27th Sunday in Ordinary Time — Year A
Seriously?!
Rev. James A. Wickersham

There is something in today's Gospel that I find absolutely astonishing. After everything the tenants have done, after mistreating and even killing his servants, the landowner decides to send his son. He says to himself, "They will respect my son." Think about that for a moment. Of all the things he could have done, he decides to send his son.

I don't know about you, but I don't think that's what most of us would have done! By this point, I suspect most of us would have had enough. But look at the extraordinary patience of this landowner. Even after everything that has happened, he sends his son.

Of course, Jesus is revealing something much greater than the patience of a landowner. He's revealing something about God himself. Think about how patient God has been with humanity, and how patient he continues to be with each of us. He knows our weaknesses. He knows how often we fail, how often we turn away from him, and how slowly we sometimes change. And yet, he continues to call us back to himself.

And how far is God willing to go? He sends his own Son. And what happens? Jesus Christ is rejected and put to death. But that is not the end. The stone rejected by the builders becomes the cornerstone. Christ rises from the dead, and through his death and Resurrection he opens the way to eternal life. This is how much God loves us. This is how far he is willing to go for our salvation.

I think we sometimes forget this when we pray. We can be terribly hard on ourselves. We become frustrated because we keep struggling with the same sins, the same weaknesses, the same temptations. Sometimes we grow tired of ourselves because we change so slowly. We might even wonder whether God is growing tired of us, too.

But look at the patience of God. He doesn't stop calling us back to himself. That doesn't mean our sins don't matter or that we don't need to repent. Of course we do. But we should never confuse our impatience with ourselves for God's patience with us.

And perhaps that's why we need to learn to be more honest with God in our prayer. Sometimes I think we approach prayer the same way we prepare our house for company. We clean everything up, put things away, and make sure everything looks just right. Heaven forbid our guests discover that our house isn't always perfectly clean!

And sometimes we do the same thing with God. We want to present him with the best version of ourselves. But God already knows what's going on in our hearts. He knows the mess that's there. There's no reason to hide it from him.

All of us carry burdens. Perhaps it's grief over someone we've lost. Perhaps it's worry about the future, concern for someone we love, or a temptation we've struggled with for years. Sometimes we don't even know how to put these things into words. But whatever we're carrying, we need to bring it to the Lord. Tell him how you feel. Tell him what you're struggling with. You don't have to find beautiful words or pretend that everything is fine. Just tell him what's going on in your heart.

Saint Paul tells us today to make our requests known to God. He doesn't promise that all our problems will suddenly disappear. The person we've lost doesn't return. Our struggles don't necessarily end. But when we bring these things to the Lord, we begin to recognize that we don't have to carry them alone. The Lord is with us, and he helps us carry what we cannot carry by ourselves.

And over time, as we continue sharing our joys and sorrows with him, we begin to discover something of the peace Saint Paul describes. We begin to look toward the future with hope. Not because everything will necessarily work out the way we want, but because we believe in the God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead. We trust that he will bring his work to completion, perhaps not in this world, but in the world to come.

In just a few moments, the gifts of bread and wine will be brought forward and placed upon this altar. I want to invite you to do something. Think about one thing you're carrying right now. Perhaps it's grief, fear, a temptation you've been struggling with, or something that's been weighing heavily upon your heart. Whatever it is, as those gifts are brought forward, place it spiritually before the Lord upon this altar. Tell him about it. Tell him how you feel. Ask him to help you carry it.

And remember the promise Saint Paul gives us today: "Then the God of peace will be with you."