October 1^st 2017. Twenty Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL: Matthew 21, 28-32

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

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GOSPEL: Matthew 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."

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

A longer summary this week of the homily from Vatican Radio . . . The first reading from the prophet Ezekiel is perfectly in line with the teaching of the Decalogue and the rest of the Old Testament: the Lord God is patient and merciful; his entire goal is to show us his pardon and call us into life. The theme of the first reading is NOT the punishment that awaits the wicked person; rather, the theme is conversion, change of direction. God is not interested in putting us into pigeon holes of “virtuous” and “unvirtuous” just for the sake of it; he is leading us on a journey towards himself. He wishes us to return to our authentic origin, which is the actual meaning of the original Hebrew verb for “conversion”. Every single day of our lives we should be willing to reconsider our views, our mode of behaviour, and the errors of our ways. The Gospel recounts the story of the two sons. One of the sons says “Yes”, but in reality he has no intention of responding to the call of his father; he remains exactly as he was beforehand and does nothing. The theme of conversion is the theme of the evolution of our hearts. Life is a constant process of growth. No one has arrived at a definitive state of being. Life involves moving forward and changing. Every morning we must place ourselves in the hands of God, and pray that he will form our hearts in this coming day. The second son is sincere and says “No” because, like the first son, he has no willingness to respond to his father. But then he enters into himself and considers more deeply the call of his father. Jesus then compares this parable to the situation of his day, stating that the prostitutes and tax-collectors are entering heaven before the chief priests and elders. This accusation would have been almost intolerable for his hearers! But just think of what Jesus is saying. Those who know they are living bad lives have a good chance of conversion, whilst those who think they are virtuous are more likely to continue living just as they are. How fond we are of thinking that we are righteous and have the truth on our side! But the Lord wishes us to acknowledge our poverty before him, to be like the prostitutes and tax-collectors who realize that they have nothing to boast about. Our hearts work well when we are beggars before God, when we remember our prostitution and the fact that we have given ourselves over to idols a thousand times. How beautiful it is when we convert, when we turn away from our evil ways. It is bitter at first but becomes sweet afterwards. There is an entire army of people who long for someone close to them to turn away from the error of their ways and return to right relationship with them. True conversion is a beautiful thing. What is more important, to have a squeaky clean public image with no apparent defects, or to love God and others truly? This Sunday the liturgy invites us to move towards the path of life. This involves turning towards the Lord instead of being preoccupied with a hypocritical public image. The Lord has given us freedom. This exposes us to the danger of becoming corrupt, but it is also the foundation of our incredible potentiality: to convert ourselves onto the Lord.