You’re probably familiar with the children’s novel by Roald Dahl titled Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  There have been a couple of film adaptations of the book.  It is a morality tale about wish fulfillment.  Charlie, the protagonist, is included in a guided tour of a fantastical chocolate factory.  Throughout the story, Willy Wonka, the factory’s owner, issues warnings to the members of the tour group about the dangers they might encounter in the factory.  Many members of the tour group ignore the warnings, and hilarity ensues. 

The poor impulse control of some members of the tour group elicited mild disapproval and deep disappointment from the factory owner.  He gave explicit warnings for the sake of protecting tour group members from harm and then, he had to witness the members of the tour group willingly bring harm on themselves.  The factory owner’s distaste for his guests’ self-destructive behavior provides insight into the message of today’s first reading and Gospel. 

The first reading is a conditional blessing granted to the Israelites by God.  Speaking to the whole People through Moses, God said, “If you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people, though all the earth is mine.  You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.” (Ex 19:5-6) 

God did not cautiously withhold his blessing; God wanted to bless the People fully and forever, but receiving the blessing depended on the People fulfilling their part of the Covenant.  When the People fulfilled the requirements of the Covenant, they lived in peace and prosperity.  When they withdrew from fidelity to the Covenant, they suffered the same type of self-imposed harm experienced by the thoughtless tour group members in Dahl’s novel.  Like the factory owner’s experiences with his guests, Moses and the later prophets found the People’s fickleness to be deeply disappointing. 

In the Gospel reading, Jesus, too, was deeply disappointed in the people of his time.  He described them as being like “sheep without a shepherd.” (Mt 9:36)  He observed that the crowds lacked sufficient comprehension and motivation to fulfill God’s will.  Obviously, the crowd’s lack of knowledge and love of God was, in part, the result of failed religious leadership, but the people bore some of the responsibility, as well.  They could have made an effort to reform their inadequate faith, but they did not.   

The practice of religion hasn’t changed much since the lifetime of Moses and even, Jesus.  Today, there are vast numbers of Catholics who know how they should live but choose faithlessness instead.  Nor are the unevangelized, unbaptized, and uncatechized excused from responsibility for their lives.  It requires no great moral genius to grasp that all people are obliged to make the efforts required to live together in harmony.  A peaceful, functioning society is not a political issue; rather, it is a prerequisite for the survival of all members of society. 

Daily, I sympathize with Jesus’ lament that so many people seem to be like sheep without a shepherd, and I hope that Willy Wonka’s judgment about his misbehaving guests doesn’t foreshadow the future, “You lose!  Good day, sir!” 

If you notice that there are quite a few lost sheep wandering loose in your vicinity, there is a remedy that you can apply to the situation.  Jesus sent the twelve apostles to proclaim the proximity of God’s kingdom.  Large numbers of people found this message both challenging and consoling: challenging in that it required real repentance but consoling in that it guaranteed God’s mercy. 

The Church remains responsible for the proclamation of repentance and reconciliation, a message that remains challenging and consoling.  If you are troubled by the self-destructive behavior of those around you, take your own faith seriously and be a credible witness to Jesus’ resurrection.  If you find it disappointing that so many people rush headlong into conflict and violence, be a credible example of what it means to live at peace with God and neighbor. 

There is the real temptation to fall into judgmentalism about one’s own failings and the failings of others, but judgmentalism is not a solution to the world’s ills.  The choice to repeat Willy Wonka’s words, “You lose!” does little more than add to the world’s dysfunction.  Seeing the world as composed of winners and losers is self-destructive and a disservice to all.  The faithful response to a troubled world is the same as the faithful response to a graced world; it is to proclaim and believe in the unsurpassed value of repentance and reconciliation.