🙏 SUNDAY INSIGHTS - THE 26TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 🙏

First Reading - Ezekiel 18:25-28 

Second Reading - Philippians 2:1-11 

Gospel - Matthew 21:28-32

“A companion of Francis of Assisi, Brother Juniper is remembered as a ‘fool for Christ,’ and there are all sorts of wild stories about his antics. He was notorious for constantly giving his possessions away and living with a winsomeness that sometimes got him in trouble. At one point he was ordered by a superior not to give away his outer garment to the beggars anymore. But it wasn’t long before he met someone in need who asked him for some clothing. He said, “My superior has told me under obedience not to give my clothing to anyone. But if you pull it off my back, I certainly will not prevent you.” 

Today’s Scripture passages ask a question to us: What will decide our eternal reward or punishment? Our final decision for or against God — our choosing to obey Him gracefully by doing His will or our choosing to go against His will! Gifted with free will, we are the ones who choose our eternal destiny.

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. Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 25), appeals to God in His compassion and mercy, begging Him to wipe away our sins and extend mercy to us. 

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 will not go, but later he regrets his refusal and goes to work. He represents tax collectors and public sinners who refused to obey God’s commandments, but, after listening to John the Baptist and Jesus, repented and became eligible for eternal reward. The second son says that he will go but does not. He represents the chief priests and the elders, the Scribes, and the Pharisees. By their pride, and their refusal to obey God’s call to repentance through John the Baptist and Jesus, these so-called “religious” people excluded themselves from eternal reward. The lesson taught: The necessity for offering a continual “yes” to the saving act of God. Even when we say no, God gives us many chances of conversion, repentance, and doing His will.

Who are these two sons at present? The first son: 1) A repentant alcoholic, drug addict, chronic gambler sexual-deviant. 2) Members of a poor village parish who reach out to the needy in the community. 3) A Pastor who calls parishioners to true repentance. 4) A Church member who decides to tithe or a young person who decides to remain abstinent until marriage. All these choose to obey Christ sacrificially. The second son 1) A regular church goer who refuses Christ, entry into his or her heart and life and lives a pagan life on weekdays. 2) A Christian who refuses to obey Christ in the sensitive areas of sex, money, and power. 3) A priest whose sermon is designed to please people rather than to please God. 4) A Church that ignores issues of justice and mercy. 5) A Sunday School that neglects to teach children the great Biblical stories — in short, all people who appear to be faithful but, deep down in their hearts, are not.

Dear friends, we need to do God’s will every day: Each one of us is responsible to God for every action, and the just God will punish or reward one according to one’s actions. Since we are not sure about the moment of our death, our only guarantee of dying in God’s friendship is to live in that friendship always, saying “Yes,” to God by doing His will cheerfully and daily.

It is never too late for us to repent, be converted, and allow the Holy Spirit to renew our life: If we have been disobedient to God in our past life, we need to knock at the door of God’s mercy. God can, and will, do for us what, in his mercy, He, did for the repentant tax-collectors and harlots in the parable. Hence, every morning we must pray for the strengthening power of the Holy Spirit to do God’s will and every night we need to repent of our sins and ask God’s pardon and forgiveness. May the huge number of Covid deaths serve us a strong warning that we may not get a chance to be anointed before our death. If we are in serious sin we need to get reconciled with God, the Church and our brothers and sisters through the Sacrament of Reconciliation as soon as possible. Let us remember that it is never too late for us to turn back to God, ready to do His will.