decide today or tomorrow ?
First No! later: responsible Yes!
First Yes! later: throw in the towel...
26 Sun A / Mt 21.28-32 / quite difficult
All people in this world are invited to build up the Kingdom of God (to go work
in the evangelical vineyard).
1. A lot of people are TODAY not able to accept the INVITATION. The answer is: NO
The reason for this NO remains unclear. But later they thought better in, they change
their mind and they make the decision to go into the new offer; they accept tomorrow
the Invitation and they have decided to act really in good faith.
2. Everyone feels they are right. The Chief-Priests (Cardinals) and Elders (Priests),
Jesus and the Apostles, the Church of today are unanimously of the opinion:
these people are right - they are acting not only "wording" - and exactly this is the will
of God: the courage to act responsibly.
3. On the other hand, a good part of people are willing and able to accept in public the INVITATION to work for the Kingdom of God. The Chief-Priests and Elders are well known for the public acceptance to do the will of God - they have promised to go work in the vineyard (maybe at daybreak or at the eleventh hour / Mt 20.1-16).
4. TODAY everyone who is baptised has accepted the INVITATION - and the vows-people, the confirmed-people, the religious people, the Priests, the sacramental-people and the Mass-goers make the acceptance public.
It's a joy to see how many people are willing to do the will of God, to accept the work in the vineyard because all these people know such a work is creditable, profitable and pleasant.
5. I assume: everyone who accepts the INVITATION knows what he/she has accepted -
in reality it's not the case.
Accepting the INVITATION is all the time a risk! After the YES you enter the way
"to keep the promise".
6. This hard and great obligation "to keep the word" is the challenge of every baptised personality.
7. The Chief-Priests have decided to do the will of God... but they didn't accept John the Baptist, they didn't accept Jesus, they didn't accept the new development - it means:
the YES has accepted the own understanding of the vineyard, the own understanding
of the Kingdom of God - but this YES didn't accept the unknown evolution, the risk of the INVITATION: the fact, that the will of God is an unforseeable changing challenge.
8. John and Jesus and the Church and a new Heaven and a new Earth... all this is
"work in the vineyard".
9. Happy the one, who is able to keep the vow, the promise, the Yes.
Blessed the one, who is able to realise the will of God, to go the unknown way;
to go daily in the vineyard not knowing what challenges are waiting there
for him, for her.
Wonderful the one who TODAY says Yes and tomorrow shows resiliency.
Mr. Matthew; your Jesus in 20.1-16
is a Church-Owner (vineyard) and he
teaches the Church the value of generosity,
the beautiful sister of mercy.
25. Sun A
In a good world there is negotiated agreement - keep it and you are just. But Jesus came
to heal sinners, not to regulate business. In the Church we are holy + sinners; in the business-world we are consumers and workers. The parable of the mt Jesus is about Generosity in the Church (and in this frame the Economy may become generous too...)
BIG (basic income grant) is more generous than the payment by counting the work-hours.
But in general Namibia is generous. Namibia (Government) often pays not because you
do a work but because you have an employment contract. Work-control is not a Namibian-skill. As a Swiss I negotiate how much you will get per hour, than I count your work-hours and we have the salary. Only if you are a friend of mine, you work for me without contract - like car-washing - I give you a generous amount (not counting the hours). It means our
relationship orders my economical behaviour. Is this healthy ????
Generosity is a giving behaviour free of charge... taking into account my property and your need and we make an exchange.
An example: your property is a car and my need is a taxi. This business-case can become
a generosity-case: you drive and I get a taxi free of charge.
What for many people became a business - for some people it's still a generosity.
How will I get a "generous Image" ?
1. I have to find out what is my property.
2. I have to find out what is your need.
3. How able is my brain + my heart + my hand in free giving ?
4. You have - I need / You need - I have
The free giving between need + have / have + need is generosity.
Church-people: how generous is our offer of what we have to the needy?
(I'm not speaking first about money !!! ) You can do it with BIG or you count the hours ?
I speak about your proper property: your skills / your grace / your personality !!!
Repair the relationships
Heal the wounded
Defreeze the stubborn
Disarm the figther
all by forgiveness
Sun 24 A (17.09.2017)
Jesus gives Peter a lesson about forgiveness. Behind the lesson is the call:
You have to represent, to embody the Spirit of God.
Every Christian knows this.
But behind this challenge comes up a deeper question:
What kind of God you are ready to represent by your life-style?
For today it's a high level question. Some people in modern time are not interested
in clarifying the picture of God. But it's high time.
At least Jesus brought his conviction: His God is total forgiveness.
Sometimes it's not easy to follow him. Some people ask again like Peter:
"How many times I have to forgive - again and again ?"
Peter and me - we need a training-program in forgiveness !
double offence: "they consume
too many fresh fish
and they are consumed
by the skin-industry"
Sometimes - Mt 18.15-20 - one of "our people" is doing something wrong.
You have seen it and you are convinced that's not the way things should be done.
Bc: Such a wrong behaviour will damage the offender, the community, the relationship,
the right development etc... In this situation what is for you the "right thing to do" ???
+ One way is "silence" Bc: it's not your problem. You feel as it's not your responsibility.
You are not a behaviour-guardian.
+ The other way: You make public noise. Everybody should know how bad is the
behaviour of this offender. The one who is doing wrong must be stopped now and here.
+ The Jesus-way recommends:
As first step: arrange a meeting (two or three meetings ?)
&) tell him/her "under four eyes" what you have observed and what you think.
&) listen... the offender may have reasons for his behaviour.
&) take time end bring reasons why his/her behaviour is in fact wrong.
For such an encounter we need a portion of sympathy and a soft feeling: we all are somehow responsible for everyone's behaviour. Don't forget:
A behaviour consists of:
1.) as basic: my own personal worldview
2.) my personal control-skill or management-skill in regard of my behaviour.
3.) we know: every behaviour is a re-action therefore it's an expression of relationship.
4.) we have to find out: who is the master of a certain behaviour? the nature, the will, the
super-ego, the ratio, an unclean spirit, the experiences...
5.) behaviour is a sign, a revelation loaded with meaning.
What a grace if the offender got the insight into his/her wrongness and into the right way...
and hopefully you also got a more understanding-insight into the reasons why the offender did wrong.
Att pls! If you are clever: let the possibility open that your accusation is as wrong as his/her behaviour seems wrong.
The second step in this Jesus-conversion-process is more than interesting:
You open the process into a group-event. As you are aware of the dynamic of a group
"the forces of between" - don't forget the importance of a good group leader.
The third step shows a high estimation of the Community. It's like: "I believe in the Holy Catholic Church" but I have not before my eyes the Vatican, the Bishop-offices, the Parish-offices but my Village-Church-Community (VCC).
Tell me: do you believe your own VCC is able to handle "the case" ? not first as a condemnation but as a liberation-process ? And if the VCC is not able to liberate the offender - if the VCC declares excommunication - do you realise the "fishing process" starts now... in case we are a real Christian-Community (serving Humanity).
