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Mt 21:28-32

Mom always called these sort of statements the ‘was-gonna’s’ and we were accused of mumbling them all the time. ‘I was-gonna take out the trash,’ ‘I was-gonna study for the Latin exam that I ended up failing.’ ‘I was-gonna do exactly as you asked…’ but action is scarce and failure to follow-through abounds! Every parent knows this song and dance, as does everyone who’s been a boss. On the other hand, who wants to deal with passive aggressive child or staff member who is full of back-talk and vibrato, challenging every word out of your mouth. That sure is tedious too! Yup, in the end they do as you requested, great, but who wants the constant drama? 

Jesus may just have invented the game ‘Would You Rather.’

‘Would you rather go skydiving or scuba diving?’ ‘Would you rather eat your favorite meal every day for the rest of your life or never eat it again?’ I’ve played this game many a time with both kids and elders. Regardless of age, someone always refuses to play along. ‘Both choices stink! I would rather do neither!’ But the game prompts discussion and personal revelations in a fun and light manner, so it has value. There are many variations, but the structure of the forced and focused, ‘This or that, a or b,’ remains consistent. 

Jesus often poses a this or that— although usually He has some thoughts about the preferred alternative. ‘Is it better to give lip but do as asked, or to be super cooperative and deferential, but do whatever you darn well want to do?’ 

When I hear this gospel I think, ‘Gee Jesus! Give me some credit. I’ll do whatever you want and be polite about it.’ But Jesus knows us better than this, doesn’t He!? Obviously it is better to do the right thing than to say the right thing, if you are going to be so contrary that you can’t do and say the right thing at the same time. 

I love that I get all uppity and superior when I read this gospel passage, because as soon as I start to talk to the Lord about it, He just laughs. I imagine that, but it is funny, because my words and actions often do not match. And what is in my heart is not always what I put out there for others to witness. This is our humanity at work. Why don’t we do and say the right thing at the same time more often? Mary, Mary, why are we so contrary?

Maybe so we could know our own selves better: to understand how we think, how we make decisions, how we respond to two non-preferred options, is not as easy as all that. When given two elements, how often do we pit them against each other, turning every moment into a ‘would you rather’ either or game? How often is ‘All of the Above’ a valid and honest option that doesn’t even register as a possibility?

What if we pop that into our repertoire of optional responses? Might our relationship with others and the Lord shift a bit, might we be at peace more consistently, might we find joy in simple things more frequently? I think the answer to all these questions would be a resounding, clarion trumpet ‘yes’ if what we said and what we did matched a bit more often! 

Journal Questions 

• Recall a time when you did the right thing but did not say the right thing? Looking back, what might have been different if you did and say the right thing simultaneously?
• Similarly, recount a time when you said the right thing, but did not follow up with promised action? In hindsight, what might have been different if you said and did the right thing simultaneously? 

Mt 20:1-16a

I sometimes miss the richness of this passage because of its familiar repetition. “Everything in Heaven is turned upside-down and backwards from everything on Earth. The first shall be last and the last first.” But they are soon heading to Jerusalem and the cross. And Peter asked a few paragraphs ‘prior’ to this one a common human being sort of question. “We’ve been loyal followers. What’s in this for us?” 

The passage could easily be about all these events. Jesus could be chastising Peter for his question. He could be warning them against being jealous of late-comers. He could be warning the Jewish people that the Lord Father holds all His created people in esteem. Much of the parable seems to be about the workers. The harvest will rot if the rains come before its picked, getting the crop harvested is urgent— an ‘all hands on deck’ sort of crisis. 

That the master continually checks the hiring pool for more workers and hire them makes perfect sense. And that they should want to work is also logical. Food requires money which needs to be earned. Perhaps this parable is about the dignity of work. And one could certainly draw parallels between the rains coming and destroying the crops to the end times. Perhaps the parable’s eschatological undertones are meant to create in us a metanoia.

Knowing Jesus a bit, as we do, He probably meant all these things. But I wonder if I was not giving His disciples a gift via the character sketch of the Landowner. 

Not only is the Landowner generous at the end of the day, when pay is handed out. He gives of His time and energy by seeking the workers out; He stops by the labor pool throughout the day, multiple times. He is actively, diligently searching for them. Payment aside, who doesn’t want to work for a boss like that!?

Journal Prompt

Spend a bit of time in your imagination with this Landowner. Let the scene develop in your mind. He picks you up at the Labor Pool. You get chatting. He says to you, eventually, “Hey, I have something special I need you to do.” Let the conversation develop and jot down all you can remember afterwards. 

Mt 18:21-35

Sometimes it strikes me that the disciples seemed a bit obsessed with rules and laws; and here is another parable and dissertation on the law of settling disputes in a right and legally appropriate way. They must have realized, however, that the ‘new law’ was different from the ‘old law.’ They were just trying to wrap their heads around all the changes, so asked lots of questions so they could get it right. That makes sense. On the other hand, notions of not cheating others, giving them what is theirs, being merciful and kind, are certainly ideas that are present in the Old Testament, as well. The first reading and the psalm are great examples. 

Forgiving does not, in many cases, mean simply letting go of the harm or injury someone wittingly or unintentionally inflicted upon us. While Catholics recite the Lord’s Prayer, saying, ‘Forgive us our sins, as we forgive others,’ other Christians say, ‘Forgive us our debts, as we forgive others.’ Often times, forgiving someone is about not calling in a debt. In this gospel passage, Jesus urges his followers not to expect or to ask to be given what they are rightfully owed or deserve. But why shouldn’t they? 

Location, location, location… is another way of saying… Context, context, context! This reading, and countless others, demonstrate for us that even the Lord cares all about context! 

While it is not inappropriate to ask or expect that you will get back what you have lent, it is still not the best thing to do. It is much more compassionate and merciful to be mindful of the contexts and situations which are effecting other people. The Lord pays attention to our contexts and is merciful in accordance with need; should we do the same?

To forgive, to not ask for what we are owed, to not seek reparation when we are wronged— these actions relate to ‘taking the high road.’ Here, of course, the high road does not take us to Scotland but to Heaven. Heaven trades in compassion, mercy, kindness, forgiveness, while Earth trades in money, stuff, acquisitions. These things are simply irrelevant in the big picture, the big picture in which Heaven is Already, Not Yet.

Needing to be forgiven or to forgive another are both sides of the same coin, depending on contexts. In many cases, if we each search our own lives, we see that both are needed either in turn or simultaneously. Jesus’ parable exemplifies this both-and situation. These double-or-nothing situations keep us humble and firmly attached to our Lord who wants us to behave in these merciful ways. Whether we need to forgive or practice forgiving others, these unpleasant, and sometimes ugly moments allow us an opportunity for metanoia, for a change in heart. They help us recalibrate our attitudes, values and beliefs and reconnect to God. 

Journal Reflection

1. Detail a time you forgave someone else for a wrong they committed against you or someone you loved.
2. Recall and reflect on a moment when someone forgave you for something you did that offended them. 
3. Recount a situation in which someone owed you money or an object and you did not request it.
4. Explain a circumstance when you owed someone else money or an object but they did not ask for it. 
5. After a few days time, reread the answers to the above prompts and expand on any patterns or themed you notice. 

Mt 18:15-20

“If your brother has sinned against you, go talk to him.” These words imply that you, as the complainant want the situation to improve. They also suggest that you believe the other person will want the situation to improve. And finally, the simple statement also indicates that the first step to improving a relationship and/or solving a problem is to listen and sharing openly and honestly. Jesus makes it clear that all of this needs to happen before taking action or involving others. These pre-step understandings do not always exist, though, do they? 

I bet we have all been on the short end of someone’s quick, decisive action when we’ve not had an opportunity to share information and perceptions or to mutually problem-solve. Many people are treated wrongly every day by good people, who are simply lead astray by the assumption that everyone understands the situation in the same way and that they were given facts not perceptions. As a former boss used to say about conflicts between two people, “There are three sides to every story.” 

After setting down these first to-dos, Jesus goes on to speak of Earthly and Heavenly authority to bind and to loosen. The Interpreter’s One-Volume Commentary on the Bible explains, “The promise here given is that they are not exercising this authority in independence: rather God’s plan is being worked out through what they do. The binding and loosing on earth has its counterpart in heaven.” 

After clarifying Heaven’s involvement and concern for justice, Jesus remains clear that we should involve another human as well, for when ‘two or three are gathered.’ Again from the Interpreter’s One-Volume Commentary on the Bible, “Prayer is not a purely private matter, but an expression of two or more.” However, in Matthew 6:5-8 Jesus states that the proper way to prayer is alone in your room with the door shut. Why the contradiction? 

In this passage, Jesus is specifically talking about prayer and discernment in the context of doing wrong towards another human being. It makes sense to involve another human being: they help us navigate the road which carries us from sin to forgiveness, from guilt and shame to atonement. 

I remember partaking in the sacrament of reconciliation once when the priest responded to several of the ‘sins’ that I listed by saying, “Well, that’s not really a sin.” When he began to absolve me I said, “What are you absolving me for? According to you, I’ve not committed any sins!” We both laughed, but in all seriousness, sometimes we misunderstand the size of our sins or failings. To quote a Meatloaf song, “Objects in the rearview mirror appear bigger than they are.” 

Sometimes our sins appear colossal, other times we minimize the wrong we have done. When we hear ourselves state our sins out loud and receive feedback on them, we are able to detach more fully from our own behavior, gain a sense of objective perspective, discern patterns and threads, and learn about the nuanced subtleties of our own humanity.

Questions for Journal Reflection:

1. Recount a time when you were surprised to hear another person’s account of a situation that you understood differently. What did the experience teach you? 
2. Describe a circumstance in which you thought a wrong was committed, but others did not. Detail a context in which you thought no sin was committed, but others did. What insights have you gained? 
3. Recall a conversation when you were surprised by a reaction of another when you explained a wrong you committed. What did the experience teach you?
4. Reread what you wrote for the first three questions. Are there any overall patterns that you can draw conclusions from about your own understanding of the nature of sin and its role in your spiritual life? 

Mt 16:21-27

I find it interesting when, in English, the etymology of an English word doesn’t involve Latin, but follows an older path more directly. While I do understand the gospels were not written in English, our language can give us valuable insights. A son is a male offspring, used as an informal term of address, and/or suggests someone is from a specific place. The word son comes from the Old English sunu (“son”), and can be followed back to Proto-Indo-European *sewH- (“to bear; give birth”). 

Jesus refers to himself as Son of Man throughout the gospels, but most typically follows it directly by mentioning Father, who is not a man. Jesus makes this point repeatedly… the Father, Lord Almighty and man are inextricably linked as kin and family. 

A high compliment is to say that someone is ‘like a sister, mother, son, daughter.’ There are no stronger or tighter ties than that of family, for better or worse. Scripture, from Genesis to the Early Christian letters, seems to be a story of the Lord trying to help humans shrink the perceived distance between the Lord and humanity. The Judeo-Christian narratives are striving to demonstrate to humankind the Lord perceives us as His family.

The plot of scripture revolves around the external and internal conflicts that arise when the Lord tries to help humans understand their inherent place in a spiritual cosmos. Ultimately, the Ancient of Days realizes the perceived gap has become a chasm, getting bigger and bigger by the day and Jesus is sent to fix it. This misunderstanding on humanity’s part seems to really upset the Lord, because the whole of Scripture, He is trying to address this issue. 

In this passage, Jesus reminds Peter that he’s come to bring about a new way and it is different from the old. It involves paradoxes and mixed metaphors, like simultaneously being the Son of Man, while being sent by the Father. Things are to be turned upside-down… literally the last shall be first, and the first last. 

Journal Reflection

Detail the 5 or 6 most important kin and kind relationships, focusing on the relationship itself, more than personalities. Following that, reflect on how your relationship with the Trinity parallels each of these relationships.