You can tell a lot about our yes and no!

 In a day of instant marketing, we can be aware of how easily it is to entice people to make a positive response over a negative one. The proposition is that our life would be better off if we see yes to something rather than no. We want to feel good about ourselves. Yet we know that any decision has consequences not only for ourselves but also for others. This is why we should not be rushed into giving a response just to clear the table for what we may consider other important things. We need to make a consideration not only what we think but also what consequences will flow from how we put our thinking into action and whether our hearts are centered on making transitions in our lives. 

We see this played out with the two people who are called to work in the vineyard. The first makes a quick response which is no and then ponders more deeply and considers that he will actually go to the vineyard. The second makes a quick yes but then does not follow it through. I think this is important whenever we are called to consider an important decision. There is a need to notice any resistance inside ourselves and to bring this before God in prayer. Sometimes we are unsure about why this arises but often it is a balancing of our priorities with how this will cause a change in life to which I need to be deeply committed. Our responses should be drawn from us not by fear or manipulation but rather by a heartfelt consideration of what is both good for me and good for another.

So often in the discussions, we see how these voices seem to besiege us by saying we are too woke or too redneck. The labeling and judging of others can cause us to close off this consideration. There are already too many memes and asides, ten-second sound grabs, and knowing glances to cause us to become uneasy about where we actually stand in life. At the heart of any discussion is where our yeses and nos lead us and leave us. Are they just matters of convenience to safeguard us from deeper commitment to the common good of others? This is the desire to be authentic, whole-hearted, and united in love. 

As St. Paul says in Philippians 2, "Always consider the other person to be better than yourself so that nobody thinks of his own interests first but everybody thinks of other people's interests instead. In your minds, you must be the same as Christ Jesus! His state was divine, yet he did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave, and became as men are; and being as all men are, he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on the cross. But God raised him him and gave him the name which is above other names so that all beings in the heavens, on earth, and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father." What will I say yes to in life and how will I put my life on the line.

Do we seek equality or equity?

 The Gospel revolves around a principle we often see present in labour negotiations, a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. Yet we know that certain jobs are valued more than others in terms of how much a person is paid for their employment. Most of this disparity is due to the added responsibility or the level of skills that a person is called to maintain for the good of others. Yet we also know in recent times that there has been a widening gap between people who receive salaries that seem excessive compared to what would appear to be an equitable distribution of wealth. I remember that at one stage the Chief Executive of a British Petroleum company drove a mini while ensuring that his sales personnel were given vehicles that were appropriate to their work. I think what he demonstrated is that we show good care for ourselves by taking good care of those in our employment. He sought to provide an equitable outcome so that they could adequately perform their work. The right tools for the right purpose.

Yet I believe there is a deeper issue at work that the Gospel seeks to demonstrate. We have worth not because of the number of hours that we work or the remuneration we receive but because of the person we are. This calls us to seek God as a person who seeks salvation for all people not just the early birds. God constantly seeks what is good for every person and seeks to witness love in a way that is equitable. It is almost like God is blind to that sense of entitlement that can seem to arise when we have been on the spiritual path for a while. Rather God is aware of the need of each person to be welcomed into God's kingdom. This is not about length of service but rather a responsive heart.

If we seek this equity of endeavour our hearts start to witness to a God who is always on the lookout for others to be welcome. This is not about closing the doors too early but rather opening wide our endeavours to seek what is needed to preach the Good News for our time. The awareness that God welcomes people to the table not solely for our good but for the good of all creation. This gives voice to God's concern that all should hear the Good News and be able to participate in the fruits of the kingdom. This saves us from insisting on our rights to earn a place in the Kingdom but a willingness to share what God has to offer. All should hear that they are worth a Kingdom and God welcomes them to participate in what is on offer.

Agents of Mercy

 In a consumerist age, there can be a tendency to limit the reception of the sacraments to my own immediate needs. We often hear this indicated when people seek to have their children done almost like a sheep dip at baptism. Yet what God seeks through the ministry of the Church is for people to enter into a living relationship that sustains them in life and prepares them for eternal life. What we engage with here is reflected in how we are present to others. It helps us to notice what is most important and where we channel our time and our resources.

This is at the heart of the Gospel about the forgiven and unforgiving servant. He is very conscious of the demands placed upon him and he has fallen short of what was expected. There is no way he can repay the debt and yet his focus is on the money owed and his inability. When the debt is forgiven you would sense the relief that he had cheated prison and was now a "free" man. Yet this is only half the story. While he has been forgiven he has not absorbed mercy into the heart of his life. If anything his heart has been hardened at the very point you think it would be softened. He starts to become harsh to those around him and imposes far greater penalties on those he believes have short-changed him. He lacks forgiveness that we could have assumed would so easily flow from being forgiven himself.

In a similar way celebrating the sacrament of Penance is not just about wiping the slate clean but rather a life-giving encounter with the person who can heal our wounds. In an age where the sacrament seems to have been relegated to the dusty corners of a Church on a lonely Saturday, we can believe that it is all about our sins rather than God who seeks to offer salvation even to the worst sinner. God seeks to enter the broken heart so that the person may become an agent of God's mercy. This is not about just seeking salvation for ourselves but rather a liberation from what imprisons us from destructive and soul-destroying behavior. The celebration of the sacrament opens us to love God and others more deeply with a sincerity of heart that we are broken healers.

This takes great courage and reflection because it is hard to admit that I cannot be saved through my own efforts but only through that life-giving encounter with Christ. In prayer, it calls us to allow God to meet us even in our greatest struggles and our worst sins. This encounter is not just about what we think and how we act but who we become as a disciple of Christ. We embody what makes us whole by discovering what can tear us apart if left unresolved. The holiness we seek is not a self-perfection but rather a meeting of hearts that allows us to touch the wounds of Christ with our own wounds. 

How we deal with each other in charity

  In a world of instant news and quick results, there is a prevalence of rushing our judgment of others. We can quickly be made aware of bad behaviour and coerced into condemning not only the action but the person at the heart of the action. Yet during the week, I was struck by the example of Bridget Sakr who has established a cafe in South Strathfield to fund the important work of helping grieving families rebuild their lives. She seeks to help others encounter a way of building hope when it is possible to be enfolded in darkness. 

This puts the gospel into practice for the weekend. In this gospel, we hear how many of the evils in our world are resolved by helping to win back the heart of another. The spiritual works of mercy talk about this patient work that is required to sustain any change. This fraternal accompaniment seeks not to focus on the destructive act of another but on their ability to be informed, formed, and transformed. It calls for a Gospel that embodies a heart built on reconciliation, reconstruction, and justice.

The principle is that this can be lived out even in the smallest community where two or three are gathered. It speaks of a mutuality that seeks to show that we must love our brother or sister in life. It is these small fires that can be lit within our own hearts that see the creative act of God actively present in our world. 

Worship God with our whole body!

The incarnation of Jesus Christ reveals the heart and mind of God to us. What is sometimes overlooked is how becoming flesh changes our view of God and ourselves  No longer is God a person who watches us from a distance but is intimately engaged in our everyday struggles. The implications of this is that he is not immune to our suffering or distant from our own reality. 

This is recognised in how we celebrate Mass. We are called to fully engaged as a people of God who embody Christ. When we pray we worship with our mind, our heart and our body. This holistic reality calls us to be holy. Not by removing ourselves from the world but rather in discovering God at the heart of all things 

We witness to what is hidden by becoming transparent in our prayers to a God who always listens so that may hear God's voice. We reflect on our own environment and what is pleasing to God. We act in a way that embodies God’s life within us. We worship God with our whole life.