Cycle A - Year II:  

27 September 2020:  Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Ezekiel 18:25-28

Second Reading:   Philippians 2:1-11

Gospel:  Please Read  Matthew 21:28-32

"Listening to, and doing, God's will!"

It is always a challenge to talk to children.  How do we best communicate to children?  Well, storytelling is one of the most effective way to communicate with a child.  Because a child easily relates to life situations and learns valuable lessons from them.  Some say that actually we don't outgrow our storytelling days; they are simply known differently in later life as life experiences.

Our Lord Jesus Christ was an amazing teacher and fantastic storyteller to His followers.  We will hear in this Sunday's Gospel another example of His ability to craft a story using common life experiences and simple images in order to teach the profound truth of our Christian faith and God's kingdom.

The story in the Gospel goes this way:  A father who owns a vineyard has two sons.  He asks them both to go and help out in the vineyard.  The first son says "no" at first but changes his mind and went to help in the vineyard.  The other son says "yes" but did not go. At the end of the story Jesus asks His audience which son did the father's will?

Well, the answer seems straightforward.  The first son ultimately did the father's will. But then on second glance, neither son brought honor to their father; the first dishonors his father by his words (saying "no") and the second by his deeds (by not doing what he was told).  So both sons did not show respect to their father.

So then, the Gospel reminds us of something we often forget: words can be meaningless. Promises are empty when not followed by action.  The first son is arrogant but his action shows his goodness.  The second son sounds co-operative but fails to keep his promise. 

The lesson in the parable is that God wants us to change our hearts so that we must show both by our words and by our actions that we respect and follow His will  and do it without reservations and conditions.  When we are faithful to His will God offers each one of us  the greatest treasure reserved for us, which is unending peace, joy, happiness, and eternal life with Him in the kingdom.  Yet we can lose the treasure if we refuse the grace God is offering us to follow in His way of truth and righteousness.

Our Lord Jesus encourages us to think about the consequences of our choices in life, especially the choices and decisions that will count not just for here and now but for eternity as well.  Because the choices we make now will affect and shape our future both on earth as well as our final destiny in life after.

God never abandons us to ourselves.  He just keeps telling us patiently to listen to His will and hopes we eventually repent of our sinfulness and disobedience in order to find peace and eternal life.

In sum, the ideal son is the one who says "yes" right away and also does what he is told.  To live a life of hearing and doing the will of God is to respect and adhere to our Lord Jesus' authority as Teacher and Lord.  For it is the person who says "yes" immediately and goes to work in the vineyard who pleases the Lord and will receive his reward in the end.

A blessed Sunday to us all.  And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!