No One Can

 

Work and Family

To the world you are just a person. To a company you are just an employee.

The day you resign, your work cubicle will be replaced. Your absence missed for a day then the company forgets you. They went on to make their money for they need to, and they have no time to grieve because of the expectations they have to fulfill. Occasionally they make mistakes and it may come with a price, you have to pay.

This is why, my friends, do not mix work with family. Do not take your work home, cast your family aside and forget about giving time to your children. Because in their hearts you are never replaced, because when you are gone, every day you will be missed. If anything happen to you, it will be your family and friends crying like crazy for you. Because to them, even though you are just one person, you are their world.

So reset your priorities. Be a good worker but be a better father / mother / friend / daughter / son / sister / brother / husband / wife.

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

One of Mark Twain’s more famous quotations is: “Clothes make the man.” A superficial reading of this Sunday’s gospel from Matthew 22:1-14, could draw us to the conclusion that Jesus agrees with Mr. Twain’s assessment about the importance of looking great when we arrive in the Kingdom of Heaven. Unfortunately for the fashionistas, Jesus is not making a fashion statement here. What Jesus is talking about in this parable, according to William Barclay, is “the spirit in which we go to God’s house.” Scripture reminds us in both the Old and New Testaments that we must approach God with reverence and awe.

This is a very straight forward parable and is similar to the parable of the bad tenants we heard last week. The king sent out invitations to his subjects for the marriage feast of his son. But the invitation was rejected. He then sent his servants out with a second invitation but the servants were mistreated and killed. The king responded with vengeance killing the ungrateful subjects and destroying their town. Then the king sent his servants out to invite “whomever you find.” They did as they were instructed and invited good people and bad people who accepted the invitation and attended the wedding feast. One person attended in inappropriate attire. The king was enraged and had that person thrown out, saying, “Many are invited, but few are chosen."

Like the parable of the bad tenants, this parable was directed to the chief priests and elders. Jesus was sending them a clear message, if you reject the invitation to the banquet of the Lord that is described in our first reading from Isaiah 25:6–10a, then others will be called to take your place. For those who accepted the invitation, there was an expectation that they would attend, casting off their dirty clothing and put on wedding garments which symbolize our baptismal promises. And as St Paul reminds us over and over again, when we are baptized we put on Christ.

What does this mean? St Paul gives us an explanation in Colossians 3:12–15: “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body.”

O good and gracious God,

you have invited all the peoples of the world

 to the wedding feast of your Son

 And offer them a feast beyond compare.

Open our community to all who seek you 

the poor and the rich, the weak and the strong.

May we lead others to the banquet of eternal life

where all will be welcome. 

 We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God for ever and ever.

AMEN

Making a Mess

Six-year-old Brandon decided one Saturday morning to fix his parents pancakes. He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair to the counter, opened the cupboard and pulled out the heavy flour canister, spilling it on the floor. He scooped some of the flour into the bowl with his hands, mixed in most of a cup of milk and added some sugar, leaving a floury trail on the floor which by now had a few tracks left by his kitten. Brandon was covered with flour and getting frustrated. He wanted this to be something very good for Mom and Dad, but it was getting very bad.

He didn't know what to do next, whether to put it all into the oven or on the stove and he didn't know how the stove worked!. Suddenly he saw his kitten licking from the bowl of mix and reached to push her away, knocking the egg carton to the floor. Frantically he tried to clean up this monumental mess but slipped on the eggs, getting his pajamas white and sticky.

And just then he saw Dad standing at the door. Big crocodile tears welled up in Brandon's eyes. All he'd wanted to do was something good, but he'd made a terrible mess. He was sure a scolding was coming, maybe even a spanking. But his father just watched him. Then, walking through the mess, he picked up his crying son, hugged him and loved him, getting his own pajamas white and sticky in the process.

That's how God deals with us. We try to do something good in life, but it turns into a mess. Our vocation gets all sticky or we insult a friend, or we can't stand our situation, or our health goes sour.

Sometimes we just stand there in tears because we can't think of anything else to do. That's when God picks us up and loves us and forgives us, even though some of our mess gets all over Him. But just because we might mess up, we can't stop trying to "make pancakes" for God or for others. Sooner or later we'll get it right, and then they'll be glad we tried.

Happiness Within

Even before Christ, there existed wonderful philosophy in Greece and Rome. The ancient Romans were practical people. They did not ask themselves theoretical questions. They asked how they, as people, could become happy. They concluded that they must keep the source of happiness within themselves. They were the Stoic Philosophers. The writers included Epictetus and the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. They were wise and wonderful.

The Stoics believed that they could not depend on the "outside" for happiness. The "outside is beyond my control. I must keep some control over my happiness or I will always be a victim. Example: I would be happy if my wife (or husband) were cheerful in the morning. I will be happy when I win the lottery. This is not the road to happiness. Happiness is securely found only from within.

The Stoics said that we could not let our desires go unrestrained. If I let my desires go wild, I can convince myself that I need a yacht to be happy. I do not need a yacht, or a DVR or a Porsche, or a widescreen TV. We can decide what we need; we can be content with what we have. In this regard, there are two ways to get rich. I define a rich person as one who earns more than s/he wants to spend. You could earn a fortune, more than you could ever want to spend. Or you could limit your desire to spend. J.P. Morgan chose the first way. Francis of Assisi chose the second. They were both rich.

The Stoics were a secular philosophy. They did not bring God into the picture. When we take the Stoic wisdom and add our spirituality, then we really have a plan of life. Look inside yourself for happiness. Inside you find the God who loves you. This God is the only sure source of happiness. Now we find that Francis of Assisi just might have been the happiest individual whoever lived.

Twin Brothers

The family had two twin boys whose only resemblance to each other were their looks. If one felt it was too hot, the other thought it was too cold. If one said the TV was too loud, the other claimed the volume was too low. Opposite in every way, one was an eternal optimist, the other a doom and gloom pessimist.

Just to see what would happen, on the twins’ birthday, the father loaded the pessimist’s room with every imaginable toy and game. The optimist’s room he loaded with horse manure.

That night, the father passed by the pessimist’s room and found him sitting amid his new gifts crying bitterly. “Why are you crying?” the father asked. “Because my friends will be jealous, I’ll have to read all these instructions before I can do anything with this stuff, I’ll constantly need batteries and my toys will eventually get broken,” answered the pessimist twin.

Passing the optimist twin’s room, the father found him dancing for joy in the pile of manure. “What are you so happy about?” he asked. To which his optimist twin replied, “With all this manure, there’s got to be a pony in here somewhere.”

Which are you??

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time *A*

Today’s readings present us with two contrasting stories about vineyards. Vineyards have played a prominent role in our readings for three consecutive Sundays. Two weeks ago, we heard the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, last week we heard the Parable of the Two Disappointing Sons who were asked by their father to work in his vineyard and today we hear Isaiah’s Vineyard Song and the Parable of the Wicked Tenants working in the vineyard.

The vineyard in Isaiah’s song is tenderly cared for, nurtured, “and planted [with] the choicest vines.” The planter’s expectations for the vineyard are so high that he builds a winepress. He is ready for a fruitful harvest. However, he is in for a big disappointment. The vineyard does not produce juicy grapes; rather it produces wild, sour grapes that are not good for anything. So, he destroys the vineyard. Isaiah tells us that the planter is “The Lord of hosts,” the vineyard “is the House of Israel” and “the people of Judah are his cherished plant.”

In St. Matthew’s gospel, the Parable of the Wicked Tenants working in the vineyard is similar to the story in Isaiah’s song but it has a very different ending. In this parable, the vineyard is the Kingdom of God, the tenants are the religious leaders (chief priests and elders), the servants are the prophets, the Son is Jesus and the landowner is God the Father. God entrusted his vineyard to the tenants. He provided them with everything they needed to produce a fruitful harvest. However, when he comes back to reap the fruits of the harvest, the tenants beat, kill and stone his faithful servants. They also kill his son. They are selfish and greedy. However, in this parable God does not destroy the vineyard or the tenants. He evicts the tenants and replaces them with people who will tend his vineyard with loving care and produce a fruitful harvest.

All three parables we have heard over the past three weeks are about our stewardship in the Kingdom of God. God gives us everything we need to build the Kingdom and produce good fruit. He trusts us to do the work. He gives us second and third opportunities to succeed. And, as St. Paul reminds us in today’s second reading from Philippians 4:6-9, God expects us to perform our tasks with an attitude that is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, excellent and worthy of praise. If we can accomplish all of this, then we can be assured that “the God of peace will be with” us forever and ever.

Father, 

 Your love for us 

Surpasses all our hopes and desires. 

 Forgive our failings, 

 Keep us in your peace 

 And lead us to the way of salvation. 

 We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 

 Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit 

God, forever and ever.

Amen