Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Yesterday we heard a parable about the frustration and disappointment every disciple of Christ meets, and about the promised great reward. Despite all appearances, God’s victory is assured.


In today’s gospel, the parable is “broken open” and becomes a metaphor. Saint Matthew’s gospel reflects the experience of the early church, its triumphs and its heartaches. Their questions are ours: "Why do some people hear the gospel and decline the invitation? Why do others pursue it with all their hearts? And which am I?"
Some years ago I visited a priest friend on his death bed. We fell to discussing an acquaintance, a young priest who suffered alcoholism and, despite repeated treatment, seemed unable to recover. My friend, whose face was eaten with cancer, said, “You know? I am the luckiest man alive!”
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“Here’s our young friend. He’s young, talented, smart, good-looking and ordained; but he cannot get the (twelve-step) program.
“The Lord showed me the way and I followed it. I don’t know why. I am the luckiest man alive.”


Today's gospel explains why some people fail the course. Some have heard the good news but were immediately dissuaded from believing by contradictory voices around them. They could not or would not believe Goodness appears in our world. Others were excited by the gospel. They were "into it." They bought all the paraphernalia of bibles and rosaries and wwjd bracelets. They thought, "This is where it's at!" But when real life caught up with their fad, they burned out quickly.
A third group prospered for quite some time, but they could not stop worrying and fretting about unimportant things -- What am I to wear? What am I to eat? Where will I live? Failing to maintain an intense focus on prayer and penance, to pursue good and avoid every form of evil, they bore no fruit. They just didn't make a difference. Finally, there are some who stay the course and bear great fruit, a hundred-, sixty- or thirty-fold. 
This is a challenging gospel because it doesn't provide a sure-fire evaluation to measure our fidelity. This is the gospel you heard of, that comforts the afflicted with the promise of abundance, and afflicts the comfortable with the threat of sterility. 

You might be interested to know I take almost all the photos for this blog with an ordinary Kodak Easyshare camera.