October 2nd 2011: Sunday Gospel Reflection

Matthew 21: 33-43  

God created us with free will so that we will flourish and have life “to the full”. Since God gave us the freedom to love him it means we also have the freedom to turn away from God. Even when we turn away from God, He continues to love us and reach out to us. The ongoing story of God loving us is called Salvation History.

In today’s Gospel Jesus tells a parable of a landowner (God) who leases his land (the world) to tenants (human beings/us). When the landowner sends workers (prophets and saints) to collect the harvest the tenants mistreated them and even killed them! Finally the landowner sent his own Son (Jesus) and they even killed him!

In this parable Jesus is teaching us that sometimes we are like the tenants and that it is our responsibility to listen to God’s voice and to be good tenants by caring for God’s creation and our neighbor.

Other times we are like the workers (prophets and saints) who are sent into the vineyard to do the landowners’ will. Sometimes living out our faith and right relationship with God will be unpopular; we may be mistreated or made fun of. Yet, Jesus reminds us, the stone that the builder rejected has become the cornerstone; Jesus was rejected and died for us so that we can be with Him forever. Jesus is the cornerstone for all of history and for our lives, that most important piece without which the whole building will fall down!

Jesus already suffered and died for us and promises us that if we say ‘yes’ daily to follow Him, sometimes even when it is difficult, we will be most happy in the Kingdom of God here on earth as it is in heaven.

Questions for Reflection/Discussion

-What/who has God given us in our lives to care for?

-How can I better care for what God has entrusted to me?

-Am I willing to do what is unpopular because of my faith and love of God?

-Is it better not to do or say the right thing because it might be unpopular? Or Is it better to do what is right even if there are some negative consequences?

-Give an example when you have done the right thing because of your love for God and others that was not popular.

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September 25th 2011: Sunday Gospel Reflection

Matthew 21: 28-32

In today’s Gospel Jesus tells a story about two sons who are each asked by their father to go out to the vineyard to work. One son says ‘yes’ but never goes, the other says ‘no’ but ends up going after all. The message of Jesus is that we are called to be authentic people of Faith. Jesus does not care if we say the right things but rather that we be the right kind of people.

When we remember and believe that we are loved abundantly (even irrationally!) by God then we will choose to love Him in return. When we choose not to love God and our neighbor we become less whole and send a message to our friends, and family that what we believe might not be true.

A Franciscan priest, Brennan Manning, once wrote that: 

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle…

that is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." 

Today we have an opportunity to be authentic, the best versions of ourselves that we can be. When people see us love others as radically as God loves us they will know that there is something different about us, that God is with us and that we (all) are the Beloved Daughters and Sons of God!

Questions for Reflection/Discussion: 

-In what ways to I not act in a way consistent to what I say about being a follower of Jesus?

-Who are the people in my life who are looking for an authentic Christian example?

 -What is one way that I can be that example by loving someone radically this week?

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September 18th 2011: Sunday Gospel Reflection

Matthew 20:1-16

In today's Gospel Jesus tells a parable that does not seem fair. Some workers came to the vineyard and worked a full day, some a half-day, and some only a few hours; they each were paid a full day's wage.

We do not think as God thinks; this is Good News. God loves us radically and extravagantly no matter what we do. He has a plan for each of us and promises us that if we stay close to Him He will lead us to a life full of abundant joy. Certainly the God who made us knows what is best for us, right? Perhaps He even knows better than we do! We will be truly happy if we respond to God’s abundant love with a radical faith and trust in God. 

Respond Today: 

-When we are faced with difficulty, frustration or injustice, practice turning to God in prayer.

-Love someone radically in a way they might not deserve.

-Advocate for someone who is not receiving what is just.

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September 11th 2011: Sunday Gospel Reflection

Matthew 18:21-35

“Wrath and anger are hateful things,

yet the sinner hugs them tight.”

Today Americans across the country celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001. Youth born after 1995 may have no personal experience about the tragedy beside annual memorials or anecdotal references through each of them are growing up in a “post 9/11” world. Terrorism, violence, and war continue to plaque our world and worldview adding fear to attending school, visiting large cities, and traveling. Moments as stark as 9/11 allow us to see clearly the existence of evil and serve as a reminder that we were not created for evil and that God did not create evil. We were created and blessed by God and in His image and likeness to be blessing to one another. Out of love, God gave each of us free will so that we could freely love Him and one another in return.

We will always be made in God’s image; nothing can change this. Yet in our human brokenness we sometimes freely choose things which shackle us (sin) and smudge our likeness to the God who loves us. We sometimes hug sin tight, be it anger, jealousy, pride, selfishness, etc. On this day of national remembrance we are called by God to let go of those dark things that harm us and to embrace the light!

Just as violence, anger, or a grudge can spread and infect others, so too, prayer, peace and virtue can flow from us to those we encounter and helps to increase our family resemblance to our loving Father. Our challenge is to live as Jesus asks: “blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God”. May we bring peace and blessing to another person’s life today.

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

-How do I think God felt when He saw his children being harmed and killed?

-Do I believe that acting with peace and love can affect others’ lives?

-Who is someone I am not at peace with? What can I do to bring blessing to that person?

*For more reflections on 9/11 visit the US Bishop's Conference Site: The Catholic Church Remembers

September 9th 2011: Sunday Gospel Reflection

Matthew 18:15-20

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In today’s First Reading from Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome he encourages them to live according to the Golden Rule: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.” Paul believed that  if we truly love others as we ought we have no need for any laws or commandments. How would your household function with no norms/laws/rules?

    

The reality is that we do not always live golden-ly and as a result, rules help us to stand upright as God created us. God gave us free will and knew that we would not always choose rightly. In God’s Wisdom, He has given us one another to be co-workers and guides in this world. We are responsible for each other.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus lays out the authentic way for us to support each other in mutual responsibility: turning away from gossip and toward relationship. Jesus rejects all gossip as well as a primary authoritarian or institutional approach. Instead, Jesus asks us to first go and talk to the person face to face with whom we are not in right relationship. It is so much easier to complain to others or run to someone with more authority but such an approach only strikes division between us and harms authentic relationship in the process. We were made for communion with each other in God and anything that fractures that communion must be removed.

If a person is unresponsive to questioning or fraternal correction ultimately Jesus instructs His Apostles, the leaders in the Church community to play a role for the sake of communion. Jesus tells His Apostles that “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” To bind or to loose means that Jesus has passed on to Church leaders the responsibility to discern, interpret, and teach the law and how it is to be applied. We are responsible for each other and ultimately, the Catholic Church, founded on the Apostles, is responsible for supporting us as well by discerning and serving God’s law here on earth. With such a weighty responsibility no wonder the Church moves so slowly in changing matters of moral teaching.

Questions for Reflection/Discussion:

-How do I deal with tension or confrontation in my family/life?

-What role does passive-aggressiveness or gossip play in my relationships?

-Do I believe that the Church helps to communicate God’s law?

-Am I open to fraternal correction, even from the people I do not like? From Christian leaders?

Photo Credit: Normal Rockwell