"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 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?" -Mt. 21:28-31
09/28/2014 Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
This gospel reading and the other readings for today have a streak of repentance running through them, which is not so unusual, of course. But one of the things that strikes me about this reading is that Jesus is talking to some of the priests and elders and he goes on to tell them that tax collectors and prostitutes would be entering the Kingdom of Heaven before them.
He doesn't say this because it is okay to do what tax collectors (notorious thieves of the time) and prostitutes were doing, but because they listened to the message of John the Baptist and repented. They turned away from their sins and oriented their lives towards God. Obviously, they are represented by the son who said no to the father, but ended up working in the vineyard after all.
What's left is the comparison of the priests and elders to the other son. They are the ones who said they would tend to God's vineyard, but never showed up. On the outside, they had the trappings of those who were trying to lead people to God, but in reality, their lives were all about this world. They used their positions to 'pull rank' and feel superior to others. And in the end, they even thought themselves superior to God, literally. They were not tending to the vineyard, they were not leading people to God.
This is still going on today. There are those who puff themselves up with righteousness only to feel superior to others, and they twist God's word to do it. I think of the Westboro Baptist Church types who go around professing that God hates this one or that one, or all of 'X' group are going to Hell. The question of who is going to Hell is above our pay grade as human beings and God does not hate anybody.
There are those on the other extreme as well, who will twist God's word to fit their agenda. They will tell you that the bible doesn't mention what marriage is. I've even found groups that say Jesus would be in favor of abortion. They use pieces of God's word without any context or any historical perspective to fit it to what they want it to say. I almost truly expect the day to come when a theological scholar such as Bill Maher or Ricky Gervais tell us that Jesus was an Atheist.
The bottom line is this. If you say you are going to follow God's word, do it honestly. Get to know it, read it. (here's a tip. If you read the readings for Catholic Daily Mass every day, then in three years you will have read virtually the entirety of the bible, in bit size pieces, a little bit to meditate upon every day.) If you're familiar with His word, then you will know what His plan is for all of us and no one will be able to mislead you about what that plan is. Once you grab hold of it, orient your life toward it and don't let go. I will tell you, however, this is pursuit of perfection, and like any pursuit of perfection, it's really just a journey to better yourself every day and get as close as you can by the end.
Speaking for myself, I have a long way to go...
God Bless,
P.D.O.
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