Good Shepherd Catholic Parish

Ezekiel 18:25-28; Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 (R: “Remember your mercies, O Lord.”); Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew 21:28-32.
      Singing was one of the characteristic features of early Christian worship. Pliny the Younger, a governor of two Roman provinces on the southern shore of the Black Sea in the early second century, reported that Christians would gather and sing songs to Christ as if he were “a god”. A number of scholars propose that St. Paul shares such a song, the “Christ Hymn”, with the Philippians and with all of us who gather and sing songs to/of Christ the Lord. If that is the case, then this “Christ Hymn” is not Paul’s own composition—though he may have added a phrase here and there. We are, then, hearing song lyrics from the mid-first century! Paul used this “Christ Hymn” to exhort and to encourage the Philippians—and you and me—to have the same self-effacing attitude of Jesus Christ. Christ is the subject of every verb in the first part of the hymn (vv. 6-8); God is the subject of every verb in the second part (vv. 9-11). In this hymn Paul also finds his favorite compare and contrast, that is, of Jesus Christ with the first human, ’adam. (BTW, the Hebrew word ’adam, means “human”; later the human is pulled apart and built up into ’ish and ’ishah, “man” and “woman”. See Genesis 2.)
      So, Christ, like ’adam, “was in the form of God”; all of us humans are created in the image/likeness/form of God. The first ’adam—the first human—wanted to be like God, and disobeyed the prohibition of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3). Jesus Christ, on the other hand, did not “grasp” after that. “Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave”, that is, of one who is totally obedient and accepting of his “human likeness”. He was even “obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
      Because Christ willing emptied himself, humbled himself, by both “taking on the form of a slave” and accepting death, even on a cross, “God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name”, that is, “Lord”. There were two ways that the Jewish people avoided saying God’s name, even when reading the Scriptures. When the name of God was in the text or in a prayer, they would say either “the name” (ha shem) or “Lord” (’adonai). To pick back up and more forward: God “bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (emphasis added) — May we all say “AMEN!”¹
      There is a bit of compare and contrast of two sons going on in Jesus’ brief parable today. This is another parable that appears only in the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus opens with a question that is only used in this gospel as well: “What is your opinion?” (here, 21:28a, asked of the chief priests and elders of the people; in 17:25b, asked of Simon; 22:17, asked of Jesus by the Pharisees!; 22:41, asked of the Pharisees by Jesus). In this particular case, are we to think this is a little test for the chief priests and elders, to see if they will actually make a judgment? Jesus was pretty clear about that: “Stop judging, that you may not be judged” (Mt 7:1; cp. Lk 6:37ab: “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned”).
      Jesus’ parable presents the men of a family briefly: “A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ He said in reply, ‘I will not,’ but afterwards changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir’, but did not go. Which of the two did his father’s will? They answered, ‘The first.’”²
      Really? We can at least say that neither son is ideal? We might be reminded of a much longer parable in which “A man had two sons” (Lk 15:11; the parable is vv 11-32; please note, there is no such thing as the “Parable of the Prodigal Son”—Jesus himself titles it: “A man has two sons.” #petpeeve). In this brief parable of “A man had two sons”, the Greek in the text says “first” and “second”. It is far from clear whether we are to think this means “older” and “younger”, which is so important in the parable of “A man has two sons” in Luke. Likely most of us would agree that the first son did the Father’s will, because he actually did the work in the vineyard. Fair enough, but is it the Father’s will that the son disrespect him to his face: “I will not”!? The second son was nicer to the Father in person, but disrespectful in that he did not follow through. Neither son is ideal, but at least the first gets the job done.
      In general, to have integrity between what one says and what one does is the preferred, more authentic way of being a good person, a good Christian (see, e.g., James 2:14-26 on faith and works). In general, the evangelist Matthew crafts his gospel in way that emphasizes both word and deed, but this parable and another saying of Jesus (only in Mt) seem to point toward doing the work/deed of the disciple is most important: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Mt 7:21).³
      To get from “I will not” to going to the vineyard to work, the first son “changed his mind”. That is likely a rather flat translation, because we could say the second son “changed his mind”, too. The Greek, “μεταμέλομαι [meagmelomai] … only passive in the NT; (1) feel remorse, become concerned about afterward, regret [see Mt 27:3, used of Judas Iscariot]; (2) change one’s mind, think differently afterward.”⁴ We see in the parable what Ezekiel prophesies: “Thus says the Lord: You say, ‘The Lord's way is not fair!’ Hear now, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair? When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die. But if he turns from the wickedness he has committed, and does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life; since he has turned away from all the sins that he has committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.” And Jesus agrees: “Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you [chief priests & elders]. When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him.” [Note: the Pharisees, chief priests, and elders are often characterized and painted with much too broad strokes in the Gospels.]
      So, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who has two sons, neither of them ideal. The hearer in the story as well as we who hear this quickly decide that the first son did the Father’s will. Jesus notes, too, that those who first were living lives of sin, but heard John the Baptist and/or his preaching, ‘changed their minds’. As the narrative in Mt goes, those who initially said “Yes, sir” to the Father are not at work in the vineyard. May we notice, however, that the one character that does not make a choice about the sons is the Father himself! Thanks be to God, for who of us is an ideal daughter or son of the God the Father? We may even be quick to think we are better children of God than some others, i.e., judge others—you know, “grasp” at being like God. YIKES!! What a relief it is, however, that we don’t have to grasp at being like God, but rather, like Christ Jesus, can empty ourselves of any prerogatives we might think we have. Then, we with the help of the Holy Spirit and in the midst of the Body of Christ, the Church, will be able to become the human person/child that God created each of us to be. In that, you and I most reflect God, in whose image/likeness/form we have been wonderfully created. By doing so, we will be emptying ourselves so as to be totally obedient to God, as did Christ Jesus. Then our lives, like Christ Jesus’ will glorify the Father and the Father will then exalt us by our sharing in our Lord’s resurrection.

¹A note on Lord: In good English translations of the Bible, such as The New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE; the text in The Catholic Study Bible), whenever the name of God that was revealed to Moses (Ex. 3:11-15) is in the Hebrew text, it is translated Lord. When the Hebrew word is ’adonai, it is translated “Lord”. On a few occasions, NAMBRE has “Lord God”, when the Hebrew text is ’adonai + ha shem.
²In the many early manuscripts of the Gospel of Matthew, the text of this passages has has three forms: “There is much confusion in the textual tradition of the parable. Of the three different forms of the text given by important textual witnesses, [1] one has the leaders answer that the son who agreed to go but did not was the one who did the father’s will. Although some scholars accept that as the original reading, their arguments in favor of it seem unconvincing. The choice probably lies only between [2] a reading that puts the son who agrees and then disobeys before the son who at first refuses and then obeys, and [3] the reading followed in the present translation. The witnesses to the latter reading are slightly better than those that support the other” (Note at Mt 21:28-32 in The Catholic Study Bible).
³The context of this saying is important to take into account: “The attack on the false prophets is continued, but is broadened to include those disciples who perform works of healing and exorcism in the name of Jesus (Lord) but live evil lives. Entrance into the kingdom is only for those who do the will of the Father. On the day of judgment (on that day) the morally corrupt prophets and miracle workers will be rejected by Jesus” (Note at Mt 7:21-23 in The Catholic Study Bible).
⁴Timothy Friberg, Barbara Friberg, and Neva F. Miller, Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, Baker’s Greek New Testament Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), 260.
 

This is a “Stewardship Prayer” from Our Sunday Visitor. This prayer provides all of us good food for reflection.

My parish is composed of people like me. I help make it what it is.
It will be friendly, if I am.
It will be holy, if I am.
Its pews will be filled, if I help fill them.
It will do great work, if I work.
It will be prayerful, if I pray.
It will make generous gifts to many causes, if I am a generous giver.
It will bring others into worship, if I invite and bring them in.
It will be a place of loyalty and love, of fearlessness and faith,
of compassion, charity and mercy,
if I, who make it what it is, am filled with these same things.
Therefore, with the help of God,
I now dedicate myself to the task of being all
the things that I want my parish to be.
Amen.

PASTOR
Rev. Terry A. Roder
206 N 2nd Street  PO Box 39
Breda, IA  51436
Breda Rectory Office (712-673-2351) 
[email protected]

BOOKKEEPER/ADM ASSISTANT
Cindy Lawler
Good Shepherd Catholic Parish
304 N 2nd Street  PO Box 29
Breda IA  51436
Phone: 712-673-2582
Office Hours Mon - Fri: 8:30am-2:30pm 
[email protected]

ST JOHN THE BAPTIST-Arcadia
Julie Eich, Administrative Assistant
Office Hours: Mon & Fri 7:30-11:30 am Phone: 712-689-2595
[email protected] 

ST AUGUSTINE-Halbur
Rosie Sporrer, Administrative Assistant
Office Hours Monday 9:00am-10:00am
Phone: 712-658-2464
Fax: 712-658-2464
[email protected]