Two Sons: One Said Yes, One Said No

Pastor’s Column

26^th Sunday Ordinary Time

October 1, 2017

“A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ He said in reply, ‘I will not,’ but afterwards changed his mind and went.”

Matthew 21:28-29

The parable of the two sons has so much meaning for our lives! Who hasn’t encountered someone who tells us they will do something, but never actually completes the job? One son in the parable is like this: he says “Yes”, but actually doesn’t do what he is asked, while the other son says “No!” quite emphatically, but then changes his mind and is obedient. Personally, I am convinced that this dad had another child that wasn’t mentioned--the one who said “Yes” and then went right out and did it-maybe his daughter?

Notice that the Father gives each child a job -- a task -- a mission -- TODAY -- not tomorrow. We have only TODAY in which to do God’s will. We are all now in the arena of life, the vineyard of the Lord, and God has actually given you a mission -- a task -- an assignment to fulfill. Not just a long-range vision -- but concrete tasks to complete for him TODAY. Each day, we are faced with choices. Will I say “Yes” to God TODAY, at THIS MOMENT, in THIS ACTUAL SITUATION RIGHT NOW?

All of us have received an assignment from the Lord. You know, for years I worked in the airline industry and kept praying about a vocation to the priesthood or religious life where I could really “serve the Lord”. I really did not realize at the time that my “assignment” from God at THAT time was -- not to be a priest -- but to work for the Lord in precisely the situation I found myself in. In other words, our assignment from the Lord is to witness to him right now, here, TODAY, whether it is in my job, my extended family, my friends, my church, my enemies, my struggles, my unemployment, my difficulties, my joys. All God asks is that we witness to him by doing little things well for him -- the stuff of daily life.

These moments come up all the time: the car in front of you that has never heard of “right turn on red” (will I say “yes” or “no” to God by being patient or fuming?); I am at the store and receive too much in change (do I say “yes” and point out the error or “no” and keep it?). The list is endless.

“TODAY” in the bible also means ONE HUMAN LIFETIME. All the choices of my life will prepare me for the final “yes” or “no” to God that will sum up how I have lived my life. Fortunately, God is very, very patient with us! If we choose the wrong answer and say “no”, it is never too late to change our minds and say “yes” later. As long as we live, God will always take us back.

Father Gary

Reflections from Scott Hahn

The Humble Path: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Download Audio File

Readings:
Ezekiel 18:25-28
Psalm 25:4-9
Philippians 2:1-11
Matthew 21:28-32

Echoing the complaint heard in last week’s readings, today’s First Reading again presents protests that God isn’t fair. Why does He punish with death one who begins in virtue but falls into iniquity, while granting life to the wicked one who turns from sin?

This is the question that Jesus takes up in the parable in today’s Gospel.

The first son represents the most heinous sinners of Jesus’ day – tax collectors and prostitutes – who by their sin at first refuse to serve in the Lord’s vineyard, the kingdom. At the preaching of John the Baptist, they repented and did what is right and just. The second son represents Israel’s leaders – who said they would serve God in the vineyard, but refused to believe John when he told them they must produce good fruits as evidence of their repentance (see Matthew 3:8).

Once again, this week’s readings invite us to ponder the unfathomable ways of God’s justice and mercy. He teaches His ways only to the humble, as we sing in today’s Psalm. And in the Epistle today, Paul presents Jesus as the model of that humility by which we come to know life’s true path.

Paul sings a beautiful hymn to the Incarnation. Unlike Adam, the first man, who in his pride grasped at being God, the New Adam, Jesus, humbled himself to become a slave, obedient even unto death on the cross (see Romans 5:14). In this He has shown sinners – each one of us – the way back to the Father. We can only come to God, to serve in His vineyard, the Church, by having that same attitude as Christ.

This is what Israel’s leaders lacked. In their vainglory, they presumed their superiority – that they had no further need to hear God’s Word or God’s servants.

But this is the way to death, as God tells Ezekiel today. We are always to be emptying ourselves, seeking forgiveness for our sins and frailties, confessing on bended knee that He is Lord, to the glory of the Father.

Mt 21: 28-32

The Word: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/100117.cfm

A number of years ago Pope St. John Paul II coined a phrase about the “culture of life” and the “culture of death.” He was describing the tragedies of abortion and euthanasia so tolerated in our modern society and its effect on our culture. To preserve a culture of life is to uphold the dignity of every human person no matter what their stage or condition in life; to see this as a primary cultural value that all would uphold.

Alternatively, the culture of death promotes or tolerates the violation of the human person since life is no longer seen as a sacred value; life is considered dispensable and as Pope Francis termed it encourages a “throw away culture.” The moral imperative is clear for every one of us to be people of life.

Likewise what if we imagined a “culture of forgiveness.” Maybe Pope Francis’ image of the Church as a field hospital where the wounded go to be healed and reconciled would be more the norm. A culture of forgiveness might be one in which everyone has multiple chances to get things right. They are more loved than judged. There is always a time, a never too late opportunity, to seek reconciliation and healing and to change my life direction. While personal responsibility is upheld, the opportunity to receive compassion and mercy is always available.

Such a culture should not be imaginary and it seems that our Gospel this Sunday promotes that “culture of forgiveness.”

The Gospel parable is addressed to the self-righteous religious leaders in the time of Jesus. It is simple and straightforward in its message. Two sons are asked by their Father to go work in the vineyard (remember last Sunday: Mt 20: 1-16). One says “no” but later changes his mind and does his Father’s will. The other says “yes” but never follows through. “Which of the two did his Father’s will?” Jesus asks - obviously the first son.

Then the clincher which insulted the chief priests and elders of the people: Jesus states: “tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.” Wow! How could such shameful sinners, such public immoral behavior by “those kind” walk ahead of the righteous leaders? Because God’s culture of forgiveness is more concerned about our present lives than he is about our past. We are invited every day of our life to get things right; to come back on the mark Jesus shows us.

In order to press his point further Jesus reminds the leaders about the preaching of John the Baptist and his call to a conversion. In the same vein the preaching of Jesus and his call to embrace a new understanding and direction as well as the prophet Ezekiel’s words in the first reading today all imply the constant and never failing invitation to conversion from a God who longs to welcome his people. As Jesus stated: “When John came to you in the ways of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds . . .” Ouch! The truth can sting when it finds its mark.

Those consumed by their own vain pursuits are responsible for their choices. The same is true when the good is chosen regardless at what time. Conversion, a change of heart, a time to reconsider the “no” I may have said always finds a welcome forgiveness when we choose the Way that Christ shows us.

In a culture of forgiveness we would know that change is not an optional choice. That change of heart, turning back to God and leaving behind sin and selfishness is God’s invitation to the right way. God’s mercy is just waiting to be extended to everyone. A culture of forgiveness makes that choice clear and supports the importance of changing the direction of our lives to always aim at that of Christ.

If we choose to be a people of forgiveness and mercy rather than judgment and separation then we grow in both holiness and virtue. Virtuous behavior completes us and deepens our sense of purpose for we are all sinners and we are all in need of mercy. Every human being is invited to this process but God respects our choice to say yes or no as we hear in the Gospel this Sunday.

In the first reading the prophet Ezekiel spares no words: "When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity that he must die. But if he turns from the wickedness . . . and does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life . . . he shall surely live."

So, think about your marriage, your personal life, your family life, your association with friends and strangers, your place of work, and myself in priestly service. Is there in place a culture of forgiveness found towards others? God touches us primarily in community life. While the sacraments of forgiveness (Reconciliation, Eucharist, Anointing of the Sick) for example are intimate moments they are offered in and through the community of the faithful.

What can we do to institute a more forgiving, more merciful, less judgmental culture? Our parishes should be ideal models of what the larger culture can be. If there is division, competition, judgment, selective membership or cliques that is not the work of God.

If a large group of non-practicing Catholics suddenly showed up at the Church door after living lives that were sinful or scandalous how would they be met? With indifference, avoidance or with open arms and mercy? Where would they be invited to sit in the Church? In the back pews or welcomed home to sit in the front?

If we stand above others and consider that the words of the Gospel “are not for me but for them” then today’s readings must call us to task.

“God help us to create a culture of forgiveness, to inspire each other to change the direction of our lives and to always be grateful for God’s never failing mercy.”

O God, who manifest your almighty power

above all by pardoning and showing mercy,

bestow your grace abundantly upon us

and make those hastening to attain your promises

heirs to the treasures of heaven.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ,

your Son, who lives and reigns

with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God for ever and ever.

Regnum Christi

October 1, 2017 – A New Mentality

01 Oct 2017

October 1, 2017 – A New Mentality

Matthew 21: 28-32

“What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I am on my way, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.

Introductory Prayer: In you, Lord, I find all my joy and happiness. How could I offend you by chasing after fleeting success and lifeless trophies? I believe in you because you are truth itself. I hope in you because you are faithful to your promises. I love you because you have loved me first. I am a sinner; nevertheless, you have given me so many blessings. I humbly thank you.

Petition: Lord, help me to follow you, regardless of circumstances and times.

1. A Higher Authority: Jesus is in Jerusalem, exchanging words with the Pharisees. They have tried to trap our Lord by asking him from where he gets his authority. Our Lord, in his wit, turns it back to them. He asks them a question which brings them to accuse themselves of lacking fidelity to God. Jesus is looking for faith. Faith is the attitude that searches for an authority in life higher than one’s own. When God calls us to live his will, we should in faith accept it and live it. Even if it seems inconvenient or uncomfortable to us, we should not look for ways to live outside it. It is very important that we bypass inauthentic outlooks on life.

2. Christ’s Mentality: If we are to understand this Gospel passage, we must make an effort to rid ourselves of the “modern mentality”. In the modern mentality, we do whatever we please as long as we don’t step on anyone else’s toes. Jesus proposes a different mentality. Jesus suggests that we not only listen to, but also do the will of God in our lives. Neither son in this parable was perfectly in tune with Christ’s suggestion, but at least one of the sons came to his senses and repented for his stubbornness of heart.

3. An Apparent Defeat: Many of us reading through this scene would congratulate Jesus for putting down his enemies and winning the debate. We would toss confetti at the Lord for his wisdom and knowledge in getting out of this predicament. This, though, wasn’t the case. Jesus felt it as a loss. He did not care about appearing better than the others. He left this encounter saddened because he truly desired that the Pharisees believe him and accept his saving message. We ought not to try to shine over our foes. Instead we should work hard to help them see the light.

Conversation with Christ: With even a little of your charity, I could certainly be a son of two “yeses.” Help me to say “yes” when you ask me something and also to do it immediately – without hesitating for even a moment. Lord, may your will be done!

Resolution: This week, when the alarm goes off early to start my day, I will make an effort to be diligent and punctual for love of God’s will.

Walking the Talk

Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D.

There will never be a shortage of words. Words are plentiful because talk is cheap. It’s easy to make a promise. Keeping a promise is an entirely different matter, as this Sunday’s gospel makes abundantly clear.

There are over a billion people on the planet who have solemnly promised to live a life of loving service to God. For that is what baptism and confirmation really mean. Millions renew this promise each Sunday. That’s what saying the creed and receiving communion mean. But what do our actions say? Sadly, many baptized Christians have lifestyles that don’t quite match the words they profess.

Actions speak louder than words. The tongue often lies. But body language never lies. It reveals our true trajectory, our real priorities.

God’s Word is more than words. His Word is so substantial that it is a Person, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. And this Word was not satisfied to say “I love you.” Rather He leapt into action, stripped Himself of glory, assumed the form of a slave, healed the sick, and washed feet. The last and ultimate word of the Word was the Cross, the most eloquent love letter ever written, the final PS of a 33 year life of love in action (Phil 2:1-11).

We don’t need to win God’s favor through perfect deeds. The Son did this for us because we were unable. But we do need to admit our need for him, repent of our sins, accept what Jesus did for us, and seek the will of the Father in the power of the Spirit.

We say “sorry.” But contrition is more than saying sorry. It includes the determination to change one’s life with the help of God’s grace and to avoid “the near occasion of sin.” If we say we regret falling off a cliff and then, soon after, walk right up to the edge again, our actions drown out our weak words. If we go to confession for sexual sin yet fail to pull the plug on pornography, we may be fooling the priest and maybe even ourselves, but we aren’t fooling God.

When in the parable of the two sons, one boy says yes to the will of His Father yet fails to do it, there were probably excuses given. “I forgot.” “I’ll get around to it later.” “I was too busy.” “I do more than my fair share–let my brother do it.”

God is wise to all this. He hears the real answer being given–“No.” The younger son shouldn’t have said no to the Father verbally. But he had a change of heart. And his actions revealed that change of heart.

Many can’t see how a loving God could possibly condemn anyone to hell. I think the answer is simple. Yes, he is a loving God who happens also to be an honest God. And he insists that the people he has endowed with free will be honest with themselves and accept responsibility for the answer they freely choose to give to his call.

No “maybes.” No “let me think about it.” Just a simple yes or no. Up until the very end, we have the freedom to change our answers. But the final answers which God reads are not written in either Hebrew, Greek, or Roman script, but in the characters formed by our deeds.

This is offered a reflection upon the readings for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, liturgical cycle A (Ezekiel 18:25-28), Psalm 125, Phil 2:1-11, 27; Matthew 21:28-32). It appears here with the permission of the author.

Scripture Speaks: Never Too Late To Repent

Gayle Somers

Today, Jesus shocks the Jewish chief priests by telling them something about themselves that no one else would have dared to say. What was it?

Gospel (Read Mt 21:28-32)

Our reading is in a portion of St. Matthew’s Gospel that reports on the tangles Jesus had with the religious leaders of Jerusalem. In the preceding verses, they questioned His authority to enter the Temple to teach (see Mt 21:23). He answered their question with a question of His own first: “The baptism of John, whence was it?” They refused to answer, of course. If they said, “From God,” then Jesus would embarrass them by asking why they didn’t believe him. If they said, “From men,” the people would be up in arms. They pleaded ignorance, thus forfeiting any explanation of Jesus’ authority.

Now, Jesus asks them another question. He describes a man’s two sons. The first one refuses to obey his father’s command to work in the family vineyard, but later he has a change of mind and does the work. The father gives the same command to the other son, who is the picture of docility with his answer of, “Yes, sir,” but then he never actually does the work. Jesus asks, “Which of these two did his father’s will?” The religious leaders can recognize true obedience in this story. They know that words alone don’t count.

Surely they are not expecting what comes next: “Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of heaven before you.” There could not have been a more withering insult than this to men who prided themselves on being the spiritual leaders of God’s people! Tax collectors and prostitutes were sinners on the lowest rung of Jewish society. So, how on earth would they be ahead of those in positions of religious authority?

Ironically, it was out of their own mouths that the chief priests and elders had condemned themselves. They knew that action speaks louder than words. It had been sinners who flocked to the Jordan River to hear John the Baptist preach. Sinners had asked him, “What should we do?” in their sincere desire to repent and start fresh with God (see Lk 3:10-14). Sinners heard the call to change their “no” to God’s commandments to “yes” instead. In this, they did the will of their Father. The religious elites, who rejected John, did not. In their very public offices, they said “yes” to God, but in their actions, they said “no.”

We should note that Jesus told His critics that sinners who changed their ways would enter the kingdom of Heaven “before” and not “instead” of them. There is good news here, even in His stinging rebuke. Men and women who stray far from the Father’s will can always return. It is never too late to repent.

Possible response: Lord Jesus, I would rather talk than act. Help me change my ways.

First Reading (Read Eze 18: 25-28)

In these verses, the LORD says His people charge Him with not being “fair.” Why would they say that? They are unhappy because the Lord announced that even though a man be thoroughly wicked, if he “turns away from all his sins which he has committed and keeps all My statutes and does what is lawful and right…none of his transgressions…shall be remembered against him” (see Eze 18:21-22). The reason for God’s willingness to put the former sins away is simple: “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked…and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?” (see Eze 18:23) God wants His people to live; when they choose life for themselves and live according to His commands, He is more than ready to forget their earlier disobedience. Alas, God’s people often have longer memories for the sins of others than God; they prefer to simmer over previous failings rather than forgive them.

Yet what really stoked the charge of “unfair” among God’s people was when He told them that a man could have many “righteous deeds” to his credit, but if he turned from them to do evil, “none of the righteous deeds which he has done shall be remembered” (see Eze 18:24b). Just as the slate gets wiped clean for those who turn from sin to righteousness, so does it gets wiped clean for those who turn from righteousness to sin. All our choices in life matter. A choice to live righteously will always trump the choice to sin. No one who repents is barred from heaven because his former life was dark. No one who repudiates righteousness is welcomed into heaven on the strength of previous good deeds. Action always speaks louder than words.

Possible response: Heavenly Father, help me to be as forgetful of the sins of those who repent as You are.

Psalm (Read Ps 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14)

The psalmist writes as one who has made the choice to forsake wicked ways and walk in God’s way instead: “The sins of my youth and my frailties remember not; in Your kindness remember me, because of Your goodness, O LORD.” He has every reason to be confident this is precisely what God will do, because now he has become a man who has only one request: “Your ways, O LORD, make known to me; teach me Your paths.” The psalmist gives us wonderful assurance that it pleases God to help sinners make a fresh start: “Good and upright is the LORD, thus He shows sinners the way.” As we stand humbly before God, well aware of our sins but not frozen by them, we can ask of Him what the psalmist asked: “Remember Your mercies, O Lord.” This is a prayer God will always answer, because “He guides the humble to justice, and teaches the humble His way.”

Possible response: The psalm is, itself, a response to our other readings. Read it again prayerfully to make it your own.

Second Reading (Read Phil 2:1-11)

At this point in our reading, we might ask, “How is it that God can wipe clean the slate of sin in a man’s life when he repents?” St. Paul gives us the answer: Jesus, the Son of God, humbled Himself on our behalf and became obedient “to the point of death” so that we could be forgiven, washed clean from our sin. The forgiveness offered by God in the Old Covenant was given in anticipation of this event; in the New Covenant, it is accomplished, through Christ’s death and resurrection, and offered to all people, everywhere, in all times. God’s forgiveness was not cheap. Having paid its great price, why wouldn’t He want all sinners to embrace it and make a fresh start? That is why the Church never tires of calling mankind to repentance and belief in the Gospel. She wants “every knee [to] bend” and “every tongue to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” This is what it means to do the Father’s will and so enter the kingdom of heaven.

Possible response: Lord Jesus, You won forgiveness for my sins through Your humble obedience. As You died for me, help me die for You.

One Bread, One Body

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All Issues > Volume 33, Issue 6

<< Sunday, October 1, 2017 >>

26th Sunday Ordinary Time

Ezekiel 18:25-28
Philippians 2:1-11
View Readings

Psalm 25:4-9
Matthew 21:28-32
Similar Reflections

HIS ATTITUDE

"Your attitude must be that of Christ." �Philippians 2:5

We can have not only the heart and mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16) but also His attitude. Christ's attitude was to empty (Phil 2:7) and humble "Himself, obediently accepting even death, death on a cross!" (Phil 2:8) The Lord's attitude is "gentle and humble" (Mt 11:29). He came to serve, not to be served (Mt 20:28). He tells us to take the lowest place (Lk 14:10). The Lord "guides the humble to justice, He teaches the humble His way" (Ps 25:9). The Lord teaches us to "think humbly of others as superior" to ourselves and to look "to others' interests rather than" our own (Phil 2:3, 4).

The Lord's attitude is graphically expressed by the manger in Bethlehem, the cross on Calvary, and by offering Himself to us under the appearances of bread and wine. Jesus' attitude is humble, obedient, unselfish, crucified, glorified, astounding, and mysterious. Amazingly, the Lord commands and graces us to have in us the same attitude that is in Him (Phil 2:5). Get His attitude!

Prayer: Father, send the Holy Spirit to give me the attitude of Jesus.

Promise: "If a wicked man, turning from the wickedness he has committed, does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life; since he has turned away from all the sins which he committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die." �Ez 18:27-28

Praise: Praise You, risen Jesus, "gentle and humble of heart" (Mt 11:29). Be glorified in the world through our lives.

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