October 18, 2026. 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

Isaiah: 45:1,4-6; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5; Matthew 22:15-21

Who Is Caesar and Who Owns Him?

The three parables of the last three weeks were directed to the Jewish leaders. In the parable of the two sons (Matt. 21:28-32), 26^th Sunday, September 27, the Jewish leaders appear as the unsatisfactory son who did not do his father’s will. In the parable of the wicked tenants (Matt. 21:33-43), 27th Sunday, October 4th, the wicked tenants refuse to pay the landowner’s rent. In the parable of the king’s feast (Matt. 22:1-14), 28^th Sunday, October 11th, the condemned guests are the ones who refuse to attend. Today, the Jewish leaders launched their counterattacks at Jesus with carefully formulated questions in the full view of the crowd to make Jesus discredit himself by his own words in the presence of the people. Their question was subtle, designed to put Jesus in a dilemma. Palestine was an occupied country, and the Jews were subject to the Roman Empire; and the question was, “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?

 

The factions that confronted Jesus are worth noting. The Pharisees together with Herodian sympathizers. These two were in bitter opposition. The Pharisees were supremely orthodox and resented paying tax to a foreign king as an infringement on God’s divine right. The Herodians, on the other hand, were Herod’s party, the king of Galilee, who owed his power to the Romans and worked hand in glove with them. These two were strange bedfellows; for the moment, they forgot their differences in a shared hatred of Jesus and a shared desire to eliminate him. Any man who insists on his own way, no matter what it is, will hate Jesus. This is a trap because if Jesus says yes, he will alienate many people, including the Pharisees, who resented Rome’s sovereignty. But if he says no, he will alienate the Herodians, who were fiercely loyal to Rome. In this case, Roman soldiers could also arrest him for fomenting rebellion.

 

Jesus outwits them with his answer. He asked for a denarius stamped with the emperor’s head. That coinage was considered the property of the king whose image it bore. He asked whose image was on the coin. They answered that Caesar’s head was on it. “Well then”, he said, “give it back to Caesar; it is his. Give to Caesar what belongs to him; and give to God what belongs to God.” Jesus befuddled them with his answer. Instead of laying down rules and regulations on taxation, he lays down principles. Every Christian has a double citizenship. He is a citizen of the country in which he lives and a citizen of heaven. A country owes its citizens core foundational duties under the social contract, centered on protection, the rule of law, and public welfare. The government must protect the citizens from violence (crime, disorder) and external threats, such as foreign aggression, through military, police, and legal systems. It must establish and enforce fair laws, maintain courts for due process and dispute resolution, and treat citizens equally under the law. Finally, States are to promote general welfare by managing crises such as public health emergencies, regulating dangerous or toxic industries, and building public infrastructure like roads, schools, and health services. Under constitutional and democratic frameworks, a country must respect, recognize, and actively uphold its people’s fundamental rights and liberties, such as freedom of speech, movement, and due process. Citizens, in turn, fund these duties through contributions such as taxes in exchange for the security, stability, and civic framework the state provides. Christians are people of honor; therefore, they must be responsible citizens. Failure in good citizenship is also a failure in Christian duty. They owe Caesar a duty in return for the privileges Caesar’s rule brings them. Christians must participate in their country’s government. Because “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people mourn.” (Proverbs 29:2)

 

In the first reading, God directed a pagan king Cyrus to liberate his people from Babylonian exile and return them to their homeland in Jerusalem. God called him “his anointed,” meaning mashiach, from which our English “Messiah” comes. God calls Cyrus his messiah, a title otherwise given only to someone in Israel, usually the king, or, in later Judaism, to the end-time figure who would usher in the messianic age. God directs all Cyrus’s operations. He even arms him, “Though you know me not.” The reason is that “I am the Lord and there is no other, there is no God besides me.” Whatever happens, at any time, at any place, happens under God’s control. Jesus knew this; he knew that, while Israel was the chosen people, the others did not act independently of God. Everything comes from that God; in its own way, everyone belongs to that God. Nothing exists that is not his. So, Jesus is really saying to his opponents, ‘You can give that coin to Caesar and still be giving it to God.’ For even Caesar belongs to God. God created him, and like King Cyrus, God made him who he is. He belongs to God, though he may not know it. Christians therefore have dual citizenship. A real Christian is at one and the same time a good citizen of his country and a good citizen of the kingdom of Heaven. He will fail in his duty to neither God nor man. As Peter said, he must “Fear God and honor the emperor” (Peter 2:17).

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

October 11, 2026. 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

Isaiah: 25:6-10; Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20; Matthew 22:1-14 

Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen!

Today’s gospel tells a parable about a man who prepared a wedding feast for his son and invited people to it. A feast is only worth celebrating with family, friends, and the community. But the participants in this banquet will not be who you’d expect on a royal wedding list. Those invited declined, but the unwilling and the uninvited came. They shared the Lord’s life and love. The first reading describes a banquet of feasting: rich food and choice wines, prepared by the Lord for his people on the mountain of the Lord. Isaiah describes, in rich imagery, what is commonly called the eschatological, or end-time, meal. He brings the people home to the exquisite joy of the final day, when they will be united with the Lord forever. Death will be destroyed forever; there will be no sadness, no sickness, no pain, no suffering, and no misery. We will see God as he is and say, “Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us! This is the Lord for whom we looked; let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!” (Is. 25:9).

 

On the night before his death, Jesus had a dinner with his apostles. In that supper, Jesus gave his apostles a meal of greater significance. He gave them his body and blood. “The Lord Jesus took bread, and after he had given thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.” (1 Cor. 11: 23-26). The banquet is therefore the Eucharist, the greatest act of thanksgiving to God. It is a foretaste of the great banquet of heaven, prepared by God for his people.

 

Lessons from today’s readings: The invited guests in the gospel who refused the invitation were the Jews. They were the chosen people of God, the covenant people, but when Jesus, the Son of God, came into the world, they were invited to follow him, but they contemptuously refused. Because of their refusal, the invitation went out directly to the highways and byways; the people there were sinners and Gentiles who never expected an invitation into the kingdom but responded with enthusiasm. They repented and were accepted into the Lamb’s wedding feast. Through Baptism, we became God’s chosen sons and daughters. Unfortunately, we do not always accept Christ’s invitation to be his disciples. We accept the invitation through our way of life, our prayer, and our service to one another. We cannot profess our faith only with our lips; we must also profess it with our minds, our bodies, and our lives.

 

These readings remind us to serve the Lord in joy. The wedding feast celebrates joy. To think of Christianity as a gloomy giving up of everything that brings laughter and sunshine, and happy fellowship is to mistake its true nature. Christians are invited to a joyful fellowship with one another, and they miss joy if they refuse the invitation. Jesus had many opportunities to celebrate. He participated in the wedding feast at Cana (Jn. 2:1-11) and prompted several joyful celebrations throughout his earthly ministry. An angelic decree of immense joy marked his birth (Lk. 2:10); he rode triumphantly into Jerusalem amidst great joy (Mk. 11:1-11), among many other celebrations. A Christian must always show joy in serving God. We should always be joyful in God, no matter what happens around us. St. Paul exhorts us to “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again; rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4).

Again, we learn that what makes a person deaf to God’s call may not be bad or immoral. Those who refused the invitation had good reasons. One went to his farm; the other went to his business. They went to administer the business of life. Hence, life’s tragedy is that the second best so often shuts out the best; things good in themselves shut out the supreme. We can be so busy making a living that we forget to make a life. Our priorities in life should be our willingness to sacrifice it all to attend the everlasting banquet. We should do whatever it takes to partake in the feast prepared for us. May we never work so hard for the Lord that we forget the Lord of the work! We will not be punished for our refusal, but we will miss the joy of the feast. If we refuse Christ’s invitation, someday our greatest pain will not be what we suffer, but realizing the precious things we missed. God’s invitation is the invitation of grace. Those gathered from the highways and byways could never have expected an invitation to the wedding feast; they did not deserve it. It came to them not because of anything they had done, but because of the king’s wide-armed, open-hearted, generous hospitality. Grace offered the invitation, and grace gathered them in. On our own, we are indeed undeserving.  We are who we are by God’s grace and mercy. So let us accept his loving invitation and say ‘Yes’ to it with our lives. Amen.

 

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

October 04, 2026. 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

Isaiah: 5:1-7; Philippians 4:6-9; Matthew 21:33-43

Parents will do whatever it takes for their children’s welfare, without caring much about themselves, so long as their children have what they need to grow into responsible adults. They would be disappointed if their children don’t grow up to meet their expectations, or when they take to drugs and become the exact opposite of what they expected; worse still, if they engage in harmful behaviors that will bring shame to their families. Hence, parents would say, “What else could we have done for my children that we did not do? How is it that instead of becoming a responsible and respectable member of society, they have become a criminal and have brought shame to our family?” That is how Isaiah sees the chosen people of God. God brought them out of Egypt with strong hands and fought to drive their enemies away. He gave them an inheritance they did not work for, the land flowing with milk and honey. Yet they turned away from God and followed their own paths. Today’s first reading asks of them: “What more was there to do for My vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?” (Is. 4:4).

Today’s gospel picks up the same theme in the parable of the vineyard and ungrateful tenants. The vineyard owner did everything right. He provided the conditions for a robust harvest. But the tenants were ungrateful. They treated those sent to bring in the harvest with contempt. Last of all, they killed the son of the owner of the vineyard with the intent to take possession of the vineyard. No one should doubt who the parable was directed at. “The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel” (Isaiah 5:7). The owner of the vineyard is God, and the cultivators are Israel’s religious leaders, who, as it were, had charge from God of the nation’s welfare. The messengers sent successively are the prophets, so often rejected and killed. The son, who came last, is none other than Jesus himself. Here, in a vivid story, Jesus set in motion Israel’s history and doom at once.   

These readings teach us that God trusts and has entrusted the world to us to cultivate on his behalf. He does not look over our shoulders but expects us to deliver at the proper time. “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain.” (Jn. 15:16). Being the object of special favor does not guarantee anything. Personal responsibility is always required, and nothing can substitute for it.

God is patient with us. He wants us to change, do what is right, and be saved. “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, but rather in the wicked man’s conversion, that he may live. Why should you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11). The master sent messengers. He gave the cultivators chance after chance to respond to his appeal. “It is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.” (Matt. 18:14). God’s patience is not eternal; judgment will come if we do not change our ways, repent, and do what is right. In the end, the master of the vineyard took the vineyard from the cultivators and gave it to others. God’s sternest judgment is when He takes from our hands the task he meant us to do. “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times.” (Matt. 21:41) We are answerable for the way in which we have carried out the task God gave us to do. A man has sunk to his lowest level when he has become useless to God.

In the second reading, St. Paul exhorts us to pursue holiness and not rebel against our creator. We should set our minds on what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, excellent, and worthy of praise. The anxiety of the task the Lord has entrusted to us should not intimidate us. If we are anxious, we should pray with thanksgiving in our hearts, and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and minds so that we may abide in God and His goodness.

One thing we should not forget, dear friends, is that the readings are the cry of a rejected lover. These readings emphasize God’s tremendous love for his people. And yet the vineyard (Israel and, by extension, all of us) brought forth only wild grapes. We often preferred to go our own way and abandoned the God who loves us and provides all we need. We have often chosen our own path and treated our brothers and sisters with contempt. Unless we change our ways and bear good fruits, God will give our responsibilities to others. We pray that this may never happen to us. So let us pick up our prayer books and rosary beads, return to the Lord, and ask for his mercy. He will forgive and have mercy on us. And so, dear friends, “Let us seek while he may be found; call him while he is near. Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked man his thoughts; Let him turn to the Lord for mercy; to our God, who is generous and forgiving.” (Is. 55:6-7). May God bless and keep us.

 

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

September 27, 2026. 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

Ezekiel: 18:25-28; Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew 21:28-32

Be Prepared to Change Your Mind.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells a parable about two brothers with attitudes that were the exact opposite of one another. The first brother seemed rebellious, while the second seemed docile. Their father asked them to go and work in the vineyard. The first son’s response was a definite ‘No’, while the second son’s response was a whimsical ‘Yes’. The first son later changed his mind and went to work in the vineyard, while the one who said ‘Yes’ never went. None of them was perfect, but at least the first son, after deep thought, changed his mind and obeyed his father.

This parable was addressed to the Jewish leaders, who portrayed themselves as the chosen ones. They promised to obey God and keep his words. But their lives were a far cry from their profession. They disobeyed God and rejected the Son of God sent to them and put him to death. But the tax-collectors and sinners changed their minds from following their own ways to accepting Jesus and his teaching. They will enter the kingdom of God long before the Jewish leaders.

In the first reading, Ezekiel reminded the people that those who commit sins will die because of their sins. God’s ways are always fair and just. A virtuous person should be consistent in doing what is right till the end. Therefore, we pray for the gift of final perseverance. This special grace enables a person to remain in a state of holiness and die in friendship with God. It makes it possible to remain steadfast in goodness and grace till the exact moment of death. According to the teaching of St. Augustine, this grace cannot be merited by human effort or good works alone. It is a free, unearned gift from God’s mercy. Therefore, we must cooperate with God’s daily graces and rely on him to avoid mortal sin. The Church views it as the most important grace because eternal salvation depends entirely on dying in a state of grace.

Ezekiel stresses further that if a wicked person “turns from the wickedness he has committed, and does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life; since he has turned away from all the sins that he has committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die” (Ezekiel 18:27-28). Herein lies the power to change our minds from the path of injustice to follow the path that leads to life. Hence, the first son changed his mind and obeyed his father. The second son, on the other hand, refused to obey because he was stuck in his self-righteous attitude. He did not keep to his word.

The second reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians overshadows the first and third readings. It is called the kenotic hymn from the Greek word meaning “to empty out.” Christ emptied himself of all glory and became a slave, a servant in the form of man. Christ’s self-emptying or self-humiliation went so far as to accept obedient death, even death on the cross. Because of this, God gave him a name indicating a role Jesus now exercises that he did not exercise before. The name is Lord. St. Paul encourages the Philippians to strive for unity, to humble themselves for the sake of others. He added, “Your attitude must be that of Christ.” Because Christ’s died on the cross to save us all, we must also “empty ourselves out” for others. Hence, St. Paul exhorts us not to think of our own importance, but to think of ourselves as reluctant servants, sinners, prostitutes, unjust dealers; we must “empty ourselves” and believe in Jesus the Lord. We can do it, because he has made it possible.

Because we are human beings, prone to making mistakes, we must be ready to change our minds and seek God’s mercy and forgiveness for our sins. The best way to do this is to acknowledge our failings and shortcomings and make use of the sacrament of reconciliation. Be faithful to our prayer life and be committed to our families. We must also learn to say “I am sorry” to one another, forgive one another readily, and live in peace with one another. May the Lord of peace enable us to live in peace with one another. Amen.

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

September 20, 2026. 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

Readings: Is. 55:6-9; Philippians 1:20-24, 27; Matthew 20:1-16

Envy blinds us to God’s Generosity.

1.     In today’s first reading, Isaiah the prophet calls on the children of Israel, as their exile in Babylon came to an end, to seek the Lord and his forgiveness. Their experiences of a devastated homeland dispirited them, and so they became weary of their faith and their vaunted heritage. The prophet invited them to return to the source of all life and strength. God has not abandoned them; they abandoned God. They abandoned God by trying to cut God down to their size, but God didn’t fit their scale. They wanted God to obey them rather than them walking in the ways of God. They wanted to make their thoughts God’s thoughts and their ways God’s ways. But God’s thoughts and his ways are “as high as the heavens are above the earth.” They wanted to repay their enemies for the losses inflicted on them, but the Lord was for mercy. They wanted vengeance, but the Lord “is generous and forgiving.”

2.     And yet, this God is near to them. “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call him while he is near.” Recognize the Lord as God, the prophet urged them, and surrender your petty ambitions and selfish desires, and experience God’s generosity. We sometimes behave and reason as the children of Israel. We want God to do our bidding rather than submitting our will to God’s and see things from God’s perspective. We want our enemies to be punished for the harm done to us. As Christians, we sometimes behave as those who do not know God. St. Paul exhorts us to “Only, conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ.”

 

3.     This brings us to the gospel. Jesus tells a story about the landowner who went out at various hours of the day to hire laborers for his vineyard. I have had the opportunity to observe first-hand laborers who come out in the morning with their tools, waiting to be hired for a day’s work, either on building sites, on the farm, or any job that is required. I have hired some of these laborers to work for me. At the end of the day, all laborers are paid a day’s wage. So Jesus was stating a common practice in Palestine of his time, especially during harvest. Christ used this story to demonstrate God’s generosity towards us.

 

4.     Jesus told a simple agricultural story whose meaning was not in the details but in the story itself. In the Father’s kingdom, all are equally loved and welcome. God’s measure of generosity is different from human standards. Because everyone, no matter when they come to know the truth and accept Jesus, is equally precious to God. Peter recognized this truth in his speech to Cornelius, a pagan in his house: “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.” (Acts 11:34-35) This, then, is a lesson for those who think that, because they have been members of a Church for a long time, the Church practically belongs to them and they should dictate its policy. Such people resent what seems to them to be the intrusion of new blood or the rise of a new generation with different plans and different ways. In the Christian Church, seniority does not necessarily mean honor.

 

5.     The Jews saw themselves as the chosen ones, and they were indeed, which made it easy for them to look down on the Gentiles. They hated and despised them and prayed for their destruction. Christians must not see themselves as being better than others. In the kingdom of God, no one is inferior; all are God’s children. Cradle Catholics can learn a lot from catechumens and those coming to faith late in life. We have all been given gifts to use to build up the body of Christ, the Church. (cf. 1 Cor. 12).

 

6.     These readings also warn against envy. Those who worked from morning hours expected to be paid more, and when they weren’t, they murmured and envied those who only worked for an hour. The landowner’s reaction said it all: “My friend, I am not cheating you. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?” Envy robs us of our blessings and exposes our lack of gratitude to the giver of all gifts. God’s generosity is beyond human calculations and the way of the world. Salvation is an unconditional gift from God. We do not deserve it. God does not give us wages but salvation, which is the same for everyone. His justice, mercy, and grace are not earned, but given generously. We come to his kingdom whenever we are called. Remember, those who were called late in the afternoon were not lazy, but no one hired them. Once they were called, they responded without delay. The number of hours they worked did not bring them a reward, but their willingness to work and, more specifically, the fact that the landowner called them. They became sharers of his generosity by becoming part of the vineyard. God wants us to become his partners and enjoy his presence. It’s God’s prerogative to decide who he calls to his kingdom.

 

7.      God’s thoughts and his ways are high above the world’s indeed. His ideals of justice, concern, and respect for the life and freedom of all, as these are expressed by the prophets, especially by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, have never been matched by any purely human program. To turn the other cheek, to go the extra mile, to hand over the coat as well, to become a eunuch for the sake of the kingdom (cf. Matt.5,6 and 19) – all of this must seem ridiculous to the world. But all these other “thoughts and ways” of God come from his “ridiculous standards of generosity and love, of which our readings speak. That is why they are so gloriously fulfilling to the human spirit, even while the world finds them absurd. That is why Christ asks us to “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.” (Matt. 11:28-30). Let us learn to be holy as our heavenly Father is holy. (cf. Matt. 5:48).

 

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

September 13, 2026. 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

Readings: Sirach 27:30-28:7; Romans 14:7-9; Matthew 18:21-35

 

Forgive that You may be Forgiven.

 

1.     Last Sunday’s readings encouraged us to correct one another in love. Today, Christ’s teaching in answer to Peter’s question is that we are not just to correct one another in love, but to go a step further and practice forgiveness for as long as it takes. Peter asked Christ: “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Peter was very generous in offering to forgive his brother up to seven times. Because the Rabbinic teaching was that a man must forgive his brother three times before the offender is punished. “He who begs forgiveness from his neighbor must not do so more than three times.” Peter expected Christ to commend him for his generosity and for going beyond the Rabbinic teaching. Forgiving up to seven times was highly commendable; after all, he took the Rabbinic three times, multiplied it by two, for good measure, added one, and suggested, with eager self-satisfaction, that it would be enough if he forgave his offenders seven times. But Christ did not buy it! Christ’s answer to Peter was simple: the Christian must forgive seventy times seven. In other words, forgiveness has no reckonable limit.

 

2.     In the first reading, we see why we should forgive others. “Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight. The vengeful will suffer the Lord’s vengeance, for he remembers their sins in detail.” The God who has the right to withhold forgiveness from us does not stop forgiving us. God forgives his children always and does not withhold his mercy and love from anyone who asks for forgiveness. But we find it difficult to accept God’s forgiveness. We know that we have accepted God’s forgiving love by forgiving others. The first reading asks, “Should a man nourish anger against his fellows and expect healing from the Lord? Sirach proposes several motives for forgiving others. Thinking of our own death is one. What good will hatred of others do after we have died? God’s commandment not to hate our neighbor is another. But the best of all is “the Most High’s covenant,” that is, the Lord’s own loving forgiveness of us.

 

3.     The best reason why we should forgive comes from the parable of Christ about the forgiving King. The huge amount of money the king writes off is contrasted with the tiny amount the official refuses to forgive. Jesus stated that the official did not truly understand or make his own the king’s great act of forgiveness. If he had, he would have readily forgiven his fellow servant. Because he did not, his own debt remains. As noted in the Our Father prayer, we learn that a man must forgive to be forgiven. He who will not forgive his fellow-men cannot hope that God will forgive him. “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matt. 6: 14,15). Therefore, Love, kindness, compassion, and magnanimity are aspects of forgiveness. The true sign of Christianity is love, and the power of love is forgiveness. Forgiveness should be permanent, not occasional. The quality of love is sweet, and that of mercy and kindness is sweeter. One feels more enriched when one forgives than when one is forgiven.

 

4.     It is easy to talk about forgiving others. We can handle that and work towards it. But forgiving oneself could be a problem. We may have done things in the past that make it difficult to forgive ourselves. This may harden us and make us see others through the lens of our past behaviors. Because we have not forgiven ourselves, it may make it difficult to forgive others. So let us learn to forgive ourselves first; then it will be easy to forgive others.

 

5.     In the world that considers revenge, cruelty and callousness as necessary ingredients for success in life, Christians should be living examples of forgiveness, tenderness and kindness. We should also say, like Paul, “If we live, we are the Lord’s. The decision to live and die for the Lord will enable us to assimilate Jesus’ forgiveness, kindness, and compassion. St. Augustine reminds us that “If you are suffering from a bad man’s injustice, forgive him lest there be two bad men.”

 

6.     The best place to experience the forgiving love of God concretely is in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. And when we receive God’s forgiveness, we should be willing to forgive others as we have been forgiven.

 

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

September 06, 2026. 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

Readings: Ezekiel 33:7-9; Romans 13:8-10; Matthew 18:15-20

 

I am Waiting For Judas!

1.    Today’s readings stress the need to correct one another in love. The world is so polarized, and we tend to build walls of separation rather than bridges of love and unity. Fr. John Pichapilly relates a story in his book, ‘Kindle Your Spirit,’ that captures the substance of these readings.  Once, there were two brothers. Their father had a large farm, and when he became too old to work, he called his sons to him and said, “I am too old to work anymore. I will divide my farm in half and give each of you one half. I know that you will always work together and will be good friends.” When the brothers first started farming on their adjoining farms, they were best friends and shared everything. Then, one day, the brothers argued and stopped speaking to one another. For many years, they did not speak to each other.

 

2.    One day, one of the brothers was at his house when a carpenter came to his door and said, “I would like to do some work. Do you have any work that I can do?” The brother thought for a moment and then replied, “I would like for you to build a fence on my property. Build it down near the stream there that separates my farm from my brother’s. I don’t want to see my brother anymore, and I would like you to build a high fence there, please. I’m going into town, and I’ll be back this evening.

 

3.     When he came back that evening, he was shocked to see that the carpenter had not followed his instructions. Instead of building a high fence there, he had built a bridge over the stream. The man walked down to look at the bridge, and as he did, his brother walked towards him from the other side. His brother said, “After all the terrible things I’ve done to you over the years, I cannot believe that you would build a bridge and welcome me back.” He reached out to his brother and gave him a tight hug. The brother then walked back up to his farmhouse to talk to the carpenter. “Can you stay?” he asked. “I have more work for you to do.” The carpenter answered, “I’m sorry, but I can’t stay. I have to go, because I have many other bridges to build.

 

4.    Now and then, we are confronted with conflicts in our families, in places of work, in our church, and in our community. Our strength is not in falling, but in getting up each time we fall. When faced with conflicts, we often build a fence between ourselves and see others as enemies. We would stop talking to our presumed enemies, avoid them, and close in on ourselves. We cannot run away from people who hurt us. We must do what we can to achieve peace and correct each other in love. This is what Christ wants us to do. Instead of a wall, we must build a bridge of love between us.

 

5.     Jesus does not give up on anyone. And so, we must not give up on anyone.  We must look for ways for reconciliation with everyone we relate to. Christ did not give up on Peter, nor did he give up on Judas, as this story demonstrates. The saved were partying in heaven. Missing was Jesus. Peter found Him at Heaven’s gate and asked: “Master, why are you standing outside?” He replied, “Peter, I’m waiting for Judas.” If Christ won’t give up on Judas, should we give up on people? We should extend our kindness even to those who hurt us. When we forgive people, we do not do them a favor, but we set ourselves free to love. Hence St. Paul tells us in the second reading to “Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen observed that “While it is possible to win the argument, your anger may lose the war.”

 

6.    Let us pray, dear friends, that instead of building fences of hatred, we may build bridges of love, forgiveness and reconciliation. May the Holy Spirit guide and direct us so that we may learn to correct each other in love. Remember the admonitions of Christ: “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.” (Matt. 7:3-5). God bless you!

  

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP.