TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME A

[cappie]

Jesus asks yet another question— “What do you think?”—and then launches into a parable about two sons. When their father asks the sons to work in the vineyard, one son says something like, “Sure!” But he does not follow through in the end.  How often have we made a promise or a commitment that, for whatever reason, we could not keep? But the focus of the parable is on the other son—the one who, unlike his brother, initially says he will not help out but winds up doing so in the end. 

At its core, this parable is the pattern of our life with God. No matter what we have done, or what may have initially prevented us, God is always extending an invitation to us. We are constantly being drawn into a new place—to new depths of faith.

 This parable lays bare one incontrovertible fact: God is not finished with us yet! The baptized life has no emeritus status, and there is no such thing as a retired or part-time disciple of Jesus!

Life with God is always forward-looking, always calling us out of the confines of our past and present and into something new. In order to live into God’s invitation, we must be willing to leave the past behind—no matter how comfortable or familiar or profitable—and turn toward the future, complete with all of its uncertainties and questions and anxieties. And make no mistake: that is hard!

Consider, for example, the Chief Priests and the elders of Jesus’ day. They had quite a bit invested in the status quo. Leaving the past behind meant forfeiting their claims to power and position, which had become their entire identity. Stepping into life with God meant leaving all of that behind, in favour of a future they could not predict and could not control.

How about in our own day?

The truth is that, for most of us, the past is pretty enticing—especially when we enjoy privileges we have not earned. But then there are the tax collectors and prostitutes, whose past was marked by derision and servitude; of being treated as things rather than as persons. For them, God’s future brought new life!

This is the essential question that every single one of us must faithfully discern: How is God calling us out of our past or present circumstances, into something new?

The truth is, sometimes the answer to that question is unsettling. After all, for as hopeful and encouraging as the future might seem, it is always uncertain. At least we know our past, even if it is limited and dysfunctional.

As people of faith, we are called to hold that tension between the certainty and comfort of our past and the uncertainty and discomfort of God’s future. We’re called to ask ourselves how our past has been allowed to determine our future, how it has restricted our ability to live faithfully, and to consider where it is that we find life and joy and peace, versus where we find resentment and fear and death.

We are called to ask these questions of our communities of faith, too.   How does doing the same old thing because we have always done it that way cut us off from new and life-giving possibilities? What parts of our common life together need holding onto, and what needs letting go?

One final word of caution: when we ask these questions from a place of discernment and faithfulness, we can be sure that as we do this hard and holy work, God will be with us on the journey.