Sunday, June 2, 2013

Daily Readings 06/03/2013: Jesus, the chief priests, scribes and elders mixing with atheists and the Westboro Baptist Church or Heaven could be a Very Interesting Place



Daily Reading 06/03/2013


"He had one other to send, a beloved son.
He sent him to them last of all, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’
But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir.
Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
So they seized him and killed him,
and threw him out of the vineyard." Mk. 12:6-8


In the parable of the tenant farmers, Jesus is foreshadowing his own death and telling the chief priests, scribes and the elders what will happen to them. They were supposed to be tending to God's vineyard, keeping His flock, but they did not. They became concerned with their own gain, those honored places at table and the esteem and notoriety that came with their positions were more important to them then the call of God in their lives to lead others to Him. And their major fear of Jesus was their loss of power and esteem.

But Jesus tells them what will happen to these bad tenants. They are put out of the vineyard and the rewards go to others. This message must have been very disturbing to men who were used to the best of everything. To think that their ultimate reward would go to someone else. The gentiles? Maybe even the Samaritans? How could he say that those heathens would get rewarded by God? Does any of this sound familiar to any of us? We all have moments when we think, "Well, THAT doesn't seem very Christian?"

We probably (read as DEFINITELY) have had these thoughts while we were in church, about our fellow parishioners!

"Our Father who art in Heaven (would you look at what she is wearing?) Hallowed be thy name. (I mean, this is church, not a night club!) Thy Kingdom come (oh, COME ON now, look at that guy...) Thy will be done, (I mean seriously, sweat pants?) On Earth as it is in Heaven, (hellllooooo people, this is the house of God..) Give us this day (and that guy cut me off in the parking lot, sheesh) our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses (yeah, I know that guy really well. God he REALLY needs you to forgive his trespasses.) as we forgive those who trespass against us (That old lady is a major close-talker, talk about trespassing!) and lead us not into temptation (Did you hear that missy over there with the low-cut dress???) but deliver us from evil. (I am the only one in this building going to Heaven, I know it!) Amen."

Now I know the Westboro Baptist Church folks are going to be unhappy to hear this, but we do not choose who goes to Hell. That is a decision made way above our pay grade by a being who can search and read every heart. And yes, that means that some people you may consider 'worse' sinners than you, might be in Heaven. To paraphrase Mother Angelica, when you get to Heaven you will see a lot of people you are surprised to see there. Well that means, there will also be a lot of people surprised to see you!

There was quite a kerfuffle a couple of weeks ago because Pope Francis said that Jesus died for everybody, even atheists. The atheists seemed really excited.... I'm still not sure why.

But the Pope is right. Jesus died to offer salvation to everyone. Anybody who seeks Him and makes a sincere effort to pursue salvation, gets it, through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. It doesn't matter if yesterday you were an atheist, it doesn't matter if you go around protesting and blaspheming by carrying signs talking about who God hates, when God doesn't hate anyone. His salvation is open, available and waiting for everyone. Our job is just to accept it, put down the things keeping us from Him, and follow.

Now after this whole thing, I am not about to tell you that I know where the chief priests, scribes, and elders went when they died, nor will I offer an opinion as to where the Reverend Phelps and his Westboro Baptist congregation will end up. Even if they persecuted (or are persecuting) Christ, we need to remember some of His final words on the cross. "Father, forgive them. They know not what they do."

Jesus was praying for his murderers to be forgiven, even as he was dying. What further proof would we need that his mercy is open to everyone who is willing to accept it?

God bless,

P.D.O.

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