested and she perseveres in that faith.

As we discussed last Sunday, the disciples, who would become the Apostles, debated and discussed all this. That discussion was brought to a head in a conclusionary statement by Peter: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

An amazing revelation in the Transfiguration, amazing power at work – power over nature and illness, and then affirmation. Yet today we hear Peter advising Jesus on the future: “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”

I remember back in my school and early workdays hearing a very wise saying – ‘a little knowledge is dangerous.’ That was often heard when I would venture an opinion that did not take everything into account. I needed to know more before venturing an opinion. Peter fell into that trap.

What should Peter have done? Firstly, Peter should have trusted Jesus, he should have let God be God. Second, he should have realized he did not know it all, gone to humility rather than advice.

Last week Peter followed what Jeremiah spoke about – the need to confess God’s revelation – when He declared Jesus’ identity. He could not keep it shut up within himself – so it shouted out of him.

Certainly, Peter’s statement today was not God revealed, was not worthy of trust nor necessary to say. It was whispered out of him in almost secret – Then Peter took Jesus aside.

Thinking as God does requires that thing Peter fell short of; that is the faith to trust and listen. We must attune ourselves to the Holy Spirit’s call, His revelation. All it takes is that we listen, and when we hear Him it will burn in us. Then we will have a hard time holding it in. Then we must speak and act.

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and He asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

Thank you for joining today as we continue our Ordinary Time journey focused on listening to, obeying, and witnessing to Jesus.

As we know, the disciples, who would later be Apostles, gave various answers to Jesus’ question of identity. They recounted what they heard and likely discussed among themselves. If there can be one thing said for the Jewish culture it is that it has a propensity for deep study and debate. Questions are asked to make one think. Thoughts and opinions are pondered over. 

We have that heritage within our own pristine Catholic faith. We continue in modeling the early Church. We have debate as part of our democratic decision-making process. It happens at every level within the Church from the parish annual meeting to our quadrennial Holy Synods.

Having just returned from our annual Central Diocese clergy retreat, I can report that this process of debate, discussion, and decision making is alive and active – and we are edified by it. Thinking builds one up.

We can see that Peter’s statement of faith was not a sudden one-off. He is recounting what the disciples have been discussing throughout their journey with Jesus. They thought over and considered what John the Baptist had said. They knew Jesus’ words, that He is the Son of Man, taken from the prophesies of David.

In Daniel 7:13–14 the “Ancient of Days” (God) gives dominion over the earth to “one like a son of man.” In some Jewish thought the “son of man” is interpreted as the Messiah.

What set Peter apart was this admission of faith, taking a discussion and debate to a resolution.

My dear brothers and sisters, that is what we are called to do, to reach a conclusion and resolution about Jesus. If we have resolved, within ourselves, that He is our Savior and Redeemer, that He is God among and alongside us, then we have done well.

The next step for each of us, in different ways, is to permeate our lives with Jesus. Jesus’ call to us is not a Sunday one-and-done faith, but a faith lived in real ways, prayer in each moment, confidence in public witness, and fully living the gospel.