God's Word for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The tax-collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you

Gospel Mt 21:28-32

Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people:
"What is your opinion?
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.
The man came to the other son and gave the same order.
He said in reply, 'Yes, sir, 'but did not go.
Which of the two did his father's will?"
They answered, "The first."
Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you,
tax collectors and prostitutes
are entering the kingdom of God before you.
When John came to you in the way 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 and believe him."

 

When the sinner renounces sin, he deserves to live.

Make me walk in your truth and teach me.

In your minds you must be the same as Christ Jesus

The tax-collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you

Are you working in the vineyard?

Jesus originally told this parable to the chief priests but Matthew put it in the Gospel for us. The chief priests were religious people. They lived in the Temple, were constantly offering sacrifices and reciting prayers. Yet Jesus condemns them. It is not sacrifices and prayers that God wants but love and obedience to his will.

When talking of Catholic celebrities the media may call them ‘devout Catholics’ –meaning that they go to church and keep the regulations of the Church. Is going to church and being a ‘practicing Catholic’ enough? You couldn’t have found more ‘devout Jews’ than the chief priests. They were faultless in keeping the letter of the Law. Yet Jesus hits out at them in this parable and in his comment afterwards – I tell you solemnly...

Jesus has given us one commandment: love one another as I have loved you. It is the fulfilment of this commandment that determines how God sees us. We go to church to listen to the Word and know what the commandment means in daily life. Through prayer and the sacraments we receive the mind of Christ and the strength to fulfil his commandment.

            If I am married do I love my spouse? Do I make the love for my spouse the vocation of my life, something I cultivate in my heart and show by deeds and words every day? Do I with my spouse give my children a stable atmosphere of love in which they can grow and mature and be themselves? If I am a child do I contribute to making our home a place of peace and mutual understanding, the joy of my parents now, as I was when I was born? Am I able to forgive from my heart the inevitable failings of parents and family members?

Being a disciple is all about fulfilling the command to love others as Jesus loves us. His love is the model and standard. It embraces justice in my work place – fulfilling promises, doing an honest day’s work, treating everyone with dignity and respect and giving them what is their due.

That is why St. Paul urges us to have the same mind that Christ has. We go to church, we listen to the Word of God, confess our sinfulness and failings, pray and most of all receive Christ himself in the Eucharist so that we will progressively become living members of Christ’s Body. With Christ living in us we will make him and his love present wherever we go.

Do you see all the practices of religion as the means by which you can live the life of Christ in your world?

Father, through your Holy Spirit may I love and live for others as Jesus did.