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Greetings, SBT Readers:
Viewing video footage of the current flooding in New York city, I have to wonder what more it will take for the world to wake up and take climate change seriously. Years ago, Al Gore's documentary, An Inconvenient Truth (2006), predicted what would happen to low lying coastal lands across the globe if we failed to reduce our carbon footprint. I remember, in particular, a map that demonstrated how various cities would be submerged -- including parts of Manhattan. To emphasize the point to my students, I would show this footage from the documentary, juxtaposing it with the apocalyptic tsunami scene from The Day After Tomorrow (2004). Now, shockingly, it seems that both Al Gore's documentary and the over-the-top movie were more prophetic than we could have imagined.
So what can be done? I call on all preachers and teachers to use their voices to inform, instruct and call for actionable steps. Climate change is the most pressing issue of our day -- theologically, spiritually and socially! A starting point would be to read Pope Francis' encyclical, Laudato Si' and to read the upcoming sequel as soon as it is released on October 4th. The world in which we live is God's vineyard -- our vineyard-- and each of us is called to cherish this sacred land.
Many Blessings!
Elizabeth
PS If you are at a loss as to how to begin, my book, Preaching & Teaching Laudato Si' is still available on Amazon.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
Link to Readings
Jesus said to the chief priests and elders,
"What do you think?
A man had two sons. He said to the first,
'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.'
His son replied, 'I will not,'
but afterwards changed his mind and went.
The man came to the other son and gave the same
order. The son said in reply, 'Yes, sir,' but did not go.
Which of the two did his father's will?"
They answered, "The first son."
Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, tax collectors
and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before
you. When John came to show you the way of righteousness,
you did not believe him, but tax collectors and prostitutes
did. Even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him."
Mt 21:28-32
There is turmoil in Jerusalem, and tension is building. Jesus has entered the city, and in his moment of triumph, the adoring crowd acclaims him as the Son of David. The Holy City is shaken, just as it was when the Magi informed King Herod that they were seeking the newborn king of the Jews and just as it will be at the moment of his death. In Matthew's gospel, Jesus' first stop is the Temple where he denounces religion that has been reduced to financial transactions, to the buying and selling of sacrificial animals. Again, he is met by loud Hosannas -- and by the indignation of the religious authorities. "By whose authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?" In reply, he asks them to name the source of John the Baptist's authority and when they cannot answer, he then narrates The Parable of the Two Sons...
Given this context, we see that the parable is not about two sons at all; rather, each son represents a group of people. On the one hand, the first son represents the religious elite who see themselves as righteous because they observe all the external trappings of religion; on the other, there is the second son who represents religious outcasts, all those whom the righteous view as a polluting presence in Israel. Just as the first son promises obedience and then fails to act, so the religious elite profess to be what they are not; instead of honoring God, supposedly the source of their authority, they have betrayed their calling, not only allowing the profanation of the temple, but placing heavy burdens on those they despise. Conversely, the second son's first response is to disobey, but he then changes his mind. This son represents all those who engage in unlawful activities which render them "unclean," but then repent. They go to the vineyard as instructed, because they hunger for the reign of God and long to dwell in God's House. In contrast, the religious elite are interested only in maintaining their status and its accompanying advantages; they have no desire for the vineyard because they are satisfied with their lot in life. To enter the vineyard, in fact, would demand a radical change of heart -- the radical conversion that those represented by the second son are willing to embrace...
To view The Parable of the Two Sons merely as Jesus' critique on his opponents, however, would be a mistake. Everything Jesus condemned about distorted religion has contemporary applications-- the use of religious status for personal gain, the weaponizing and politicizing of religion, the exclusion of "undesirables" on the basis of sexual identity, marital status, political viewpoints... The more Jesus named the hypocrisy and lack of compassion he noted in the religious leadership of his day, the greater the opposition towards him grew-- and this should be no surprise. Religious elitism not only allows one to have an inflated view of self but also leads to being a respected member of society whom others revere; to face the truth, then, would be to risk tarnishing both one's private and public identity. We see the same dynamic happening in the Catholic Church today, where Pope Francis' attempts to reign in the "princes" of the
church while opening the doors to the marginalized have met with massive resistance. Vitriolic attacks from his opponents demonstrate how deep-seated religious privilege happens to be; instead of welcoming outcasts into the vineyard, these elitists have a vested interest in preserving a religion wedded to the status quo and based on exclusionary practices. That such religion is diametrically opposed to the teachings of Jesus -- especially his Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5)-- matters little; instead, its veneer of orthodoxy camouflages its proponents' lust for power and privilege. The missing ingredient, of course, is humility:
"Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory;
rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,
each looking out not for your own interests,
but also for those of others." Phil 2:1-11
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PRAY
That sanity will prevail
and that all those suffering
on account of the war
in Ukraine
will find the comfort
and resources they need.
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