First Reading: Ezekiel 18:25-28
Reflection:
You might imagine in this reading the Israelites’ complaint sounding like when a child complains to his or her parents, “That’s not fair!” In this case, the Israelites had the audacity to accuse God of being unfair. They thought he was being unjust for punishing the virtuous man who falls into sin, and having mercy on the wicked man who repents. But God responds by defending His justice and showing them they are truly the ones being unfair. In the Israelite’s pride they think they have it all together and know what is best. But, in reality, they are not seeing things clearly. God is perfectly just and perfectly merciful. The fact of the matter is there are consequences for sin. As the Apostle Paul states, “The wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23a). Sin results in spiritual death, even if someone is “a good person.” We all sin (“All have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God” – Romans 3:23) and, therefore, in justice deserve the consequence of death. But God in His mercy offers us forgiveness…a second chance. Those who repent and turn to God, even if they have lived a very sinful life, can have life (“…but the gift of God is eternal life” – Romans 6:23b).
Second Reading: Philippians 2:1-11
Reflection:
In this profound passage, the Apostle Paul calls us to humility and self-giving love (“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.”). He then shows us how Jesus is the supreme example of humility and self-giving love for He was perfectly obedient and gave Himself completely for our sake. Jesus died so that we can have life. It takes humility, though, on our part, to receive that life. If we act with pride like the Israelites in the first reading, then we remain in our sin and do not have life. But if we humbly recognize our brokenness and repent, we can have life, even life eternal in Heaven. We will see in the Gospel reading this dichotomy between the two sons. One is humble, the other is prideful. As Christ “emptied himself,” we are called to empty ourselves and live for God. This means dying to ourselves and choosing to not live for selfish gain but selflessly giving our entire lives to God, submitting ourselves to His will. Humility involves recognizing any wrongdoing and repenting of that sin. Then, we are called to give ourselves completely to loving God and loving our neighbor.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 21:28-32
Reflection:
Jesus shared the “Parable of the Two Sons” to teach us about God’s justice and mercy. The chief priests and elders answered correctly when they said the first son was the obedient one. The point of the parable is that it is better late than never. In other words, it is better to repent and turn in obedience to God later, even if you disobey God at first, than it is to say you will obey God (acting as if you are righteous) and then not obey Him. In that regard, the first son represents the worst of sinners, including tax collectors and prostitutes in Jesus’ day. They had lived very sinful lives, but when the opportunity to repent came, they responded and decided to work in God’s vineyard. The second son represents the self-righteous, including the chief priests and elders to whom Jesus was speaking. They thought they had it all together and gave lip-service to God’s commands, but did not take action to live as God would have them. In essence, the first son represents those who are humble enough to recognize the error of their ways and turn in repentance, while the second son represents those who are prideful and unwilling to change their ways. The second group may give lip-service to God’s commands but will not follow-through. The moral of the story is that it is better to respond to God’s call later in life, even if you reject it at first, than it is to say you will obey God but never take action. Note that God invites both sons (who represent different types of people) to come into His vineyard (which represents His kingdom). They had the choice of how to respond. In the same way, God invites all of us into His kingdom, but how will we respond? Will we take action and accept that invitation so we can find life, or only give lip-service to the invitation and reject it by our actions?
Application:
- In what ways do you need to grow in the virtue of humility and better offer your life to God and others out of self-giving love?
- How have you responded to God’s invitation to work in His vineyard? Jesus died for us so we can live for Him. Do your actions reflect the life of a worker in His kingdom? Reflect on how you can better say ‘yes’ to God’s invitation. What do you need to repent of in order to better serve Him? God is merciful and is willing to forgive you and offer you a second chance. Even if you have been saying ‘no’ to God, it’s not too late to change that ‘no’ to a ‘yes.’
