Septuagesima Sunday 9.2.20 Individual call
It is easy to relegate our spiritual life to formalities. So
we go to Mass on Sundays and a few other times, and that is about all there is
to it.
Almighty God would tell us something very different.
He wants to have a direct personal relationship with each of
His children. He wants each of us to have an intense interest in Him and His
will for our lives.
We might think that God has too many people to worry about
to be bothered with us, but He is intensely aware at every moment of what we
are doing, thinking, feeling.
The fact that there are a lot of us, and many of our
religious practices are with large numbers, does not in any way affect His interest
in each one of us.
He creates us; then He calls us. Come, follow Me, is
addressed to all of us, not just the apostles, not just priests and nuns, but
every single person, wherever they might be at the moment.
He called Matthew the sinner directly away from his illegal
practices (Mt 9, 9-13). He asked the rich young man to sell all he had and
follow (Mk 10,21). So He addresses everyone, including the atheists, the lapsed
Catholics, those following false religions or beliefs, those already good;
those not yet good.
He calls us to work in the vineyard. We should say yes to
that call, because it represents our whole life direction.
And we do this work for as long as we have - from the moment
of conversion to the moment of death. All time belongs to Him, and we fill it
with our response.
Once we start we do not stop: He who has put his hand to the
plough, does not look back (Lk 9,62). The servant should be still at work when
the master returns (Lk 12,37). From now
on you will be fishers of men (Lk 5,10).
And St Paul, in the epistle, speaks of the need to run to
the end, not slacken off.
We must not be alarmed by all this talk of work. Work is not
a burden when motivated by love.
The love of God will act on us; will motivate us so that we
want to do what He wants us to do. People put themselves out for those they
love. As Christians, we love everyone; or at least Christ does, and we are
learning to do as He does.
No one is unemployed in God's kingdom. The old, the sick,
the disabled – all can contribute. It is simply a matter of doing, or enduring,
whatever is required.
We know there is a reward for this, and in fact it is far
more than we deserve.
We are doing only as we should (cf the servants (Lk 17,10)).
We are obliged to be and do good, even if there were no reward.
But there is a reward. It is represented by the denarius of
the parable. We all receive the denarius whether we come in early or late. It
is eternal life, and happiness.
First He forgives us; then He gives us work to do, for which
He provides motivation; then He rewards us with more than we deserve.
All we have to do is turn up for work, to show enough
interest for Him to do the rest.
We are more fortunate than we usually think ourselves.
We might be tempted to envy those who come in late, and find
Heaven. But we are all being treated
better than we deserve, since we are nowhere near good enough (by our own
merits) to go there.
We are all the latecomers in that sense. Only by the grace
of God are we saved.
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