FIRST READING (By turning from wickedness, a wicked person shall preserve his life.)

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel (18:25-28)

Thus says the Lord: You say, “The Lord’s way is not fair!” Hear now, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair? When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die. But if he turns from the wickedness he has committed, and does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life; since he has turned away from all the sins that he has committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. —The Word of the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9)

R. Remember your mercies, O Lord. (Ps 25:6a)

Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior. (R)

Remember that your compassion, O Lord, and your love are from of old. The sins of my youth and my frailties remember not; in your kindness remember me, because of your goodness, O Lord. (R)

Good and upright is the Lord; thus he shows sinners the way. He guides the humble to justice, and teaches the humble his way. (R)

(Long Form)

SECOND READING (Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus.)

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Philippians (2:1-11)

Brothers and sisters: If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others.

Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. —The Word of the Lord.

R.  Thanks be to God.

(Short Form)

SECOND READING (Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus.)

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Philippians (2:1-5)

Brothers and sisters: If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others.

Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus. —The Word of the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Jn 10:27)

R.  Alleluia, alleluia.

My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me. (R)

GOSPEL (He changed his mind and went. Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of heaven before you.)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to 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 he 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.

R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

“Your will be done…”   

Today’s parable is one that we can all understand – especially parents of two or more children. It starts off easily enough with two sons…

So many of the stories in Scripture have the same beginning: Cain and Abel; Ishmael and Isaac; Esau and Jacob; Joseph – and a pack of 11 siblings; Moses and his brother Aaron and sister, Miriam, and even in the N.T, we have Peter and Andrew, James and John, Martha and Mary. Siblings and their rivalries are spread throughout the Scriptures and in Jewish tradition and they are often the foundation of a lesson, such as today’s Gospel, of each being given a request; one refuses, but ultimately does the task, while the other willingly accepts, but then doesn’t even begin. We can all appreciate as well the father’s love and forgiveness to the son who finally followed through.

The difference between words and actions are at the heart of the parable. We all know people who are gifted with rhetoric and filled with promises, but they seem to disappear when it comes to performance. Something always seems to come up to interfere with plans, to put up an obstacle, to distract, and the task is never done.

In the Gospel today, Christ addresses the Scribes and Pharisees – two groups that continually provoked his anger and give rise to condemnation. They should have been the pillars of their society, upholders of the Law and the Covenant, setting an example for all with their zeal, their fervor, their obedience to God. But something happened. By the time of Jesus, they are more known as being hypocrites – whose daily lives did not show the mercy and compassion that God expected. They are like the second son in the parable; their words said YES, but their lives said NO. And then there were the outcasts and sinners, despised, looked down upon, but at the invitation of John the Baptist, they repented and began to live upright, just, compassionate and merciful lives. They are like the first son; initially they said “NO” to God, but now they embraced the Kingdom of Life. They end up doing the Lord’s will.

The tension between honor and shame also places an important role in the gospel. But these principles of honor and shame are turned upside down. The “chief priests and elders of the people” were the respected leaders of the community. They were responsible for upholding the morals and standards of the community. To this end, they often passed judgment on the behavior of others.

At first glance, the actions of BOTH sons offended the father. The first son’s “no” was a public insult; it shamed the father. However, he had a change of heart and he then fulfilled his father’s request. The second son, however, was not guilty of a public affront, but by not obeying his father’s wishes, be brings dishonor. 

And then the parable – as all parables – presents a twist as Jesus turns to his adversaries, the Scribes and Pharisees, and asks them a simple question, “Which of the two did the father’s will?” The father’s will – this is a phrase that occurs often in the Gospel of Matthew always in the context of an instruction to the disciples, that they learn to do “the will of the father.” And in the Lord’s Prayer, we are taught to say over and over, “Thy will be done!” This parable contrasts the second son who says, Yes Lord (kyrie), with the one who actually does the father’s will. Remember the admonition of Christ on the Sermon of the Mount earlier in this Gospel: “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven!” 

How can we now apply this to ourselves today? Which son are we? 

First, there is the lesson on the importance of how we live our lives – and how we live our lives should show what we really believe. Our actions, more than our words, show what we really believe and where our loyalties lay. Spouses show love not just by words but by their actions and deeds. We show our loyalty to friends not by simply words, but by standing by them in good times and bad. Our lives, more than our words, show what we really believe.

Often we see that in each of us there is a gap between what we profess and how we live. We can all proclaim, like St, Paul in our 2nd reading, “Jesus Christ is LORD!” But, is Jesus really Lord of our life? Of our financial life? Of our social life? Of our private life and family life? Of our sexual life?  This is at the heart of stating the need for a daily conversion of life. When we speak about conversion, we usually mean embracing all of what Christianity teaches, professes and means. It takes time to truly let Jesus be Lord of our life!

In the end, this parable about the father and the two sons gives us both consolation and a deep challenge. The example of the 2nd son shows us that even  when we are bad, or stubborn, or turn away from the Lord, our NO can become a YES.  BUT, there is the more troubling side of the parable – of the first son. We can find a bit of ourselves in him when we go through the motions of prayer or of performing our duties on Sunday, but the substance of total surrender and obedience is gone. Our “YES” has really become a “NO.” We can find ourselves going through the motions of marriage or family life, but the total commitment to our spouse that should completely shape our life has evaporated. Our “YES” has become a “NO.”

The consolation and deep challenge for us is knowing that the Church is always a community of forgiven and forgiving sinners, even today in this 21st century as unforgivable sins seem to mount. The capital sins are just as alive today as they were at the time of Christ. Do we simply shrug our shoulders and accept it, amplify, it, endorse it or.. OR do we have the faith and conviction to oppose it, contradict it? Do we take the cues for our life from life around us or from the Lord of life? Do we allow the world to turn our “YES” to “NO”? 

My friends, is our “yes” to Christ becoming a “NO” in how we live? THAT is the haunting question of this parable for each and every one of us today to answer.

Lord, give me the grace to do your will… to obey the will of the Father. 

“Your will be done…” 

Prayers

Celebrant: True sorrow for sin requires a change of heart and attitude. Our prayers today rise from our will to live out what we believe.

READER:  For a sincere spirit of penitence in all members of our Church, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For leaders who will speak and act for the sake of those who have no voice in society, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For the conversion of men and women caught up any sinful behaviours, that they have the courage to turn to a spirit of righteousness in the sight of God, and live without shame in His presence, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For respect and care for God’s creation in the natural environment, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For those who have asked for our prayers, for the concerns we carry in our hearts, and for our faithful departed and all the bereaved who mourn them, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

CELEBRANT: Father, hear the petitions of your daughters and sons, who seek to do your will day by day. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. (all) AMEN.