First Reading: Ezekiel 18: 25 – 28
Second Reading: Philippians 2 :1 – 11
Gospel: Matthew 21: 28 -3 2
Today’s Scripture passages warn us that it is our final decision for or against God that is most important because we are rewarded or punished according to it.
In the first reading, Ezekiel’s message from the Lord God to Israel answers the objections of those who think it is not fair that God should give such weight to one’s final decision because a person who, after a very long virtuous life, finally chooses sin will be punished, while another, who finally chooses virtue after a life of loose morals, will be rewarded.
The second reading, taken from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, also affirms the truth that the final choice for God, made by perfect obedience to Him, will be rewarded. Paul emphasizes the fact that, because of Christ’s obedience to God’s will, emptying himself, taking human form and humbling himself by accepting death on a cross, that God the Father exalted Christ, bestowed on him the Name above every other name, and made Jesus the recipient of universal adoration.
In today’s Gospel parable, a man with two sons tells both to go out to work in the vineyard. The first son says he won’t go, but later regrets it and works. The second son says he will go but does not. In each case, it is the final decision that is more important. Jesus says that repentant tax-collectors and prostitutes, represented by the first son who initially refused to go, will make their way into the Kingdom of God before the chief priests and the elders, represented by the second son in the parable.
This parable underlines the necessity of our responding with a continual “yes” to the saving act of God. Further, this parable teaches us that promises can never take the place of performance, and fine words are never a substitute for fine deeds. In other words, the parable clearly teaches that the Christian Way is followed in performance, not in promise alone, and that the mark of a Christian is obedience, graciously, promptly, and courteously given. That is, we are not supposed to say “yes” to God on Sundays and “no” to God on weekdays. God does not want polite but hypocritical words, for that isn’t obedience at all. “Merciful and quick to forgive,” God tolerates wilful, even blasphemous disobedience, provided repentance follows. God remains faithful, always ready to receive repentant sinners. He never abandons us even when we abandon Him. The parable teaches us that there are indeed two conditions for entering the Kingdom of God. One of these is giving up sinful ways. The second condition is believing the words of Jesus, and then acting accordingly. In both cases, or conditions, the emphasis is on the response of the listener to the word of God.
Today, the first son, the faithful son, has still another face — a repentant alcoholic, a small band of worshipers in a storefront, a Church that reaches out to the needy in its community, a Pastor who calls parishioners to true repentance, a Church member who decides to tithe, a young person who decides to remain abstinent until marriage — all people who, however reluctantly or painfully, obey Christ. The second son is now the person in the pew who refuses Christ entry into his or her heart and life — a Christian who refuses to obey Christ in the sensitive areas of sex, money, and power; a Preacher whose sermon is designed to please people rather than to please God; a Church that ignores issues of justice and mercy; a Sunday School that neglects to teach children the great Biblical stories — in short, all people who appear to be faithful but down deep are not.
We each need to lead a responsible Christian life, saying “yes” to God. Each one of us is responsible to God for every one of our actions, and the just God will punish or reward each of us according to our actions. As we do not know at what moment death will take us, our only guarantee of dying in God’s friendship is to live in that friendship always, saying “Yes” to God in our deeds. We should become men and women who profess our Faith in word and deed, remembering that, “Not all those who say to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but those who do the will of my Father Who is in Heaven” (Mt 7:21). God is ever with us to strengthen us, to pardon us, and to lift us up again when, through human weakness, we stumble on the road. God is calling us right now, inviting us to work in His vineyard, inviting us to say “Yes” to Him with our words and actions. Let us accept God’s invitation by purifying our hearts in the Sacrament of Reconciliation; by resolving to act upon our promises each morning before we get out of bed; and by declaring interiorly that people will be able to identify us as followers of Christ, not by empty words or pious gestures but simply by our Christian actions. In this way, we shall live a life filled with the joy that doing the will of the Father brings.
Instead of trusting in lame excuses, we need to seek God’s mercy. We often use flimsy excuses to silence our conscience. They run like this: “I didn’t realize how sinful I was”; “I was just too busy with work, family, and a decent social life to have time for Sunday Mass”; “That’s what all my family does – it’s got to be OK!” ; “The devil made me do it – it wasn’t my fault!”; ””I couldn’t be different from everyone else—I’d look stupid!”; “I meant to straighten things out – I just didn’t get to it.” These are not valid excuses at the judgment seat of God. Hence, if we have been disobedient to God in our past life, we need to knock at the door of God’s mercy now. We need to remember that what God in his mercy did for the tax-collectors and harlots in the parable, the Matthews, the Augustines, the Margarets of Cortona, and the millions of unknown penitents who are now Saints in Heaven, He can, and will, do for us, if we repent of our past sins and renew our lives as the first-asked son in the parable did. It is never too late for us to be transformed.
A Minister recently quit the ministry after more than 20 years of faithful, dedicated service and became a funeral director. When asked why he had changed vocations, he said: “I spent 10 years trying to straighten out John and he’s still an alcoholic. Then I spent three and one-half years trying to straighten out Harold and Susan’s marriage problems and they ended up getting a divorce. Later I tried for two years to help Bob kick his drug habit and he is still an addict. Now, at the funeral home, when I straighten them out, they stay straight! Perfect obedience!”