Readings for Sunday 10-2-2011                                

Are Your Ears Open?

               

                Have you ever felt like you’ve been taking the Catholic Faith for granted?  If you answered ‘yes’, it’s time to rethink your answer.  This Sunday’s Gospel passage continues the same theme as last week’s reading, with Jesus’ continual disapproval of the religious leaders of His day.  (Note to self: Be careful if you’re thinking of going into the priesthood, religious life or becoming a catechist.  You’re expectations will be higher.)  Again, Jesus questions them with another parable about a landowner.  In this parable, God is the landowner with a vineyard.  The landowner has leased the vineyard to tenants.  These tenants represent the religious leaders of Jesus’ day.  The landowner has gone off on a journey, representing the fact that God allows the religious leaders to make decisions on earth in His absence.  God does not control their actions and decisions, but gives them real authority to act in His name.  God has entrusted the religious leaders with the mission of bringing the people closer to Him.  That the landowner is on a journey does not mean that God has abandoned us, that He doesn’t care about us.  The landowner expects the tenants to work on his behalf, just as God expects the religious leaders to carry out what He wants.  This, however, is not what happens in the parable.  The tenants kill the landowner’s servants and his son, just as the religious leaders of Israel killed the prophets and, ultimately, Jesus.  Once the landowner returns, he will put the old tenants to death, and will give his vineyard over to new tenants.  In a similar way, the religious leaders of Jesus’ time were stripped of their authority, which was given to the Apostles and the Catholic Church.  This parable shows Jesus’ passion, a life and death passion, that He has about being a religious leader.  He’s not against religious leaders, but He has big expectations of those who stand up to speak and teach on His behalf.  Most importantly, He wants to protect the ‘common person’ so that they understand just how much God loves them.  Jesus will do anything to make sure this message does not get distorted.  Jesus’ high standard of leadership did not just apply to the Jewish leaders of the First Century: It applies even more to today’s leaders in the Church who have been given ‘the keys to the Kingdom’, who have been given authority in the Church.  The Catholic Church is God’s instrument of salvation in the world, and Jesus has vowed not to let hell overtake it.  He is protecting it with His life.  Let us make it a point, then to pray for the religious leaders of our Church, including priests, religious (brothers and sisters) and lay people: May God grant them the ability to stay 100% focused on their holiness, never compromising it or the message of God’s love for His people.

Reading 1                            Isaiah 5:1-7

Let me now sing of my friend, my friend's song concerning his vineyard. My friend had a vineyard on a fertile hillside; he spaded it, cleared it of stones, and planted the choicest vines; within it he built a watchtower, and hewed out a wine press. Then he looked for the crop of grapes, but what it yielded was wild grapes. Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard: What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done? Why, when I looked for the crop of grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? Now, I will let you know what I mean to do with my vineyard: take away its hedge, give it to grazing, break through its wall, let it be trampled! Yes, I will make it a ruin: it shall not be pruned or hoed, but overgrown with thorns and briers; I will command the clouds not to send rain upon it. The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his cherished plant; he looked for judgment, but see, bloodshed! For justice, but hark, the outcry!

Reading 2                            Philippians 4:6-9

Brothers and sisters: Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Gospel                                 Matthew 21:33-43

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: "Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.  Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce.  But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way.  Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking,
'They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.' They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.  What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?" They answered him, "He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times."  Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes? Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit."

Questions for Discussion:

1. What do you think motivated the tenants to kill the servants and the landowner’s son?  Do you think the landowner overreacted by wanting to put the tenants to death? What point was Jesus trying to make with this part of the parable?

2. How do you think the chief priests and elders reacted to Jesus’ saying, ‘the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit’? Describe. How well are we, as Catholics (including lay people), producing the ‘fruit’ of the Gospel?  Describe.

3. Have you ever thought of a vocation to the priesthood or religious life as a brother or sister? Describe. Given this passage, how can priests, religious (brothers and sisters), and lay people be supported in their call to serve the Body of Christ?

4. How has God warned you through other people that you needed to make a change in your life?

Readings for Sunday September 25^th 2011              

Our Privilege is Service

Ever get so caught up in your day-to-day routine that you don’t take time to reflect and pray? This lack of taking time is an epidemic in our culture, but Jesus wants us to reconsider our rushed-lifestyle. Here’s how He makes His point: Our Gospel passage describes Jesus testing the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of His day. He uses a parable to illustrate His point of true devotion and love of God. It’s not those who ‘say’ that will be righteous before God – it’s those who ‘do’ that will be righteous. In the story, the first son originally disobeyed his father, telling him that he would not do the work his father asked of him. Think of the times when your parents asked you to do something for them, and your gut reaction was, ‘why are they trying to take my fun away?’ The first son would have fallen into this trap as well, except that he did something most people in today’s world forget to do: He examined His actions. He listened to the voice inside of him that said, ‘you know, you really should obey dad’, and without telling his father, he just went ahead and did what he was supposed to do. The second son was all lip service: He told his dad the ‘right things’ so dad would think his son was being good, but in actuality the second son was a coward: He did not have the guts to say the truth to his father that he really didn’t want to work. He was also stubborn, and did not take the time to reflect on the ‘wrongness’ of his actions. Jesus uses this parable to show a powerful point about the hypocrisy of the chief priests and elders, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. They choose not to follow St. John the Baptist even though they told society they would follow God and be spiritual leaders.  By contrast, the tax collectors and prostitutes had told society that they would not follow God, but upon reflecting on St. John the Baptist, decided to change their ways. Our challenge from Jesus in this Gospel is to be Catholic all of the time, always open to the Holy Spirit and willing to change to be more like Jesus. When you feel stressed and under a time crunch, do not allow yourself to make excuses for not praying. By not praying, you may miss God working and calling in your life, and that’s a call you can’t afford to miss. Summary of the Gospel YM Central

          The first reading is taken from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel 18:25-28. A notion very prevalent among the Jews, all through their history, was that the sins of parents were punished in their children. Ezekiel tells his audience that each man is responsible for his own sins. As each man has a free will, the good man may foolishly turn to sin, and likewise the sinner may repent and live a good life.

Reading 1              Ezekiel 18:25-28

25 Thus says the LORD: You say, "The LORD's way is not fair!" Hear now, house of Israel:
Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair? 26 When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die. 27 But if he turns from the wickedness he has committed, he does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life; 28 since he has turned away from all the sins that he has committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

Questions for Discussion:

1.   Does it seem unfair to you that God would pardon those who have been wicked all their lives.

2.   If your good and bad works were weighed in the balance, which way would the scales tip?

3.   Is repentance hard or easy for you?

 The second reading is from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians 2:1-5. St. Paul is urging his new converts to live in unity of love and mutual charity. Each one must esteem his neighbor as of more importance than himself and help him in every way. In doing this, they are only imitating their Savior Christ Jesus who although Creator became a creature, though Master He made Himself a slave—all for love of us.

Reading II             Philippians 2:1-11

1 Brothers and sisters: If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. 3 Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, 4 each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others. 5 Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus, 6 Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. 7 Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, 8 he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Questions for Discussion:

1.   What does it mean to regard someone “more important than yourself”?

2.   How do you balance meeting the needs of others with meeting your own needs?

3.   How does humility differ from being a doormat?

Gospel                   Matthew 21:28-32

28 Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people: "What is your opinion?
A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, 'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.' 29 He said in reply, 'I will not, ' but afterwards changed his mind and went.
30 The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, 'Yes, sir, ‘but did not go. 31 Which of the two did his father's will?" They answered, "The first."
Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. 32 When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him." 

Questions for Discussion:

1.   What is the Father’s request?  What does each son say and do?

2.   How do you suppose the religious leaders felt about this story?

3.   Which son’s story is most like your own? Why?

4.   How willing are you to ‘change’ your life? Describe. What kinds of ‘change’ are the most difficult to adapt to and accept?

Readings for Sunday 9-18-2011                      

                                                     God’s Arms Never Close

          

              Think of the worst job you ever had: Ever felt like you weren’t getting paid what you’re worth?  Ever been in a situation where someone lower than you on the work ladder got paid more than you? Those are pretty tough situations to have to accept. Guess what? That’s how God will treat His employees, too. This doesn’t mean that God is a God of injustice, or that He is not in favor of us getting a just wage, but He sees into the heart and can make judgments we cannot make. This Sunday’s Gospel passage deals with our heavenly reward, and the attitude we should take towards it. Jesus uses the analogy of the landowner (God the Father) and his hired hands (us). The landowner begins his day by looking for people to hire, and continues to look for workers throughout the day.  He hires people at dawn, nine AM, noon, three PM, and finally at five PM, one last time before quitting time. The day, and the different times of this day, represents our lives and the stages we go through. Some people respond to God early in their lives; others wait until their lives are almost over. We also see that the landowner doesn’t do the work himself – he gets others to help him. These workers freely enter an agreement with the landlord. Like the workers, we enter into a relationship with Jesus, and the promise He makes to us is eternal life. At the end of the workday, the foreman (the angels) are given the task of paying the employees. As they are getting paid, the early workers complain that they are given the same wage as the latecomers (how come the slackers are getting what I did?) What Jesus is trying to say to us is that heaven is open to anyone who is still alive: Their faith can get them a great place there, even if they are on their deathbed and have lived a sinful life. Those of us who have been holy our entire lives should not be upset when the converted sinner gets the same heavenly rewards as us. The sinner who finally converts will have more joy than the rest because they have been in the depths of sin.  This joy often leads them to great holiness, surpassing those who have been coasting along their entire lives. Should we, who are trying to be faithful, start sinning and just repent on our deathbed? Of course not! We have no guarantee that we won’t die unexpectantly. Because we know the truth, we will be held more accountable than those who do not. Let us make sure that heaven is the most important thing we desire – more important than pleasing our friends, having a good hair day, or going on the right vacation. Be so focused on heaven that you are happy with what God gives you, while not comparing yourself with anyone else (as if our complaining to God will make any difference!) Summary of the Gospel from YM Central

Reading 1             Isaiah 55:6-9

Seek the LORD while he may be found, call him while he is near. Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked his thoughts; let him turn to the LORD for mercy; to our God, who is generous in forgiving. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways
and my thoughts above your thoughts.

Questions for Discussion:

1. One of the biggest questions every follower of Jesus asks is “What is God’s will for my life?” 
2. If you ask God for forgiveness, can you be sure that He grants it?
3. What are the qualities to which God responds? With what urgency should you seek Him?
4. This passage presents one of the great assurances in the Bible that God does hear and respond to sincere request for forgiveness.

Reading                 2 Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a

Brothers and sisters: Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me life is Christ, and death is gain. If I go on living in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. And I do not know which I shall choose. I am caught between the two. I long to depart this life and be with Christ, for that is far better. Yet that I remain in the flesh is more necessary for your benefit. Only, conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Questions for Discussion:

1. Writing from his prison cell, Paul is faced with a choice. Should he look forward to being a martyr so that he can go home to Christ soon? Or should he be glad to stay on and serve others who need him? If you were in prison for your faith and didn't know if your sentence would be life or death, how would you pray? How did Paul think about it when faced with this situation? What do you think it means to conduct yourself in a way worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Gospel                    Matthew 20:1-16a

Jesus told his disciples this parable:"The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o'clock, the landowner saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.' So they went off. And he went out again around noon, and around three o'clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o'clock, the landowner found others standing around, and said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?' They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard.' When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.' When those who had started about five o'clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, 'These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day's burden and the heat.' He said to one of them in reply, 'My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. 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?' Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last."

Questions for Discussion:

Jesus points out that those who worked all day received a fair wage and a wage they agreed on from the start. The landowner, who represents God in the story, asks "Are you envious because I am generous?" The answer for many people is yes. They have forgotten that God's ways are not our ways. They do not remember that the blessings of God's kingdom are a gift to us.

1. Have you ever thought, "That's not fair?" How did thinking like that make you feel? Did you ever consider that maybe your thinking was wrong rather than the other person's actions? We have been told that God's ways are not our ways. What does that mean in this parable?
2.  It seems that, in this passage, God is apparently in favor of being unfair to people. (The landowner did not want to pay the early workers more than the late workers.) How can the landowner justify paying these people the same wage and still be called ‘fair’?
   
   
3. Have you ever caught yourself complaining to God the same way the early workers complained in Jesus’ parable? Describe.
   
   
4. How would you respond to a person who says, “I’m going to keep sinning because I know God will forgive me in the Sacrament of Confession, even though I know it is wrong”? Describe.
   
   

Don’t Let Fear Stop You

Readings for Sunday September 4, 2011                                         

Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time 

      Ever wonder what kind of difference Jesus can make in your daily life? This Gospel reading is aimed at those who think that Jesus couldn’t ‘hang’ with the best pop-psychologists of our day. We see in this reading a sure-fire plan for what many today call ‘conflict resolution’. Have you ever been so angry with someone that you couldn’t talk, even to them? Have you ever found yourself talking about your relationship problems, while you never directly confront the people with whom you’re in conflict? If you answered ‘yes’ to these questions, then you need what Jesus has to say to us in this passage. The first item of interest in this passage is that Jesus tells us that the person responsible for resolving the conflict is not the person who did the damage: It is the person who was injured that is expected to begin the reconciliation process. (Of course, this shouldn’t stop a person who began the conflict to seek reconciliation. The point is that often times we hurt people without even knowing it, and need someone to point out our faults.) The next major point is that Jesus gives us three clear steps in seeking out reconciliation, but the common thread to all these steps is that we must go directly to the person who hurt us. Don’t let this Gospel passage fool you into thinking that this is an easy teaching to uphold. This is the part that people so often pass over. They choose gossip and backstabbing over going directly to the individual. People can be so blinded by fear and anger that they miss the opportunity to seek reconciliation, and end out making a bad situation far worse than it was. This avoidance of going to the person directly can –depending on the sin and the situation–be an even worse sin than the sin that started the conflict. If we don’t deal directly with those involved, then we will be bound by the sin and hurt done to us. However, if we follow Christ’s teaching, then we will be on the right road to reconciliation. So don’t let fear stop you from doing what is right. If the other person doesn’t want to hear what you have to say, then let this be their problem, not yours. May God give us the courage we need to resolve conflict according to His plan so that we can truly be people of peace.

Reading 1       Ezekiel 33:7-9

7 Thus says the LORD: You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me. 8 If I tell the wicked, "O wicked one, you shall surely die, "and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way, the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death. 9 But if you warn the wicked, trying to turn him from his way, and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself.

Questions for Discussion:

1. Is God calling every Christian to be a watchman like Ezekiel?
2. What are you watching for?
3. Will he hold you accountable for not warning your people?

Reading 2       Romans 13:8-10

8 Brothers and sisters: Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 10 Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.

Questions for Discussion:

1. What is the greatest example of love you have ever experienced or observed?
2. How does the law help us know what it means to love?
3. How does this differ from popular notions of love

Gospel                        Matthew 18:15-20

15 Jesus said to his disciples: "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.16 If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. 17 If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that 'every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. 18Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

Questions for Discussion:

1. Outline the three steps Jesus gives us for resolving conflict. What would it mean, in today’s day and age, to treat someone like a ‘Gentile or a tax collector’? Describe.

2. List the reasons people generally have for not dealing with their conflicts directly.

3.  Give real-life experiences from your life when you handled your conflict in a healthy and holy way – and in an unhealthy way. What were the consequences of each situation?