Even Numbers (2011-09-18)

This is my homily for Sunday 18 September 2011. I am a Catholic chaplain in Teaneck at Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) campus and for the FDU Newman Catholic Association. We celebrate Catholic Mass - during Fall and Spring semester - every Sunday Mass (7:30 p.m.) at the Interfaith Chapel, 842 River Road, Teaneck, NJ.

[__01] What will keep us in our seats, in attendance – or attention – until the very conclusion of a sporting event?

Well, usually, it is a very close score, a tied game, as we say.

In baseball, such an even score leads to extra innings; in soccer, to extra time, then to penalty kicks.

In a sporting match, we favor – we enjoy and look forward to – a competition with an equal distribution of points for as long as possible.

This makes the experience more interesting.

It is more interesting for the observer,for the fan.

And, even for the players, isn’t the match better when both teams believe they can win.

[__02] In our life – away from sidelines, base lines goal lines – we believe that some projects that some projects, some relationships, are meant to conclude in a tie – in a draw – with an equal distribution of benefits for everyone.
This is true in family life … even at the dinner table, an equitable sharing of the meal.

Is such an even distribution – such a “tie” – always what we desire? Or, do we see this as just another standoff or stalemate?
Perhaps, we would prefer to win.

[__03] Imagine, for a moment, the homework assignment which a teacher might have assigned this past Friday, just 2 days ago. Some will

• work really hard on it, all weekend.
• just a little bit ..maybe opening the book late tonight, or in the morning or in the car on the way to school.
• Write an answer down during class tomorrow.

Then, imagine that the teacher evaluates the written work of every student, but gives everyone the exact same grade.

It seems unfair.

Wouldn’t it also seem unfair for a team on a playing field – baseball, soccer, football – not to be rewarded with a victory after they have played longer, made more shots on goal, had more possessions, or left fewer runners on base?

Such a team – such a player – such a student also – expects to be rewarded.

And, this is the Gospel parable about the group, the subset of vineyard workers who have been working all day. Some worked more hours than others.

They were the ones we might call the starters, the starting team.

But, at the end, the vineyard owner pays the same wage to every worker.

What could be the Good News of the Gospel in this parable?

[__04] How can we apply this lesson of EQUALITY of reward to our lives?

[__05] First, some of us are similar to the vineyard owner. That is, we take care of “workers”. For example, we may take care of actual workers for whom we are the boss or employer.

Or, we might see the “workers” as representative of others for whom we care.

We may look after children (as mothers, fathers, teachers, caregivers).

And, the great balancing act for a mother/father is to love each child individually,
to know each one, to appreciate each one’s gifts, to understand each one’s personality.

This builds trust between parents and children. On the other hand, mothers and fathers are also called to love equally, to divide up the their time, their attention equally.

Of course, these allotments of team do not happen with the timing of a stop watch and the supervision of a referee. But, nevertheless, parents – every day – are trying to find enough time for all of their children.

[__06] How can we apply this lesson of equality in our lives… if we are the workers?

Let’s say that you and I were the laborers who had been there all day long.

As the parable tells it, we bore the day’s burden and the heat. We are sunburned, thirsty, expecting overtime pay.

Then, we receive the same wages/money as everyone else.

[__07] At this point, we might ask ourselves – have we truly suffered a defeat?
By coming out even – equal – in a tie – we are just that … even, equal in God’s eyes, loved.

Therefore, are there not times in life when the honorable choice is one of equality, of balancing the rights of others to life… that others have a right to life, to happiness … a right that is just as great as my own?

Of course, we believe this is true in law making, in Washington D.C., in Trenton.

It is part of our Christian faith in the right to life for the unborn child or the elderly and infirm person.

And, the Lord is saying this is true also in our friendships, family, relationships, marriage.

Yes, it is true that one partner in a relationship may work more hours, earn more money or provide some unique benefit.

However, this does not grant power of one person over the other. In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul writes, “subordinate to one another out of love for Christ ” (Ephesians 5:21).

Equality is also what enables true intimacy. It is what enables one person to be a gift to the other. For we are truly gifts to each other, not possessions.

[__08] The good thing about a match – or game that is even in the second half or late innings – is that it will hold our attention, our focus longer. The Lord also wants to hold our attention.

Through this parable, he gives us a message of consolation, of comfort. We acknowledge we are all sinners, all in need of God’s grace, the saving blood of Christ and that we are all coming from behind for a different type of victory. [__fin_]