You may have heard this story before, but please indulge me: A severe storm was approaching, and local officials sent out an emergency warning that riverbanks would soon overflow and flood nearby homes.
A man living in the clear path of the storm heard the warning and began to pray that God would save him from the flood.
Not long after the rains began, the man’s neighbor came to his house, and the neighbor pleaded: “Let’s get out of here. Come with my family! There’s room in our car for you” But the man declined, saying “I have faith that God will save me.”
As the storm grew more severe and began to flood the neighborhood, the man stood on his porch and watched the water rise up the steps of his front porch. Another neighbor, this time in a canoe paddled up to the house and called to the man, “Hurry and get into my canoe, the waters are rising quickly!” But the man again said, “No, I have faith that God will save me.”
The floodwaters rose higher pouring water into his living room and the man had to retreat to the second floor. A police motorboat rode up to the house. “We will rescue you!” they shouted. But the man refused, waving them off saying, “Use your time to save someone else! I have faith that God will save me!”
The flood waters rose higher and higher and the man had to climb up to his rooftop.
A helicopter spotted him and dropped a rope ladder. The rescue squad pleaded with the man, "Grab the roap and we will pull you up!" But the man STILL refused, folding his arms tightly to his body. “No thank you! God will save me!”
The ferocious waters destroyed the house and swept the man away and he drowned.
The man appeared before the Holy Trinity, and he said “I put all of my faith in You. Why didn’t You come and save me?”
And God said, “I sent you a warning. I sent you a car. I sent you a canoe. I sent you a motorboat. I sent you a helicopter. You rejected my help at every turn. What more could you want?”
A good story. God answers prayers, but sometimes we don’t recognize the way he is answering prayers. We might even foolishly reject those answers because they don’t fit into our narrow way of thinking. And isn’t that what happens in the Gospel? The vineyard owner sends his servants, and the tenants reject and kill them. The vineyard owner sends another group of servants. The tenants reject and kill them. The vineyard owner sends his son, and the tenants reject and kill him.
Jesus tells this parable, in Jerusalem, shortly before his own passion, when he is rejected and killed. He tells this parable as a warning, that those who were rejecting Him were rejecting God. They were rejecting God’s answer to their prayers for salvation. They rejected Jesus because he did not fit in to their narrow view of God. They could not accept that God would come in the form of an itinerant preacher who ate with tax collectors and sinners.
Another reason for their rejection is that, like the tenants in the Gospel, they didn’t want to give up their power, their authority. They were supposed to be the religious leaders, they were supposed to be the religious authorities, not this carpenter from Nazareth.
In the Gospel parable, there are consequences too for rejecting the vineyard owner. "He will put those wretched men to a wretched death”. The Lord here hints at the eternal consequences for rejecting God.
There is a modern misconception that there are many roads to salvation, that all we have to do is be good people in order to go to heaven. You don’t have to go to church or ascribe to any particular religion. As long as you’re not Hitler or something, God will go easy on you. But that’s not really the Christian Gospel. Salvation comes by accepting it in the form God has chosen to offer it to humanity, and that is through Jesus Christ.
So, the parable certainly speaks about the ultimate importance of accepting Jesus Christ, but there is also a lesson for our personal spiritual lives. We come to church, and we pray to be holy, and pray to be joyful, we pray for peace in the world. But the Lord just doesn’t wave a magic wand, he gives us opportunities to practice this stuff, so that we can grow in it. He doesn’t just make us patient, he gives us opportunities to practice patience. He doesn’t just magically make us pure of heart, he gives us opportunities to practice purity. He doesn’t just magically create peace in the world, he gives us opportunities to work for peace.
And we need to be very careful that when the Lord gives us the opportunities we don’t miss out of them and make excuses…I know I prayed for joy, but I just have to get my three hours of television in every day. I know I prayed for patience, but I just have to get my way, now.
Tomorrow/Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. Here is a saint who reached a certain point in life where he stopped making excuses for not serving God. St. Francis is so beloved, even now, 800 years after his death, because he shows us what we could all become if we trusted God as we should, if we gave to God as we could. He shows us what happens when you stop being afraid to give everything away in order to pursue God.
Francis embraced radical poverty and became one of the holiest, most joyful souls in human history—showing us that material stuff does not lead to ultimate fulfilment. He radically embraced Jesus Christ and became a true instrument of peace. He embraced those opportunities to practice Gospel Charity even when it meant embracing a leper or giving up his family business.
Most of us do not embrace holiness because we are like that man in the story rejecting opportunity after opportunity for life because holiness doesn’t come in the form we think it should.
For most of us, most of the time, holiness is offered through ordinary means: daily prayer, daily service, the sacraments, faithfulness to the duties of our vocation, turning away from the empty promises of the world, following the commandments and teachings of the Church, repenting of sin, using the talents and gifts God has given us to help others.
As Paul says, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, pure, lovely and gracious…do these things. Every day. Stop giving in to so many distractions and making excuses. Look to the saints and follow their example. Say yes to those opportunities to grow in holiness, to serve others, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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