This weekend begins the Bishop Appeals for Vocations. As I’ve said in the bulletin last week and again, we’ve got a “good problem” in our diocese. Lots of good men are discerning their call to the priesthood. While other dioceses have plenty of money for their FEW seminarians, we have a … well … a need for funds for our MANY seminarians. Other dioceses have had to close parishes around our size because of no priests, which is a shame since I grew up in this very healthy type of community. Good people come from here. So, I ask that you consider to be generous as you and I work to fund the sacraments for our future.
For our message today: In the time of Christ, there were two groups of leaders who were at odds with each other. The Pharisees and the Sadducees. At one point in the Bible, St. Paul gets them so mad at each other, they forgot he was on trial and he escaped. Their division stopped them from doing their job. The reason for division ALWAYS happens in humanity: When people forget God, they naturally divide. Christ’s parable about the vineyard owner explains all of this and even points out why in 2020 our country is so divided. You and I are going to get to the heart of division by first looking at Christ’s warning about what happens to people who forget God. But then our second point will be, this world is so loud and busy, how do I remember God in the middle of it all?
First, what does this long parable mean? At the time Jesus tells this parable, he has entered Jerusalem for the final weeks of His life. He’s gone into the temple, flipped the tables, and called all the leaders hypocrites. They’re all a bit confused, why is this guy getting in our face? Well, Jesus has a cold, hard truth: Everyone’s hearts, especially the two separate camps of leaders, Sadducees and Pharisees, are far from God and focused on themselves. It’s the reason they’re all so divided and confused! And then: He gives them an analogy of what they’re doing. The parable we heard.
The landowner gave HIS vineyard to tenants to live in, and they can work in it, take what they need, and enjoy! But … they end up enjoying it to the point where they forget who owns it in the first place. Without the original wonder, the vineyard and their livelihood wouldn’t be possible. So, in a gentle way he sends people to remind the tenants, that this great situation is ONLY possible because HE created this place. But the people he sends are all rejected, mocked, and killed. And Jesus, to highlight the point these tenants are SO far gone, states that they even had the arrogance to kill the master’s son. The betrayal against the land owner is complete, public, and all-consuming.
Christ is teaching the chief elders about how God created everything and gave humans so much power and responsibility, but people aren’t acknowledging this or looking for Him. Jesus tells them you’ve all become enamored with yourselves and forgotten how much you owe God just to be alive. And when people forget their creator, the same thing happens over and over: humans divide amongst yourself, hate each other, and destroy everything from the inside out.
Well, this actually leads to our second part. When people let God drop from their attention, while they work, enjoy life, or try to fix things … they WILL break apart and divide amongst themselves. So, how do we live BUT STILL give God the place He deserves.
I have observed and have felt it myself, that it’s hard to put God as a priority. There’s so much going on, there are so many anxieties. Even the fact that humans have done so many amazing and great things … we start to focus on everything OTHER than this fact: I exist is because of God’s great love.
In short, without God, we start to come up with our own answers to life. A lot of times it’s harmless. We’ve all been around the philosophers at the bar, where they say, “the real key to life is a good drink with friends” Or something like that. It’s good advice for living part of life. However, human philosophies without God, US trying to figure all of life out … never answer all the questions. So, it’s the ways of life WITHOUT God’s help that begin to divide us all into camps who hate each other. If you’re a history buff, it’s almost comical how humans do this over and over. In recent history, it was the Soviet Union. Their instructions for life were: There is no God. You’ll only be fulfilled and happy through your work. The country is more important than family. A man-made way of life … led to internal and complete destruction. And in modern day America, it’s happening again. People are coming up with ways to live and correct problems … without keeping in mind step 1: We were created by a loving God.
I love my country. I know there are problems, but I would love to fix them. But what’s happening is the Gospel all over again. We’ve had so many amazing and great accomplishments as a young nation that people might be getting a bit arrogant, thinking they have all the answers to life, when we need the guidance of the one who made all this: God. Without that realization, we devolve into a bunch of different philosophies that conflict with each other, because they don’t answer all of life’s questions like Christ’s teachings do.
The reason to heed the warnings of Jesus is this: “Now, you can identify WHY our nation is so divided.” People are fighting about topics: Pro-Life, immigration, health care, how to handle COVID … but they’re not including the PRIME answer: We exist because God created us, God has a relationship with us, and wants us happy. He has answers, if we have the humility to learn from Him.
So, the next time you see division, which is everywhere. If you watch the next debate. I want to challenge you to not get mad, but maybe remember the real problem. People have forgotten God, and come up with personal, man-made solutions. This might make you a little sad, but should always fire you up a bit to say, maybe I can help. First, work on deepening your confidence with God. Learn. Think. Draw closer to Him who is truth. Second, instead of spinning your wheels with the individual issues, maybe get to the root of all problems: Ask them about God. How can you help them understand the reasons you believe. Because that will get to the REAL heart of all issues.
Overall, we saw the division that happens in humans when we forget about the reason we’re all here. It was back in the time of Christ and it’s now. Use the parable as a warning. Forgetting about God means we all start to come up with our own ways of life … which will 100% lead to us dividing against each other. So, our challenge is to work on our trust and Faith in God … and then when you see the divisions around you, remember the real problem: These tenants of Earth, forgot who owns it in the first place. Recognize God as the one with the REAL plan and then you can enjoy life with real gratitude for the one who made the world just for you.
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