Matthew 21: 28-32
Sunday, October 1st, 2023 (26 OT A)
“At that time Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people, What do you think? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said to him, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today. He said to him, “I don’t want to. But then he came to his senses and went. He went to the second and said the same thing. He said to him, “I am going, Sir,” but he did not go. But he did not go. Which of the two did what his father wanted?
This Sunday’s Gospel places us before Jesus, who has arrived in Jerusalem in his last days. Tension and arguments with the chief priests and religious authorities are mounting. He has expelled the sellers from the Temple and told them parables that denounce the attitude of the Chosen People. Today he tells them another parable: the father who sends his two sons to work in the vineyard. The first one says he will not go, but then he goes. And the second, who says he will, but then does not go.
Jesus accuses the leaders of Israel of hypocrisy, of not corroborating with facts what they say in words. Of not having listened to those sent by God. That is why others, considered “bad” go before them in the Kingdom of God.
It is a Word that also challenges us today. We are not consistent with our Christian commitment. It is easy for us to speak, to say, to promise, but difficult and complicated to do what we say. Do these words of Jesus affect me, and to what extent am I also a hypocrite? St. Paul asks us to have among us the feelings proper to a life in Christ. “The tax collectors and prostitutes are ahead of you in the path to the kingdom of God,” Jesus tells us. But today also the prophet Ezekiel makes it clear that God gives us another opportunity to work in his vineyard. Am I ready to go?
Juan Ramón Gómez Pascual, cmf
Are we consistent with our Christian commitment?
