26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 25, 2011
J.A. Loftus, S.J.
As Albert Einstein became more aware of some consequences of his
mathematical formulae, he is reported to have said: ―Everything has changed,
except our thinking.‖ It refers to a bit of a paradox, of course. Creative
thinking is what changed everything. But there is such a thing as rigid
thinking, the kind that traps us in thinking there are no further questions to
be asked.
In fact, we had just such an example about Einstein himself last Friday.
Newspapers reported that European physicists in Geneva have discovered
tiny neutrino particles that seem to defy Einstein’s most reliable prediction
about reality. These neutrinos seem to move at speeds faster than the speed
of light. That’s a cosmological impossibility if Einstein’s theory of relativity is
correct in all circumstances. So maybe there are further questions to be
asked about our world and its so-called constants. Only time will tell.
Sometimes thinking has to change.
The liturgical readings of these few weeks provide a deeply confounding
challenge to our usual ways of thinking about faith: about God, about God’s
reign and kingdom, and about who really does the will of God. Another way
of putting it, I suppose, is that Matthew’s parables are quite upsetting when
taken seriously. So many of us just think about them quietly.
Last week I was presiding downstairs with our younger families at both
the eight and ten o’clock liturgies. When I finished the parable of the owner
of the vineyard paying the workers the same wage for a full day’s work and
one hour’s work, I asked the children a question. What’s wrong with this
story? Everyone replied almost immediately: That’s unfair! (Most children
have an almost uncanny ability to ferret-out ―unfairness.‖ It starts very early
in the developmental process.)
The wisdom of the children is confirmed today by Ezekiel who has the
entire house of Israel cry to God: ―The Lord’s way is not fair!!‖ God replies
today: ―Is it my ways that are unfair, or is it your ways?‖ Much the same
message Isaiah had God reply last week: ―My ways are not your ways, nor
are my thoughts your thoughts.‖ Einstein might echo at this point: perhaps
you are thinking too much and too rigidly. The result is that you actually
think you do know God’s ways, God’s thoughts, and God’s kingdom. Can
you hear God saying again today: Because of me, in my beloved Jesus,
everything has changed–except your thinking.
Do we really believe everything has changed because of Jesus? Do we
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really hear all these parables of Matthew’s that warn about those people who
think they know God’s will? Last week God’s generosity seemed so unfair.
This week the tables are turned upside-down on those who say ―yes‖ a lot to
God, and do so little about it. The ―No-sayers‖ who change their minds
inherit the kingdom; the ―Yes-sayers‖ are lost. And the prostitutes, and
drunkards, and tax collectors inherit the kingdom of God once again!
Everything has changed–except our thinking. What part of these
unsettling parables do I still not get? Do I still believe in a flat earth? Do I
still believe in a closed and smallish universe? Do I still think God rewards
only ―good‖ people? Only ―holy‖ people? Only the obviously important and
spiritual people? In all of Matthew’s vineyard parables, the heroes are the
―No-sayers‖ who then change their minds later. The winners are often those
who come to the party at the last minute (having worked barely an hour).
And next week, in the third parable about vineyards, the whole vineyard will
be given away to newcomers who can actually produce grapes, and not just
talk about it or even pray about it.
There is a very strange, almost anti-religious sentiment in many of these
vineyard parables. That was not lost on the religious authorities who heard
them for the first time. From the earliest days of his preaching career, those
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same authorities tried to silence Jesus. And finally they simply decided to get
rid of him permanently—or so they thought. They had thought this whole
kingdom thing through for themselves and didn’t need an Einstein to tell
them what it was.
And yet ironically, Jesus and Einstein seem to have much the same
message: Everything has changed–except our thinking. The best example of
what exactly has changed comes in that glorious and ancient hymn
reproduced by St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians. Jesus knows who he is,
whence he came, and whither he is going. And yet he does not take equality
with God as something to be grasped, but empties himself in love for others,
for us.... When he takes final possession of his kingdom, he will be joined by
all the others from Matthew’s gospel: the betrayers, the ―no-sayers,‖ the
prostitutes and despised tax collectors, and–if we’re lucky–by people just like
us.
Everything has changed! Except our thinking! The caution today:
Whatever you do with these parables, don’t just think about it! Today is
Support the Dream Sunday for migrants. Let’s at least do something! Peace.
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