Playing favorites

Msgr. Michael Woster
Homily from the Televised Mass, NewsCenter1
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 23, 2022

There is an ancient legend that goes all the way back to the medieval times about a woman who died and went to heaven. Her life on earth had been bad – very bad. When she arrived at the gates of heaven, she was told that she could be admitted into the kingdom on one condition. She must go back to earth and bring back to God the gift that he values above all other gifts. So, the young woman returned to earth, and there she thought and thought, about what gift is it that God values above anything else.

She came upon a young man who just died for his faith in God. She thought, “ah, this indeed the gift the that God values most, the blood of someone who has died for the faith.”

So, she took a drop of the young man’s blood and brought it back to heaven. When she presented it though, she was told that here was something that God values even more that this. So, she went back to Earth and thought and thought, “what kind of gift God values about everything else?”

She came upon an old missionary preaching God’s word among the poor, and she thought, “this must be it, the sweat of the brow of someone who spent his whole life bringing the good news of salvation to the poor.”

But when she presented it to heaven, she was told, “No, there’s something else that God values even more.”

She returned to earth, and she thought and thought and thought about what gift God values more than anything else, and finally, close to despair, she sat down, and she said to herself, “I wish I hadn’t sinned so much and been so evil. Then I would know what gift is most precious to God.”

At that moment ears of repentance began to well up in her eyes and roll down her cheeks. Then an angel then appeared, and picked up one of the tears she said, “This is the gift that God values more than anything else. Come with me now. Let us go to heaven.”

One of the questions I thought about as I was preparing my reflection for this Sunday, is whether or not God has his favorites. Of course, we know and believe that God loves everyone equally. We’re not like that, but he is. But in his humanity, we find that God seems, does have his favorites. In the first reading today, we learned about his concern for the widow, for the poor, the orphan, those who are in terrible distress, those especially whose lives are filled with poverty.

But there’s one other group, if we believe that ancient story, that God has as a favorite more than anybody else – those who knowing that they are sinners, have come to repentance, and then turned back to God.

That was the tax collector in the Gospel today. He wouldn’t even look to heaven, so aware of his unworthiness. And yet Jesus says he’s the one who went home justified in his relationship with almighty God.

My dear people, if you have something in your life that has brought you to sadness and sorrow, something you have not repented of, something that in quiet moments brings tears to your eyes – bring it to Jesus. He loves you. He desires to forgive you. He desires to give you peace and to set you free. And this is certainly the good news of the Gospel today, and indeed, the Gospel of everyday.