26th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A
Jesus in today’s gospel reading from the Gospel of Saint Matthew, chapter 21, verse 28 to 32, tells us the story of the man who had two sons. He approached the first and told him, ‘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 same man went to his other son and gave him the same order. And he responded, ‘Yes, sir,’ but did not go. In that story or parable, the son who responded yes, that he would go and work in his father’s vineyard but did not do so, represents the Jewish people - that is, the Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees etc, who were chosen by God as His people, and who anticipated and waited on the coming of Christ. They waited for years and were prepared by their leaders and the prophets in the Old Testament as promised them through Abraham’s covenant with God. But when Jesus came, they refused to accept Him, His teachings and gospel; that was their refusal to go into the vineyard.
The son who at first refused the father’s request to go into the vineyard, but later repented of his wrong and went on to work in the vineyard, represents the Gentiles. The Gentiles were regarded as lost souls and people without God’s revelation or salvation. They were believed to have been guided only by natural law and their consciences, and were not open to the truth. But they repented and became fully committed to the gospel of Christ, its values and the kingdom of God. Hence, it was this commitment that made them go back to work in the Lord’s vineyard, showing their acceptance of the gospel of Christ.
With this story or parable, Jesus warns us about the dangers of hypocrisy and lip service. We have on many occasions acted like the son who said yes to the father, that he would go and work in his father’s vineyard, but never did so. How sincere are we in being true disciples of Christ in the world? How truthful and dedicated are we in working for God in the world today? This parable or story of the two sons also emphasizes that True Obedience consists in deed, and not in words, because action speaks louder than words. With the action of the son who at first refused the father’s request to go into the vineyard, but later repented of his wrong and went on to work in the vineyard, we are reminded that True obedience is centered on love. This is why Saint Paul in his Letter to the Philippians, chapter 2, verse 1 to 11, today’s second reading, explained how Jesus revealed His love for us through obedience, when he said, ‘he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.” Are you obedient in deeds and not in words?
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray for the grace to be more obedient to God’s word like the son who did what his father wanted, because true Christian Obedience which is centered on love, unites us to the mystery of the Cross and our Redemption said Saint Thomas Aquinas.
