The LORD's Way is Not Fair!

Gospel Reflection for October 1, 2023, Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus - Matthew 21:28-32

But what think you? A certain man had two sons; and coming to the first, he said: Son, go work to day in my vineyard.

And he answering, said: I will not. But afterwards, being moved with repentance, he went.

And coming to the other, he said in like manner. And he answering, said: I go, Sir; and he went not.

Which of the two did the father's will? They say to him: The first. Jesus saith to them: Amen I say to you, that the publicans and the harlots shall go into the kingdom of God before you.

For John came to you in the way of justice, and you did not believe him. But the publicans and the harlots believed him: but you, seeing it, did not even afterwards repent, that you might believe him. (Matthew 21:28-32 DRA)

The readings for this Sunday provide an interesting commentary on one another. They also highlight a popular reaction to God which Christians and non-Christians often express, especially any time we experience some injury or disappointment: God is unfair! This sentiment is especially common today, when many people who hear God’s laws and commandments, both in Scripture and the Church, say that God is too harsh or expects too much or is unmerciful. Would God really send someone to Hell just for doing something He dislikes? Doesn’t He understand how hard life is, how difficult He has designed it to be? How unfair of Him! Why can’t He just give everyone the same reward, which we all equally deserve, as any modern parent would? We know better than God!

This perspective, although it is universally human in that it is an expression of our fallen nature and darkened intellect and echoes our first parents who blamed God for their original sin, (Gn 3:12) is also far more popular today than in former centuries. In the ancient world, people tended to view it the opposite: why would God ever give humans any kind of reward when we deserve nothing but punishment for our iniquities? This is why, no matter what sacrifice humans did, whether in pagan rites or those prescribed by the Mosaic Law, they still knew that they were unworthy and could never be sufficiently holy and perfect to approach God. For pagans, this was the final word, since they believed their gods to be utterly removed and disinterested in humanity. For the Jews, however, it meant that God would one day come in His Messiah and institute a new sacrifice, one which would truly sanctify and perfect human beings through grace and make them worthy of divinization and loving union with Him.

As Christians, we know that this longed-for Messiah has come. As St. Paul taught in the Epistle, one of the most profound and powerful passages in all of Scripture, the Messiah is in fact God Himself. In truth, only God could reconcile man to Himself and make us worthy to be united to Him, to be made into His perfect likeness. No human Messiah, no matter how holy, could have accomplished this, much less made His merits available to all humans throughout history, both living and dead, in His one sacrifice on the Cross. Only the Son of God and Son of Man, Jesus Christ, who demonstrated the unfathomable love of God by making Himself the lowest of all His creatures, utterly dependent on His human family for sustenance, harried by the machinations of demonic dictators and the temptations of Satan himself, like us in all things but sin, (Heb 4:15) could be the true Messiah.

God could have simply offered the grace of redemption to man without the work of Jesus, if he wished. But He desired something more fitting, more appropriate for our condition and for the human nature which He designed. He wished to sanctify us through ourselves, to use the frailty of human nature and even the darkness of sin as means for His heroic rescue, perfectly preserving free will. For this reason, the New Testament is careful to emphasize that Christ is truly man, since God chose to use human nature as the instrument for our salvation, through which we participate sacramentally in the Body of Christ. Yet they also mystically reveal, as in the Epistle, that He is fully God – otherwise He would be simply a remarkable preacher and martyr, but no Savior.

Was Christ’s ministry and sacrifice “fair”? Did God give humans what we deserve by offering His own Son to take the punishment which our sins require and to suffer persecution and crucifixion as a perfect sacrifice of charity? People today seem to think so. The so-called “prosperity gospel” would give that impression. Nevertheless, what Christ won for us was a free and undeserved gift. In a word, it was the most unfair act in history. In all fairness, humans deserve to get what we want: separation from God. This is the desire inherent in all our sinful acts, and God, who is not beholden to His creatures and needs nothing from them, would be fully justified in giving us this Hell which we all choose in our sins and to which He forces no one. Instead, however, His infinite mercy, as the Psalmist extols, inspired Him to come in the form of a mere human servant and to make His very divine life, His Sacred Heart, the pierced source for the water of forgiveness and the blood of eternal life. So, if we are ever tempted to think that God is somehow “unfair,” may we remember that yes, He truly is unfair – because He gives us, in His covenantal mercy which we inexorably betray, His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ:

For scarce for a just man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man some one would dare to die. But God commendeth his charity towards us; because when as yet we were sinners, according to the time, Christ died for us; much more therefore, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from wrath through him. (Rom 5:7-9)

Today is the Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, the Little Flower of Lisieux. She is a Doctor of the Church and one of the most beloved saints in history. Her way of childlike humility and unpretentious gratitude for the “unfair” gifts of God inspired her to live a life of perfect charity, never once committing a mortal sin (as her lifelong confessor testified). Through her saintliness, she has inspired countless people to come to Christ with the wonder, meekness and trust of little children, without which we cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven. May we approach Christ like her, as little flowers, open and honest to His infinite blessings, never allowing pride, scrupulosity or vanity to hinder our repentance, imitating the first son in Christ’s parable when we sin and seeking only His love and approval, not the admiration of men.

Even if I had all the crimes possible on my conscience, I am sure I should lose none of my confidence. Heartbroken with repentance, I would simply throw myself into my Saviour's arms, for I know how much He loves the prodigal son. I have heard what He said to Mary Magdalene, to the woman taken in adultery, and the Samaritan woman. No one can make me frightened any more, because I know what to believe about His mercy and His love; I know that in the twinkling of an eye all those thousands of sins would be consumed as a drop of water cast into a blazing fire.