XXVII Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A – October 4, 2020 Second chances? God’s never-ending offer of mercy and new beginnings Readings: Isaiah 5: 1-7 / Psalm 80 / Philippians 4: 6-9 / Matthew 21: 33-43
How many “second” chances have you experienced in life? What were they like? Perhaps a near miss while driving or the chance to move on after a difficult or embarrassing incident might be your “second” chance. Most likely, we can think of more than just a second and can come up with many more. We can also recall the opportunities we missed or turned away. Who is counting? God doesn’t. He keeps giving.
“Second” or more numerous chances are the moments and opportunities when and where conversion is just waiting to happen. Even more important, these chances are when and where God not only waits for us, but he also gives much and invites us to return to him.
In today’s Gospel reading from the 21st chapter of Matthew, the landowner in the parable keeps giving, keeps sending his representatives to the vineyard until he has no more to send, except his son. It might appear that his son is the last chance, but he is also the landowner’s best and most dear offer.
The persistence of God to keep reaching out to us with his mercy and giving us opportunities for reconciliation can be met by our indifference or attitude of superiority or self-sufficiency. God gives abundantly: his gifts and mercy. However, God’s grace needs an opening in our hearts and minds in order for there to be fruit.
The willingness and readiness of God to give “second” or more chances are not just divine characteristics of much generosity. Rather, it speaks of who God is and how he acts with us. It's about being in relationship with him.
Pope emeritus Benedict XVI emphasizes this fundamental aspect of God in many of the parables, especially last Sunday’s parable about the two sons asked by their father to work in the vineyard and even the one for today, as not only making a distinction between the self-righteous Pharisees and sinners, but also as “an appeal to say Yes once more to the God who calls us.”¹
Keep in mind that this has been an ongoing theme in the Gospel readings recently, especially last Sunday, today and next Sunday. I have frequently referred to this way of dealing with humanity that surges from the heart of God, the Father of Mercies. Mercy is his gift and initiative; patience and persistence are the descriptive qualities that always accompany the gift.
Savor the wisdom of our former pope, that second chances are “an appeal to say Yes once more (emphasis added) to the God who calls us.” Think and pray about any situations that were and are second chances or opportunities to say “Yes” to Christ. If we think that we missed the boat or lost it, have no fear, but ask in faith and new opportunities will come. God is never indifferent to us and our needs. We might call it second chances, but to him it is all love.
A few years ago, Bishop Robert Barron wrote a line that resonates clearly of “second chances” in the Lord: “Christianity, I saw, was not our disciplined quest for God, but God’s relentless quest for us – even to the point of death.”² Even in the face of the crucifixion and death of Jesus, the quest and the giving never ended: God responded with Resurrection.
God in Christ never tires of inviting us to conversion and new life and welcomes us when we turn to him. He rejoices when the new chance opens our hearts to love and giving and receiving forgiveness. We are talking about his initiative and invitation and his joy and our salvation.
Reconciling with a friend, parent or family member can be the most powerful and rewarding second chance and opportunity for new life. We are talking about recognizing the Lord’s mercy, savoring its sweetness and letting such a wonderful gift also benefit those around us.
Christ calls people to view life differently and to recognize the opportunities for renewal and healing and for a new start. I’ve said it before and you will hear it again, “In Christ there are no end times or endings, only new beginnings.”
We can waste “second” chances, ignore or reject them, but God keeps giving. I’ve become more and more convinced that the Lord’s second chances to us never run out, but the time can run out on our end. Time is limited, but God’s mercy never ends.
True happiness occurs when we recognize that the right time is now and we hear the Lord speaking in our heart, “Welcome,” and we feel no shame or fear, only hope.
Peace be with you! Fr. Charles Johnson, O.P.
Notes: ¹ Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), Jesus of Nazareth (New York, NY: Doubleday, 2007), 203. ² Robert Barron, The Strangest Way (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2002), 11.