{"id":31484,"date":"2014-09-21T09:02:42","date_gmt":"2014-09-21T13:02:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/?p=31484"},"modified":"2014-09-21T09:16:39","modified_gmt":"2014-09-21T13:16:39","slug":"questioning-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/2014\/09\/questioning-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Questioning God?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Gospel for the 25th Sunday through the Church Year has us meditating on\u00a0Matthew 20:1-16. You know the Gospel narrative where the last worker gets the same wage as those who toiled all day; some are angry at the landowner –the analogy is that we are really angry at God’s generosity. \u00a0The logic of God is not the logic of man. Too often we say that we want to be like God, to act like Jesus, be as merciful as our Heavenly Father. I don’t doubt this is a true desire of our heart but haven’t really seen sustained examples of putting words into action. I do believe, however, many strive and honestly wrestle with the idea we need and desire God’s uncompromising and generosity and look for ways to employ Divine Revelation: this is the journey of faith: we in process<\/em> of becoming what we are meant to be by the Blessed Trinity.<\/p>\n

A patristic reflection from St. Gregory the Great: \u201cThe householder said to them, \u2018I wish to give to this last one as I give even to you.\u2019 And since the obtaining of his kingdom comes from his goodwill, he properly adds, \u2018Or am I not allowed to do what I wish?\u2019 It is always foolish to question the goodness of God. There might have been reason for loud complaint if he did not give what he owed but not if he gives what he does not owe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the monks at St Joseph’s Abbey (Spencer, MA) wrote the following of the Gospel:<\/p>\n

It is that in the final scene of today’s Gospel when the foreman doles out the pay that we are witness\u00a0to the extravagant compassion of the landowner, (a cipher for the extravagant mercy of our God.) All the workers, even the last ones who worked for only one measly hour, receive a denarius. Aware of their need and the desperation of their situation; the landowner knows that less than a denarius will be not enough for a man and his family for a day. And he wants them all to go home happy and satisfied. Now that\u2019s not fair; it\u2019s excessive.\u00a0But if we were part of that last crowd who had worked for only an hour, we\u2019d be overjoyed at the landowner\u2019s outlandish generosity.<\/p>\n

How often I murmur because things aren\u2019t fair. And true enough it\u2019s the constant plea of psalmist and prophet, \u201cWhy is it Lord that the way of the wicked prospers? Why is it that you let the sun and rain and all good things come to the just and the unjust?\u201d It\u2019s not fair. But the good news is God\u2019s Kingdom is not about fairness or entitlement, only mercy; never about \u201cconfidence\u201d in my own accomplishments or sacrifices.*\u00a0It\u2019s not ever about rewards but grace- not something earned but a gift freely given in love.\u00a0My brothers and sisters, God is not fair. He is abundantly, incomprehensibly merciful, way beyond our imagining. He knows we don\u2019t always do enough, don\u2019t always pull our weight or labor long and hard enough, that sometimes I loaf and dawdle and wait too long and make bad decisions. He sees it all, and he is merciful. It doesn\u2019t mean that everything\u2019s always OK, not at all. No, I mess up, and God is merciful. I am unkind, impatient, stingy, and God is merciful and gives me another chance.<\/p>\n

Imagine if God were only fair. Imagine if he gave me what I really deserve. I\u2019d be in big trouble. Certainly\u00a0God looks into our hearts\u00a0and\u00a0notices the good we do, but the kingdom is all about\u00a0his mercy, never payback for a job well done. It is on the contrary completely, utterly, totally gift. Gratuitous, absolutely surprising, way beyond what I am \u201centitled to.\u201d Simple gratitude is the only response. For what do we have that we have received? No, God is not fair, but all loving, all giving, all forgiving.\u00a0We\u2019re all latecomers and God is always switching things around. It\u2019s called mercy.\u00a0And\u00a0Jesus invites us this morning not to succumb to jealousy, to literally \u201chaving a wicked eye\u201d which will not allow us to see clearly as God sees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Gospel for the 25th Sunday through the Church Year has us meditating on\u00a0Matthew 20:1-16. You know the Gospel narrative where the last worker gets the same wage as those who toiled all day; some are angry at the landowner –the analogy is that we are really angry at God’s generosity. \u00a0The logic of God … Continue reading Questioning God?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[1805],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31484"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31484"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31488,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31484\/revisions\/31488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}