Dear Folks,

Continuing on the theme of God seeming unfair.

The Gospel reading for this Sunday, Matthew 21:28-32 talks about two brothers.

The essence of the Gospel is the gift of self. The Lord gave Himself out of love, not withholding the last drop of his blood. It is by the power of this gift that we are called and enabled to receive His gift and give ourselves in return.

There is danger that we will refuse to give ourselves as gift, or the more insidious danger is that we give a false gift of self. Jesus is warning the chief priests and elders of the people that their false gift was not going to get them into participation with the Kingdom of God. They wanted the perks of the job: the glory, the privilege, the income, but their hearts were not with God.

God gave us sexuality as a vehicle to give ourselves in a very special way. To use our sexuality in a lesser way than God intends is a false gift of self. Things like pornography are seeking the thrill without any gift of self at all, the opposite of what God calls us to be.

Have we ever had someone who calls themselves our friend but its always about them?

If we go to church and are more focused on how it makes us feel rather than how we are giving ourselves in worship, are we not offering a false gift? Or are we focused on God, on serving him, and on repenting of our sins? Do we have faith to reject sinful behavior?

Do we have the faith to tell Jesus to take our lives and do what He wants with them? In my experience, if we give our lives to Him, He will take it.

Blessings,

Fr. Jim