The Kingdom of God as a Ball Game
(Judges 9:6-15; Ps 21; Mt 20:1-16)
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Have you ever resented someone else’s good fortune?
The gospel today invites us to look at reality from a deeper, broader faith perspective.
As a young scholastic, I once questioned my spiritual director about the value of going to confession, since God knew all our sins anyway. He responded by telling me I did not understand God nor the sacrament. At first, that answer irritated me, but it also drove me to study more until I arrived at an answer that satisfied me and helped me see he was correct: Simply put, the sacrament of reconciliation is an opportunity to encounter and experience the mercy of Jesus Christ, and a celebration, not an onerous chore, and who would not want to participate in a celebration? All I needed was a broader faith perspective.
A broader faith perspective can help us to understand the enigmatic parable of the workers in today’s gospel. On the surface, the situation seems so unfair. How could a just God give someone who repents at the last minute the same reward of eternal life in the kingdom of God as one who was faithful and ministered hard in the vineyard all his or her life? And why is it that life seems so unfair at times, with the young dying early and the bad sometimes seeming to flourish with better luck than the dutiful and good? Or as Rabbi Kushner wrote, why do bad things happen to good people?
I was fortunate to be given a broader faith perspective on this issue as a young Oblate missionary and pastor of the small community of Beauval in northern Saskatchewan. One Saturday afternoon I was invited to be part of a ball game on the school grounds near the rectory. I love playing ball and was right into the game when I noticed a car pulling into the church yard. Someone had come to see me, unannounced. Regretfully, I told the rest of the team to go on without me, as I had some ministry to attend to.
Ball game at the then La Plonge Residential High School in Beauval. Can anyone identify the batter and the probably date?
A couple from a neighboring community had come to discuss a fairly simple marriage issue, one that was not that pressing and, I thought, unworthy of missing out on a ball game! I tried to not be resentful, to be attentive to them and not to let my attention wander away to the ball game that I regretfully was missing and could see through the window. As soon as the couple left a half hour later, I ran out to the ball diamond to watch the rest of the game. To my surprise and delight, the team told me to get into the field. I was shocked – someone had offered to take my place until I could return to the game and immediately gave up his place so I could play!
That I did with great enjoyment and gratitude. Reflecting on that experience afterwards, it dawned on me that I had just experienced the parable of the workers. I had come into the game at the last inning, and no one resented that late return. Actually, they felt sorry for me because I had missed most of the game, and were glad that I was able to at least get in some of it. The ones who were part of the game from the beginning were the fortunate ones – I was the unfortunate one who missed most of the game and was able to enjoy only the last few innings.
That reality applies to this parable. Within a larger faith perspective, the kingdom of God is like that ball game, not an arduous task to be performed, but a celebration very much to be enjoyed. The workers who came early and were able to work all day were the fortunate ones. The ones who came late missed out on being part of the kingdom and were to be pitied, not envied. But only a faith perspective that understands and experiences an intimate relationship with God; a discipleship relationship with Jesus; belonging to and worship within a faith community; a life of service full of meaning, purpose, peace, love and hope – only those who have the faith to see all this as a priceless privilege – will get the meaning of the parable and what Jesus is trying to teach us in relating this profound story to his disciples.
I rewrote this parable to help us grasp this mystery of faith: A group of Canadians went to Disneyland and found out at their hotel they could get tickets for a full day or half a day. As the cost for a full day in US dollars was a bit more than they expected, half of them opted for half a day to save some money. Upon arriving after lunch, they discovered that there was a one-price special for the whole day! Those who came early thoroughly enjoyed the morning, and felt sorry for those who had opted to come only in the afternoon and missed out on a whole morning of fun.
So, the kingdom of God is also like Disneyland: Blessed are those who come early and can enjoy the whole event; unfortunate are they who do not understand and somehow see the kingdom of God only as an uncertain future event that they put off trying to get into until later on in life.
That attitude can so easily slip into our daily lives. Could the following scenario be a familiar situation in your life as well? An office worker finds himself involved in a conversation about what everyone will be doing on that Friday night. The buzz is all about the parties they might attend and the fun activities that they might enjoy. When asked what he would be doing, the office worker wistfully replied that he would probably be just staying home with his wife to watch a movie with their kids. One of the other workers told him candidly that honestly, most of them were, deep down, looking for what he already had – staying home on a Friday evening with a spouse to watch a movie with a family!
St Rose of Lima
Someone who grasped this spiritual reality was St. Rose of Lima whom we remember today. Rose was born in Lima, Peru in 1586 and died on August 15, 1617. Rose embraced a selfless life of prayer, devotion and penance while still a young girl, and was confirmed in 1597 by the Archbishop of Lima, Toribio de Mogrovejo, who was also to be declared a saint. She refused to marry and became a Dominican tertiary at the age of 20. Rose lived in a small hut in her parents’ garden, working to help support them, and also cared for the sick, the poor, the Indigenous and slaves. Her asceticism and her intense spiritual experiences (periods of darkness and desolation as well as mystical experiences) aroused some criticism from her family and friends and the suspicion of Church authorities. Nevertheless, she was the first person in the Americas to be canonized and is patron saint of South America.
The Eucharist is the initial inning of the great ball game of the Kingdom of God. It is a foretaste of the eternal banquet that we will enjoy in fullness eventually, but can begin to celebrate even now through Word and Sacrament.
May this faith perspective add depth and meaning to all the simple, daily activities we are involved with, as a participation in the reign of God that is present yet still to come.
