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The quality of our relationship with God

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A), Ezekiel 18:25-28.

The exiles in Babylon after the destruction of Jerusalem seemed to have liked to invoke an old proverb: "Fathers have eaten green grapes and so their children’s teeth are on edge." The people thus claimed that they were being punished for their ancestors’ sins rather than their own. The only reason they were in exile was because of what their ancestors had done.

This situation didn’t seem right, but that was apparently the way justice worked in a world that was under divine governance. One result of this way of looking at things was that the people felt no need to look after their own relationship with God. After all, if God was going to keep punishing them for some sort of corporate guilt that they bore because of the misdeeds of their ancestors, what was the point of striving to be virtuous?

It is true that in the decalogue God promised to inflict punishment on the children of sinful fathers "down to the third and fourth generation" (cf. Exodus 20:5). But as the religious sense of the Israelites matured, they saw that the punishment of the descendants was not due exclusively to the family connection, but to the freely chosen perpetuation of the sinful conduct on the part of the later generations. The way the exiles in Babylon interpreted God’s justice was therefore more than a little self- serving. By making God’s way of treating them unjust, they freed themselves from any responsibility for the quality of their relationship with Him.

Ezekiel takes them to task for this attitude in chapter 18. This Sunday’s reading is a summary of what the prophet says there.

They shouldn’t claim that the Lord’s way of acting is unfair. If they do so, it is they themselves who are unfair. Each individual person, the prophet says, is responsible for the quality of his or her relationship with God. If a person was virtuous and turns to sinfulness, that person will be treated like a sinner by God. If a sinner reforms, the former sinner will be counted as virtuous. Sin brings death, i.e., ruptures the sinner’s relationship with God. Virtue brings life, i.e., a loving oneness with the Lord.

Ezekiel’s message here is that the standing of each individual in the sight of God is determined, not by the nation to which that person belongs, not by the person’s ancestors, but by the individual person’s behavior.

Ezekiel’s teaching is echoed in the teaching of Jesus that we hear in the gospel reading for this Sunday (Matthew 21:28-32). Through the parable of the two sons Jesus underlines the importance of individual, personal responsibility. The son who agreed to go work in the vineyard but did not do so seems to represent the chief priests and elders of the people who apparently thought that their standing exempted them from actually carrying out the will of God. The son who refused but later went represents the sinners who listened to Jesus and turned from their sinfulness. Whatever they might have been, they are now participants in the kingdom of God.

Our Catholic Christian religious culture has never been insistent on corporate guilt, that individuals would be punished for the sins of their ancestors. We have always given greater emphasis to individual responsibility. While God’s favor to us is a free gift that we can do nothing to deserve, the personal behavior of each individual determines the quality of our response to God’s gift. We are responsible for whether we are saints or sinners.

But there is a corporate dimension to our personal moral life. Each of us shares in the life of the world around us. Each of us is touched and influenced by the values of our culture. Each of us finds comfort in belonging, in being part of the life that goes on around us. There is security in being part of the group. Being a loner is not something we treasure. Yet the world around us is in many ways not a Christian world, not even a humane world. It is a sinful world, a world that not only does evil but makes evil attractive. As individuals, we may not be guilty of the sins of the world. But as individuals we are in danger of buying into the world’s sinfulness. The issue for us is not whether we are being punished for the sins of our fathers. The issue for us is whether we choose to buy into the sins of our brothers and sisters.

For reflection and discussion

Do I see myself as responsible for my personal spiritual situation?

How am I affected by the sinfulness of the world around me?



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	*Overtures* Reflection on the first readings of the Sunday liturgy By Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk The quality of our relationship with God Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A), Ezekiel 18:25-28. The exiles in Babylon after the destruction of Jerusalem seemed to have liked to invoke an old proverb: "Fathers have eaten green grapes and so their children’s teeth are on edge." The people thus claimed that they were being punished for their ancestors’ sins rather than their own. The only reason they were in exile was because of what their ancestors had done. This situation didn’t seem right, but that was apparently the way justice worked in a world that was under divine governance. One result of this way of looking at things was that the people felt no need to look after their own relationship with God. After all, if God was going to keep punishing them for some sort of corporate guilt that they bore because of the misdeeds of their ancestors, what was the point of striving to be virtuous? It is true that in the decalogue God promised to inflict punishment on the children of sinful fathers "down to the third and fourth generation" (cf. Exodus 20:5). But as the religious sense of the Israelites matured, they saw that the punishment of the descendants was not due exclusively to the family connection, but to the freely chosen perpetuation of the sinful conduct on the part of the later generations. The way the exiles in Babylon interpreted God’s justice was therefore more than a little self- serving. By making God’s way of treating them unjust, they freed themselves from any responsibility for the quality of their relationship with Him. Ezekiel takes them to task for this attitude in chapter 18. This Sunday’s reading is a summary of what the prophet says there. They shouldn’t claim that the Lord’s way of acting is unfair. If they do so, it is they themselves who are unfair. Each individual person, the prophet says, is responsible for the quality of his or her relationship with God. If a person was virtuous and turns to sinfulness, that person will be treated like a sinner by God. If a sinner reforms, the former sinner will be counted as virtuous. Sin brings death, i.e., ruptures the sinner’s relationship with God. Virtue brings life, i.e., a loving oneness with the Lord. Ezekiel’s message here is that the standing of each individual in the sight of God is determined, not by the nation to which that person belongs, not by the person’s ancestors, but by the individual person’s behavior. Ezekiel’s teaching is echoed in the teaching of Jesus that we hear in the gospel reading for this Sunday (Matthew 21:28-32). Through the parable of the two sons Jesus underlines the importance of individual, personal responsibility. The son who agreed to go work in the vineyard but did not do so seems to represent the chief priests and elders of the people who apparently thought that their standing exempted them from actually carrying out the will of God. The son who refused but later went represents the sinners who listened to Jesus and turned from their sinfulness. Whatever they might have been, they are now participants in the kingdom of God. Our Catholic Christian religious culture has never been insistent on corporate guilt, that individuals would be punished for the sins of their ancestors. We have always given greater emphasis to individual responsibility. While God’s favor to us is a free gift that we can do nothing to deserve, the personal behavior of each individual determines the quality of our response to God’s gift. We are responsible for whether we are saints or sinners. But there is a corporate dimension to our personal moral life. Each of us shares in the life of the world around us. Each of us is touched and influenced by the values of our culture. Each of us finds comfort in belonging, in being part of the life that goes on around us. There is security in being part of the group. Being a loner is not something we treasure. Yet the world around us is in many ways not a Christian world, not even a humane world. It is a sinful world, a world that not only does evil but makes evil attractive. As individuals, we may not be guilty of the sins of the world. But as individuals we are in danger of buying into the world’s sinfulness. The issue for us is not whether we are being punished for the sins of our fathers. The issue for us is whether we choose to buy into the sins of our brothers and sisters. For reflection and discussion** Do I see myself as responsible for my personal spiritual situation? How am I affected by the sinfulness of the world around me?

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