OT XXVI [A] Ez 18:25-28; Phil 2:1-11; Mt 21:28-32 

Today's gospel, although very short, is really a key teaching in Christ's gospel.  It goes to the heart of what Our Lord was doing and saying. Jesus taught several times about the danger of a mere outward observance of religion.  Much more important (and ultimately the only thing that really matters), is that one is faithful to the truth of God's message by DOING God's will, irrespective of whether one SEEMS to be living up to the message or not.  Appearances can (so often) be quite deceiving.

  This parable of the two sons – one disobedient and the other obedient draws a contrast between the early response of the two sons to the father’s request to “go and work in the vineyard today” and their actual response at the end of the story. The son, who refused at the beginning, relents and then does the job. The other son acquiesces without any protest when first asked but then chooses to do nothing. Our Lord poses this question to His disciples, “Which of the two did the father’s will?” And just like the disciples, our answer would be “the first.”

The lesson in this parable is restated by our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount, ‘It is not anyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord” who will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in Heaven’. It is no use simply saying that Christ is our ‘Lord’; we have to acknowledge and express it in our behaviour.

The actions of both sons show that no position is written in stone and that they are subject to change - sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. The change that we are looking at as instrumental to our salvation is repentance. If sin is clearly demonstrated as disobedience, the first son, after open refusal, repents of his sin—better late than never—and goes to work for his father. He overcomes and changes from bad to good.

Repentance can change the outcome of the story of every man or woman, even the greatest sinner. What is repentance? it means “to change our mind.” So, when the Lord says, “Repent and believe in the gospel,” He is basically saying: change your mind about sin and return to God by believing the good news! In order to be saved, we must repent. Repentance means not just running back to God but running away from anything that would keep us from God. Our call to repentance is really our call to conversion. It is our call not just to change but to become our most authentic selves as children of God.

For us Catholics, repentance is not just a private act of contrition where we confess our sins to God directly and hope for His forgiveness. Many often wonder whether God has truly forgiven their sins or continues to hold them against them. There seems to be no way of verifying except to rely on our gut feelings. But the good news is that we do not have to speculate as to whether our sins have really been forgiven or we remain entrapped. One of the most important sacraments, the sacrament of penance, provides a penitent with an objective confirmation. This sacrament is so underappreciated and so under-utilised for our growth in holiness. It is important to remember that long lines for holy communion are not the barometer for a spiritually vibrant church unless it is matched by long lines to the confessional.

Most of us know what it means to live with regret. Lost opportunities may never be recovered. But not in the area of grace. God offers us countless opportunities before our death to repent, to amend our lives, to change our decisions and to remake our path before it is too late. As the prophet Ezekiel warns us in the first reading: “When the upright man renounces his integrity to commit sin and dies because of this, he dies because of the evil that he himself has committed. When the sinner renounces sin to become law-abiding and honest, he deserves to live. He has chosen to renounce all his previous sins; he shall certainly live; he shall not die.”

What is clear from this Gospel and from the First Reading is that God is primarily concerned with our present relationship with him. As far as the past is concerned, God has a very short memory.  In fact, we might say he has none at all. This is the “injustice” of God that Ezekiel mentions. We remember the man who was crucified with Jesus on Calvary. He was a major criminal, a brigand, a robber, and perhaps a murderer. There, in the very last moments, while hanging on the cross, he asks pardon and forgiveness — “Jesus, remember me when you enter into your Kingdom.” The reply comes instantly, without any qualifications whatsoever, “Today, you will be with me in Paradise.” The forgiveness he receives is immediate and total. The readings tell us that it is never too late for God’s mercy. Peter knew that when he repented of his denial of his Lord. 

Let us ask the Lord to help purify our inner life… and make our inner attitudes match our outward words and actions so that everything we do, in thought, word and action, be motivated by a true love of God and the Love of neighbours as ourselves.