9/21/2014 – 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A – Catechetical Sunday – Matthew 20:1-16A

      In the Catholic Church in the United States, on the 3^rd Sunday of September each year, we celebrate Catechetical Sunday.  We not only celebrate the beginning of our parish’s religious education program for the school year, but we recognize the commitment that our religious education teachers and that we as a parish make in educating our children, our youth, and ourselves in the faith. 

      Today’s theme for Catechetical Sunday is: “Teaching about God’s gift of forgiveness.”  We definitely have a very challenging Gospel reading today through which we can address God’s love and forgiveness.  The workers in Jesus’ parable are not just the average workers in ancient society, but rather the poorest of the poor.  They were the young men who did not inherit any land from their families or those who lost their family lands through debt. These day laborers had a bitter struggle for survival. When they couldn’t find work, which was often, they were reduced to begging.  Many of these day laborers in Ancient Israel could expect to meet death in a matter of a few years due to their extreme poverty.  When these desperate workers approach the rich land owner in the parable, how should he treat them in his love and mercy?  How does God reach out to us in his love and mercy when we need him most in our lives? 

     There are two Hebrew words that are used in the Old Testament that might help us understand this Gospel a little better; these two words may help us better understand God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness.  Jesus and his followers would have understood justice in Ancient Israel through these two concepts. First, the Hebrew word “mishpat” represents a procedural form of justice.  Mishpat is legal justice that follows the law, such as enforcing a contract or, in the context of today’s parable, getting paid for the agreed upon hours that a laborer works.  Another aspect of justice is found in the Hebrew word “tzedek”.  It goes beyond the strict enforcement of a law.  This type of justice is infused with God’s mercy. It encompasses notions of righteousness, fairness, and charity.   From one perspective, the landowner favors the last group of workers by giving them the same amount of wages as the workers who worked all day long, and this is probably how most of us see this Gospel story at first glance.  However, if we look at this parable from the perspective of justice found in God’s mercy and love, God has compassion for each worker by trying to understand their poverty and their need, not based solely on the merit of the workers and the work that each performed.   This is why the rich landowner pays all the workers the same wage.  To really understand today’s Gospel, we are called to grow in a different light, to see it in the love and mercy we hope that God will have for us in our spiritual poverty and our need.  If we view our world and God’s kingdom single-mindedly with the notion that we all  “get what we deserve” and we receive only what we earn by merit, we forget about the grace, mercy, and gratitude that are so essential to God’s kingdom. By being open to God’s grace and mercy, and believing in it, we allow ourselves to recognize the forgiveness and blessings that God has freely given to us.  This is far beyond anything we could have earned. 

     In our Catholic faith, when we think of God’s gift of forgiveness, we think about the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  We heard Father Burke recommend that we go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation once a month.  Even though we offer this Sacrament each Saturday afternoon here at St James and have reconciliation services during the seasons of Advent and Lent, many here in our parish have not gone to the Sacrament for many years. How badly do we want God’s forgiveness?  How badly do we want to reconcile with God, with our brothers and sisters?  With ourselves?  Before anyone of us can consider seeking forgiveness in this Sacrament, we must realize that God is already at work in our hearts. God the Father pursues us down whatever road we take in life.  God always wants to share with us his life of grace and union with him, which was secured the saving death and resurrection of his Son.

     Our Catholic tradition is filled with so many rich teachings.  And God’s mercy and forgiveness are just one of the things our catechists and teachers of religious education teach our youth and children and adults.   We honor them today and give thanks for all they do.  We want to give them a special blessings today, so we ask all religious education teachers, members of the RCIA team, members of the adult faith formation team, and CYO advisors to please stand to receive a special blessing with our love and gratitude for your dedication, love, and hard work.