Homily for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A 2014

Homily for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A 2014

When we talk about God, we often talk about two rather opposing terms, both of which we ascribe to God – immanence and transcendence. Immanence refers to the fact that God is with us, present to us, all around us, while transcendence treats God as outside, vast and supreme – in other words, beyond us. Many religions in the past have chosen to see God as one or the other of these ways, but as Christians we talk about God being both of those things. God is awesome, all-powerful, so we fear God with high respect and adoration. He transcends our petty little lives. And some of the psalms talk about God like that: “I will extol you, my God and my King!” says Psalm 145. “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised.” Even in the reading of Isaiah today we hear God say: My ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts [higher] than your thoughts.”

The first reading from Isaiah today and the Psalm today, however, also show us the immanent God, the God who is near us, with us. “Seek the Lord,” Isaiah says, “while he may be found, call upon him while he is near. And the Psalm, including the refrain says: The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call on him in truth.”

Many of us brought up as Catholics, I think, saw God the Father as this transcendent Being, and Christ as the immanent, easy to talk to God, and we have carried that into our adult life, but for the hebrew, there seemed to be no contradiction in having a God who both near and transcendent.

In Jesus’ parable today, we see both of these qualities mixed, I think.  God is metaphorically a landowner, someone transcendent, in charge, powerful, rich. Like God, the landowner sees hints differently than the simple workers. The immanence of God, too, is seen in the landowner’s kindness to those who were not chosen to work at the beginning. The landowner felt sorry for the fact that they wouldn’t get a full day’s wages, so he decided to pay them all the same daily wage. It was a generous gift, especially to those who only had worked one hour. The fact that the landowner could empathize with the workers who needed a wage to survive, to feed their families, and so on, shows his care. The fact that it doesn’t seem fair to the workers who worked all day doesn’t enter into his thoughts because it is his generosity which is at work here, not his justice. Mercy often overrides justice for God.

The fact that we all sin, does that not mean we should all be punished – but God shows mercy. God forgives both the minor or venial sinner, and the mortal one, to use the vocabulary of the catechism. We have a God who keeps us guessing, but who has shown over and over his willingness to forgive us, over and over, to work with us, to even die for us.

And that is why St. Paul today can look forward to death, even though he knows that his life means something for his congregations. He wants to be with Christ, he wants his God near him, and so while he is alive he will treat his body as a temple of Christ, exalting Christ, and living in a way that is Gospel based in honor of Jesus.

This week I would like you to think about whether you see God as nearby or transcendent and how that influences your prayer life. re you able to talk to God as a close friend, or do you talk to him as you would a superior being, using great respect and being careful of your words so as not to offend. Today’s reading stress the nearness of God and how we can relate to him and talk to him (or her) in a confident friend like manner. One of my favorite plays is the musical “Fiddler on the Roof, and I often recall how the main character Tevye talked to God, respectfully, but like you might talk to a friend, criticizing and joking even. At one point he says: “ It may sound like I’m complaining, but I’m not. After all, with Your help, I’m starving to death. Oh, dear Lord. You made many many poor people. I realize, of course, it’s no shame to be poor… but it’s no great honor either. So what would be so terrible… if I had a small fortune?” Can we capture in our prayer life this wonderful balance between the Supreme God who made us, and the loving caring Papa that Christ preached. In any case, it is important that we take the time to converse with God, both talking and listening, and that is what i hope you can take home with you this week. It is wonderful Good News, and now we too, like Paul, just need to live our lives in a manner worthy of it.

Bishop Ron Stephens

Pastor of St. Andrew’s Parish in Warrenton, VA

The Catholic Apostolic Church in North America (CACINA)

[You can purchase a complete Cycle A of Bishop Ron’s homilies, 75 of them, from amazon.com for $9.99 – “Teaching the Church Year”]

Tags: immanence, transcendence