Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time / Msgr. Owen F. Campion
The Sunday Readings
The Book of Ezekiel provides the first reading for Mass this weekend. Pivotal in Jewish history was the time spent by Hebrew captives and by their descendants in Babylon, the capital of the then-powerful Babylonian Empire, located roughly in modern Iraq.
Babylonia had overtaken the promised land militarily, in a process forever ending the two Hebrew independent kingdoms. Many survivors were taken to Babylon.
Occurring in the sixth century B.C., this event is called the Exile. For the Hebrew people, the Exile was a heartbreaking time. They were so far from their homeland. The Exile seemed as if it would last forever. In the end, it lasted for four generations. Many Jews likely fell away from the traditional religion of their ancestors.
These people were like people in any other time. Religion seemed for many to have failed. God had failed them.
During this time, Ezekiel wrote to respond to the despair of the people. The prophet turned the tables. He confronted the people with their own sinfulness. Where was their devotion to God? How faithful had they been in being God’s people? No one realistically could have argued that there had been no sin. Who deserted whom?
St. Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians is the source of the second reading.
Many early Christians were Jews by birth. Many of these Jews, such as Paul himself, had been pious in their religious practice, well versed in Judaism. Many other early Christians were from pagan backgrounds. In early Christian communities, people of both these traditions lived side by side.
Such was the case in Philippi. Jewish symbols and references appear in the Epistle, but the city was in no sense Jewish. Jews were there, but Philippi was thoroughly pagan, an important military base in the Roman Empire, situated in what now is northern Greece.
Since Christians were in the minority, surrounded by dislike and suspicion at best, Paul tried to reinforce their commitment to the Lord and challenge them to be firm.
The Apostle in this epistle magnificently proclaims Christ, the Lord, as the Savior, the center, the focus and the example to follow. He is the Redeemer! He is everything!
St. Matthew’s Gospel furnishes the third reading. It recalls an encounter between Jesus and priests and elders. Since religion was a favorite topic for everyone at the time, even priests and people learned in Judaism were interested in what Jesus said.
God is the father in the parable that Christ tells. The vineyard represents the heavenly kingdom. The sons are humanity.
The message is about repentance. Repentance is about being reconciled with God. Facing facts. Anyone can repent and recover access to salvation.
Reflection
Catholics in America were justifiably proud on Sept. 24 as the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen was declared blessed in a beatification liturgy celebrated in St. Louis.
Of Irish ancestry, born in 1895 in Illinois and ordained a priest of the Peoria Diocese, he became a household name in this country because of his highly acclaimed programs, first on radio and later on television, in which he eloquently explained the Catholic faith.
Few, even among his admirers, recall his work, from 1950 to 1966, as head of the American branch of the Pontifical Society of the Propagation of the Faith, headquartered in New York, which supports Catholic missions abroad. His leadership was enough reason in itself for the praise given him.
He was appointed an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York in 1951, later served as bishop of the Diocese of Rochester, N.Y., from 1966-69, and was given the honorary title of archbishop at the time of his retirement in 1969.
Over many years, Archbishop Sheen publicly applied the Gospels to all circumstances of life, but always, on television or in encouraging foreign missionary efforts, his message was the same.
The example of Jesus Christ means everything. The teachings of Jesus mean everything. Nothing excels them. Christians have been so blessed.
Through the Church, they have met Christ. They are privileged to share this gift, so the world indeed will be a better place. It will be heaven on Earth. †