Fr. Rick Spicer

Earlier this year, Oprah Winfrey, one of the most popular talk show hosts on television, hosted a party to end all parties in honor of the people she considered her heroes. Each person on the exclusive invitation list was instructed to wear white. The event was a smashing success; it was clearly the most coveted invitation in town, so to no one’s surprise, almost every guest showed up.

Imagine if none of the guests had accepted the invitation? “No way!” you would say, “That would never happen in a million years!” And you’re right. How could anyone pass up the opportunity to attend such an opulent affair?

Yet that is the scenario Jesus painted in this parable. The host in this instance was not a popular television personality, but a king. If there was ever a command performance, this was it, yet his guests turned him down. To make this story even more absurd, some of those guests did more than just decline the invitation. They went so far as to mistreat or kill the king’s servants.

This was Jesus’ way of pointing out that many people in the course of history had rejected the prophets who repeated called them to repentance. But God wasn’t about to cancel the party. To the contrary, the invitation to this great feast is now extended to everyone. “Go out, therefore, into the main roads, and invite to the feast whomever you find,” the servants were told. So they gathered up all they could find, good and bad alike.

Amongst all the guests who filled the hall was a man who was not dressed in a wedding garment. “My friend,” the king asked, “how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?” When the guest could provide no excuse, he was cast into the darkness outside.

If this outcome sounds strange to you, try dining at some fancy restaurant that requires a coat and tie and if you have neither, the maitre d’ would gladly provide you with one. In biblical times, guests who came improperly attired were provided with wedding garments. For some reason, the guest, even when given the chance, chose not to wear one.

The issue here is not the article of clothing, but the meaning behind the garment. As the saying goes, clothes make the man. Wearing purple and gold, for example, sends the message to anyone at Husky stadium that the person with such colors is a Husky fan. Many others are there to enjoy the game, but not necessarily to see the Huskies win, especially those who might be wearing crimson and gray!

The point Jesus is making here is that God is a generous host who has thrown open the doors to anyone who cares to come to the heavenly banquet: the good, the bad, and the indifferent. But as we are told, many declined the invitation for any number of reasons ranging from apathy to having been offended in some way by someone claiming to be a Christian.

Being invited is easy enough, but getting to stay is a different story. Through the sacrament of baptism, we accept God’s invitation to the heavenly banquet, but as the ousted guest learned, having the invitation in hand is no assurance that one gets to stay and enjoy the heavenly feast.

If you have witnessed an infant’s baptism, you may recall the words spoken by the celebrant after the baptism. “You have become a new creation, and have clothed yourself in Christ. See in this white garment the outward sign of your Christian dignity. With your family and friends to help you by word and example, bring that dignity unstained into the everlasting life of heaven.” In other words, we are told to arrive at the gates of heaven with our dignity unstained by sin as a sign that we are still wedded to Christ.

We cannot expect to be seated at the heavenly banquet if we make no effort in our lifetime to reject Satan, and all his works, and all his empty promises. In effect, when we sin, we put aside our wedding garment. Those who will be chosen are those who have made their peace with God.

This parable is a metaphor for sin in our lives, addressing the reality that sin weakens our relationship with God. It is dangerous to presume that when the moment comes for us to stand before God, we will be ready. As the news media points out often, death can come when we least expect it.

Have you ever responded to a request with the line, “I’ll get a round to it?” Well, I have more than once. One day, a dear friend handed me a cross section of a tree branch, about the size of a thick poker chip, on which were written the letters, t,o,i,t. I asked her what was the meaning behind this and she explained, “Well, you keep saying that one of these days you’ll get around to it, so I figured you needed one!”

How often do we say that we will get around to doing something, only to discover that time passes and the resolution remains undone? Perhaps that resolution was breaking a bad habit like smoking, losing weight, simplifying one’s lifestyle, become more prayerful, spending more time with loved ones, getting more exercise, or writing that long overdue letter. Yes, our good intentions often remain good intentions that have yet to be carried out.

Beginning with Adam and Eve, people have long made excuses when, for whatever reason, they chose not to follow the will of God. Many made the promise to, as did the second son in today’s parable, but they never carried out their good intentions.

Jesus shared this parable of the two sons with the chief priests and elders to rebuke them for acting holy, yet inwardly failing to do their part in bringing about the kingdom of God. Like the second son in the parable, the chief priests and the elders made their promises but in Jesus’ opinion, they were not obeying his Father’s will.

Jesus undoubtedly startled them when he said, “Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.”

“Excuse me?” must have been their immediate reaction. “You question our holiness?” Indeed Jesus did for they were not backing up their words with any credible evidence of holiness. Like the son who agreed to go to the vineyard, they were not carrying out their promise.

On the other hand, Jesus praised the tax collectors and the prostitutes, whom the chief priests scorned, for being the ones who ultimately did what God asked of them. You could say that they got around to it. They heeded the call of John the Baptist to repent and change their ways. They were doing the will of the Father.

By changing their lives, Jesus pointed out that sinners were entering the kingdom of God. He didn’t say they were going to at some future date. He said they were entering. In other words, through conversion, Jesus tells us, we can enter the kingdom of God in this lifetime. The choice is up to us.

At baptism, when we entered into a faith relationship with God, we promised to work for the coming of the kingdom, to make God real in our lives. Our very presence suggests that we hold a common belief in God, but are we willing to obey God in all that he asked of us? Have we the attitude one finds in Jesus Christ?

I suspect not always. We tend to be selective in what we believe and what we do, so far as the teachings and commands of our faith go. Claiming that the Lord’s ways are unfair, we sometimes ignore God’s will, regarding it as being old fashioned and out of touch with reality. Consequently, we do sin and in those instances, our selfish ways prevent us from making the kingdom evident to those around us.

Do you remember Mary Poppins? In the 1964 movie, she is the magical nanny hired to care for Jane and Michael Banks. At the end of the first spectacular day, she is putting her new charges to bed. Jane asks Mary, “You will never leave us, will you?” Her younger brother quickly adds his own rash pledge; “Will you stay if we promise to be good?” Mary Poppins smiles and replies, “That is a pie crust promise. Easily made. Easily broken.” Jesus sees this tendency in his own “pie crust promise” disciples, who are slow to repent and believe. Does he see this in us, too?

If we want to enter the kingdom of God, then we must imitate the good son. We can choose to make a difference today in making the kingdom of God very real. How? For starters, we could choose to love, rather than hate. We could choose to smile, rather than frown. We could choose to build, rather than destroy. We could choose to persevere, rather than quit. We could choose to praise, rather than gossip. We could choose to heal, rather than wound. We could choose to give, rather than grasp. We could choose to act, rather than delay. We could choose to pray, rather than despair. We could choose to forgive, rather than curse.

When asked what remedy there was for the evils in the world, St. Francis of Assisi observed that we must first be what we ought to be; otherwise, evil would remain as a disorder everywhere. Each day brings us opportunities to choose between doing God’s will or doing evil. Do you see yourself being what you ought to be and taking on the attitude of Jesus? If not, when will you get around to it so that others can see the attitude of Christ in you?

This is an incredible parable. Like any good parable, it catches our attention because someone acted unexpectedly. In this case, the vineyard owner gives the same pay to everyone, regardless of how much work that person did. The laborers hired at dawn felt cheated even though they received what was promised when they were hired. Like them, we are inclined to protest, “That’s unfair!”

You might even be thinking this isn’t common sense either. One just doesn’t operate a business that way, paying every employee the same wage, especially if some do nothing more than show up for work before the end of the job shift. To better appreciate where Jesus is coming from, keep in mind that we are made in the image of God, not the other way around. As Isaiah reminds us, God’s thoughts are not our thoughts nor are God’s ways our ways.

With this parable, Jesus is telling his disciples that God has only one reward in store for all who work in the kingdom, whether one has been working all their lives or came aboard at the last moment. The Pharisees were miffed to think that sinners, especially tax collectors and prostitutes, would get the same compensation that they would. Like the laborers who slaved all day, they felt, “That isn’t fair!”

For that matter, how would many life-long Christians feel if they were to meet some scoundrel like Ted Bundy or Adolf Hitler in heaven? I suspect they too would protest, “That isn’t fair!” Faithfully keeping the commandments, being moral and upright in their lifestyles, they might  react in the same way the vineyard workers did if they knew that someone after a life of scandal would receive the same gift. After all, why be virtuous, turn the other cheek, say our prayers, conquer our temptations, and keep the commandments if God will smile just as kindly on gang-members, terrorists, and prostitutes?

If that is your gut reaction, then you need to reflect on your baptism and ask yourself, “What did God promise me?”

In baptism we are promised the gift of heaven. For most of us, baptism happened early in life; so like the laborers hired at dawn, we will find ourselves working all day long. Others will be drawn to the Lord later in life, some even on their deathbed. What matters to God is that they accepted an invitation to find salvation in Jesus Christ through the Church. Instead of being envious, we should be glad that another person found God before it was too late.

This is the deal Jesus presents, and those of us who count ourselves among the faithful had better get used to it.

Notorious sinners who come to Christ on their deathbed after living dissolute, immoral lives have as much opportunity to gain eternal paradise as those of us who go to church, follow the rules, and practice virtuous habits. Is this fair? That really does not matter for God never promised us our form of justice. His is a divine justice linked to divine mercy, and for most of us, whether we appreciate it or not, that will prove to be a very good thing.

Divine generosity is a scandal to people, like the Pharisees, who believe that it should only be granted to those who deserve it. But this is where their reasoning falls short. None of us deserve the generosity of God. Salvation is a gift God freely gives to all who accept it. If we think of heaven as something we deserve, then we will resent those who in our judgement do not. It would be arrogant to think that we have earned our way for heaven is God’s gift to us, not a paycheck for what we have done in this lifetime. What we do, however, is a testimony of what we believe.

God didn’t come into our lives for the purpose of hiring us in the manner that our employers did. Remember, the vineyard owner called the protesting laborer a friend, not a servant or brother. Likewise, Jesus comes into our lives as a friend to offer us the gift of salvation, which will be ours if we are in the vineyard come sundown. That is, if we are in a relationship with God at the hour of our death, which could come when we least expect it.

Instead of acting smugly, presuming that heaven is already ours, we should continually seek to be with God. Turn to God now is Isaiah’s message to us because tomorrow maybe too late. Consider the sacrament of reconciliation if you have need of it, for as Isaiah also points out, our God is generous in forgiving. Commit yourself to regular prayer habits, especially if you have been too busy to spend much time in prayer. Forgive anyone who is waiting on your forgiveness. After all, that is the promise you make each time you say the Lord’s Prayer.

As this parable suggests, God’s uncommon sense of generosity, love and forgiveness often strikes us with an extravagance that violates our sense of “fair play.” Rather than be offended by God’s ways, and fume that someone undeserving could possibly be in heaven with you someday, count yourself fortunate that God’s ways wisely puts love ahead of our notion of common sense and fairness. I recall a poem from years ago that says it well: I dreamt death came to me the other night, and heaven’s gate swung wide.

With kindly grace, the angels ushered me inside. And there to my astonishment, stood folks I’d known on earth, some of whom I had judged as being unfit and of little worth. Indignant words rose to my lips but never were set free, for every face showed stunned surprise. Not one expected me!

Paul takes us to the heart of the Christian message when he told the Romans “Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” After twenty centuries of practice, you would think that we Christians would be experts at the art of loving. But the truth is, we have much to learn. Throughout his letters, Paul repeatedly talks about love, making the point, as he does here, that there can be no language of “mine” and “thine” in the world of love.

I recall reading years ago about a young man who knocked at the door of a house. A voice from within asked, “Who is it?” The young man said, “It’s me! I’ve come to ask permission to marry your daughter.” The voice from  within said, “Go away! You’re not ready! Come back in a year.” A year later, the young man returned and knocked again. The voice from within asked, “Who is it?” The young man replied, “It’s us. We’ve come to ask your permission to marry.” The voice from within said, “Please come in! Now you are ready!” The language spoken in the realm of true love is “our,” not “mine” or “thine.”

There are basically two kinds of love–selfish love and unselfish love. They may look the same on the surface but they are very different. Selfish love brings death to a relationship while unselfish love generates life. The first time the young man came to ask permission to marry, his love was perceived as selfish by the voice from within. He said, “It’s me!” But a year later, his love was recognized as unselfish for now he could say, “It’s us!”

To deal with the selfish love in our lives, we need the model of God’s love. Many couples speak of their wedding day as the most important day of their lives but I tell them the most important day actually comes later, namely on the day when they recognize the importance of God’s love in their lives. So often, we love others conditionally, that is, with strings attached. I will love you provided you do this or don’t do that. I will love you if I get something in return. But God’s example of love is unconditional love. God loves us period and God invites us to do the same.

The fact is few of us love as God does. Instead, we impose conditions on our relationships and if they are violated or not met, the relationship is jeopardized. More than once, I have heard tales of selfishness in its many forms, from apathy to infidelity, leading to the break up of a marriage or  friendship.

In one of his not so common fables, Aesop illustrates the dangers of selfish love. One day, a lonely unloved child was sitting by a wall when a toad emerged from a nearby cave. To attract the toad, the child spread out a silk scarf on the ground. When the toad saw the scarf, he went back into the cave and soon returned with a little golden crown, which he then dropped on the scarf.

He went back to the cave. On seeing the glittering crown, the child’s eyes lit up. She grabbed the crown and placed it in her pocket. When the toad returned and noticed that the crown was missing, he jumped to his death off the wall. The child did not love the toad. To the contrary, she saw that he had something she wanted and without a thought for the toad’s feelings, she took it.

Such is selfish love. The selfish lover uses the other person for his or her own gain. The attitude, which may be completely unconscious, is “the other person exists for me.” This is not love in the manner that Jesus or Paul speaks of. Sooner or later, selfish love causes the other person to close up and become less able to love in return.

Unselfish love, on the other hand, helps the other person to unfold. Unselfish love does everything in its power, even at the risk of coming across as uncaring, to encourage the other to come out of the cave and share his treasures with the world. Unselfish love has no desire to take possession of those treasures. Instead, the unselfish lover shows an active concern for the happiness, growth and life of the loved one. As the gospel makes clear, that may call for intervention at times. Too often when things are amiss and we are hurt, we keep silent or complain to others. Knowing that isn’t the solution, Jesus tells us that we must set things right not by worsening the situation but by seeking to build a bridge of forgiveness. He provides a good blueprint for us to follow in such circumstances. His plan may seem intimidating or even impossible, but it isn’t if you remember to include Jesus in the endeavor.

Soren Kierkegaard offers food for thought for anyone who thinks broken relationships cannot be mended. He wrote, “Never cease loving a person, and never give up hope for him, for even the prodigal son who had fallen most low, could still be saved; the bitterest enemy and also he who was your friend could again be your friend. Love that has grown cold can kindle again.”

When we give our neighbor a second chance, when we say, “I’m sorry,” when we put the hurt behind us, then we can discover within us a potential for loving and forgiving we never dreamt we had. As one Welsh proverb puts it, “In every pardon, there is love.”

Several naval ships at sea on maneuvers encountered foggy weather. The visibility became so poor that the captain of the battleship remained on the bridge to keep an eye on all the activity. Shortly after sunset, the lookout reported, “Light bearing on the starboard bow, sir.”

“Is it steady or moving astern?” asked the captain. The lookout replied, “Steady, sir.” This meant the ships were on collision course. The captain then shouted to the signalman, “Signal that ship. ‘We are on collision  course. Advise you change course twenty degrees.’ ”

Back came the reply, “Advisable for you to change course 20 degrees.” The captain, by now a bit annoyed, said, “Send this message. ‘I am the captain of a battleship. Change course 20 degrees now!’” Back came the flashing light’s reply, “I’m a seaman second class and this is a lighthouse!” I wonder how the captain felt as he swiftly changed course. Probably no more embarrassed or humiliated than Peter did. As we heard in last week’s gospel, Jesus had called him a rock. Now he is being compared to a stumbling block. “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does but as human beings do.”

In effect, Jesus is telling Peter and us to reject the world’s way of life and live instead by God’s way. We just heard Paul tell his listeners, “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” That was the message Pope John Paul often preached during his long pontificate.

The Holy Father was often criticized for not changing his views on contraception, abortion, sexual morality and consumerism. However unwelcome his messages were, Pope John Paul acted as a modern day prophet, reminding us of the need to follow God’s will for our own well being and to ignore the secular values of our times. Being a prophet takes courage, but if the prophets in our midst don’t speak up, our world will no  longer be a safe place.

Do we even consider the question of God’s will whenever we personally make a moral decision or value judgment? If not, by whose standards then do we make our daily choices?

We should give ourselves time and space to become better aware of God’s standards and will. I for one would never claim to be more aware of God’s will then the man whom our Church regards as the vicar of Christ yet many people do, choosing to ignore his prophetic messages. Acting like a lighthouse for us, the pope cannot change the course of God’s ways, while you and I can change ours. The choices we make can us move closer to or away from God. Following God’s will has always been a challenge, perhaps even more so today than ever before. Looking around, we can see ample evidence of a vanishing sense of morality.

The notion that living together before marriage is not wrong is a common attitude shared by engaged couples. The view that adultery, listed in scripture as one of the gravest of sins, is wrong has also faded away. The same could be said for abortion. The desire, unfortunately, for personal pleasure has surpassed commitment in the minds of many.

A nationally known ethicist, asked to teach a graduate course at a prestigious business school, was stunned to discover that he could not present ethical situations to the students because they possessed no moral basis to judge the cases. Their single standard for evaluating was, “Is it profitable?” What is the point of making a profit in this life, Jesus asked, if in the end we lose it all?

Another example that comes to mind was the recent efforts of a prominent senator, who happens to be a doctor, to secure federal funding for stem cell research. Although he recognizes the embryo as a human being, he argued with his colleagues that if parents do not want these unborn fetuses, they should then be used for medical research. On the surface, his idea sounds good, but would you seek treatment for a disease that includes the sacrifice of fellow human beings? Given such a choice, I hope you would say, “Get behind me, Satan, you are trying to make me trip!” More than once, Pope John Paul lamented the loss of objective truth and its universally valid principles of morality. At World Youth Day in 1993, he said, “To educate without a value system based on truth is to abandon young people to moral confusion, personal insecurity and easy manipulation. A serious moral crisis is already affecting the lives of many young people, leaving them adrift, often without hope and conditioned to look only for instant gratification.”

Twelve years later, can we say the situation has improved any? Unfortunately, much of our society still has little sense of morality or ethics. As Catholics, we are challenged by this gospel to understand the meaning of God’s morality, one that, like a lighthouse, has never changed and never will.

By virtue of our baptismal promises, we are called upon to live by God’s standards not human standards. For the bottom line is this: when we reject God’s standards for living morally, we are allowing Satan to dupe us into rejecting God.