Father asked me Wednesday to share a homily this week. I prayed for it to be inspired by the Holy Spirit. I read the scriptures and prayed “Come Holy Spirit, inspire these words to kindle the fire of your love.
The first thing put on my heart was St. Cornelius
and St. Cyprian. Wednesday was their feast day. They are great examples of
workers in God’s vineyard.
In 251 AD, they fought the heresy of Novatainism,
which taught if a person lapsed in faith even if being tortured; they were no
longer a Christian. They could not return to the church to ask forgiveness.
This heresy wanted the Church to say “no” to forgiveness.
There are lapsed Christians; but, was that the
message God wanted me to share. I prayed and as I sat in my recliner reading scripture,
my 2 year old grandson comes running into the room.
“Poppy, I found ‘Jeezee’, I found ‘Jeezee.’” He was
giggling, smiling, and clutching something tight to his belly.
He opens his hands to show me a small crucifix I
keep on my desk. “Poppy, I found ‘Jeezee’”. He was happy holding Jesus tight.
On the lips of
children Lord you have found perfect praise. God is so great. He sent a child with his message
that this parable is about finding “Jeezee” Jesus.
This parable has different interpretations. The one
most familiar is this; workers come early and they are paid a full day’s wage. Workers
come at mid-morning and they are paid a full day’s wage. Workers come at noon and
they are paid a full day’s wage. They come at three and even at the end of the
day and they are paid a full day’s wage.
That shouldn’t surprise us. In Jesus’ parables, the
landowner is God. The one who goes out into the world is Jesus.
To earn the wage the Lord is paying, it doesn’t
matter when one comes to the Lord. He pays all the same wage, That wage is the
gift of forgiveness, the reward of salvation, the joy of the resurrection, and
the promise of eternal life. The righteous receive this reward no matter if
they are the early believers of a thousand years ago or us today.
It doesn’t make any difference when you come to
God, Jesus forgives the same. “Turn to the LORD for mercy - our God is generous in forgiveness.”
The workers complained it wasn’t fair.
It is unfair. It’s unfair because it’s far beyond
what we can comprehend as fair. God's goodness goes way beyond our small sense
of “what is right.” God's ways are not ours. As high as the heavens are above the earth
are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.
In the parable, the landowner asks the complaining workers
“are you
jealous because I am generous.” The literal translation is “are
you giving me the evil eye because I am good.”
The world doesn’t want goodness. People in the
world do not want to forgive each other and the world doesn’t want God to
forgive either. Remember, the heresy in the early church St. Cornelius and St.
Cyprian fought against. It said “no” to forgiveness.
That is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel tells
of God’s generous mercy and forgiveness. It proclaims the promise of the
Kingdom of Heaven..
It doesn’t matter if you found “Jeezee” in youth or
old age; because, God is good. God is generous. And, God is loving.
We know this. The Church teaches this. But, instead
of being a happy, giggly child of God holding tight to Jesus, yearning for the
Kingdom of Heaven here on earth, people give each other the envious, jealous,
evil eye.
Wednesday night, I was reading these words, for to me life is
Christ … and Liam full of life and joy comes running with this
message “Poppy, I found ‘Jeezee’, I found ‘Jeezee.’”
Today we come to find Jesus. We come to worship
God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We come to partake in the Holy Eucharist.
We wait for the master to call us. We wait for our reward.
Friends, wait as a child of God, happy and holding tight
to Jesus.
Be good, be holy, and preach the gospel of Jesus
Christ by the way you live and love. Amen
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