{"id":2279,"date":"2017-10-01T12:48:27","date_gmt":"2017-10-01T16:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=2279"},"modified":"2017-10-01T12:48:27","modified_gmt":"2017-10-01T16:48:27","slug":"26th-sunday-in-ordinary-time-year-a-homily-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/26th-sunday-in-ordinary-time-year-a-homily-2\/","title":{"rendered":"26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily"},"content":{"rendered":"

26th<\/sup> Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A<\/a>
\nEzekiel 18:25-28
\nPsalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
\nPhilippians 2:1-11
\nMatthew 21:28-32<\/p>\n

The man says to his two sons, \u201cSon, go out and work in the vineyard today<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 The statement is clear and simple.\u00a0 It probably came as no surprise to them.<\/p>\n

The first son says he will not.\u00a0 No reason is given but his response is as clear and simple as his father\u2019s directive.\u00a0 However, later this son changes his mind and does what his father directed.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the second son says he will do as directed by the father but he doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Do we do as God directs or don\u2019t we?<\/p>\n

Jesus offers this situation as a teaching lesson to the chief priests and elders.\u00a0 He equates them to the second son who says he will do his father\u2019s will but doesn\u2019t.\u00a0 They profess to be God\u2019s disciples but they fall short.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Jesus says the tax collectors and prostitutes, who the priests and elders know to be sinners, have realized the error of their ways and turned to Jesus.<\/p>\n

So, who gets into Heaven?<\/p>\n

The scene that Jesus described today is offered in the context of a specific day when the father gave his directive.\u00a0 To think in terms of God\u2019s directive, how do we evaluate a lifetime of decisions in light of our faith?<\/p>\n

We would like to be evaluated based on the good we have done and have the bad overlooked.\u00a0 Or perhaps our judgment could at least be done on the basis that we have done more<\/em> good than bad.<\/p>\n

Through the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord warns us that even if we do good most of our lives but then turn away from virtue, we will die.\u00a0 On the other hand, if we have been living in wickedness but turn to what is \u201cright and just<\/em>,\u201d we will live.\u00a0 To live is to be with God.\u00a0 To die is eternal separation from God.<\/p>\n

The reality is that we probably have all done something that we regret.\u00a0 We are sinners.\u00a0 Hopefully, we have all also done something that is good but doing good is not always easy.\u00a0 The choice between good and evil is just that, a choice.<\/p>\n

We would like it to be easy to always choose good but we know that what is evil can be pretty tempting.\u00a0 It can bring short term pleasure or immediate gratification that we seek.<\/p>\n

We might say what\u2019s wrong with having a little fun or pleasure.\u00a0 We can become selfish in the moment and not see the bigger picture.\u00a0 If we do this often, we look not just the little things in selfish ways but the big decisions too.<\/p>\n

But to be selfish can lead to not loving our neighbor as Jesus teaches.\u00a0 It can lead to not loving God because we think we know what is best.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s in it for me\u201d is not a Christian question.\u00a0 It might seem natural.\u00a0 It can be the question that society tells us to ask but Jesus shows us another way.<\/p>\n

Jesus was with God in Heaven.\u00a0 He \u201cwas in the formed of God<\/em>\u201d but \u201cdid not regard equality with God something to be grasped.\u00a0 Rather, he emptied himself\u2026he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Jesus could have chosen to be selfish and said, \u201cI have nothing to gain for myself<\/strong> by becoming human.\u201d\u00a0 He had nothing to gain for himself but he didn\u2019t become human for himself.\u00a0 He became human for us<\/strong>.\u00a0 He was obedient to God our Father for our sake, not his.<\/p>\n

Are we willing to be obedient (like Jesus) to God?<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t like to be obedient.\u00a0 When we are teenagers and our parents tell us to do something we don\u2019t want to, instead of being obedient, we sometimes say to them that you just don\u2019t want me to have any fun, even when what our parents are saying is what it is best.<\/p>\n

We do the same thing with God.\u00a0 We just want to have a little fun, right?\u00a0 It can\u2019t be that bad.\u00a0 Then we journey down the slippery slope away from God to sin.<\/p>\n

How often do we involve God in the choices we make?\u00a0 I\u2019m willing to bet that many make a lot of choices without any consideration to what God would want us to do.\u00a0 We think that we generally have the answers and we only turn to God when we are stumped.<\/p>\n

Then, do we ever ask God what to do?\u00a0 Or we turn to him only when we are in trouble and can\u2019t fix it ourselves?<\/p>\n

Now, we can\u2019t always stop and have a long conversation with God about what we are supposed to do in every situation that comes up.\u00a0 That\u2019s why we need to be in regular conversation with God.<\/p>\n

Here I want to say that by \u201cregular conversation\u201d with God, \u201cregular\u201d begins<\/em><\/strong> with being at Mass every<\/em><\/strong> week but it doesn\u2019t end there.\u00a0 We need to need to humble ourselves like Jesus did in becoming human and pray in the context of the first stanza of today\u2019s psalm, \u201cYour ways, O LORD, make know to me; teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and teach me for you are God my savior.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

It starts with Mass and the homily but we need to read the Bible, attend opportunities to learn more about our faith, listen to CDs like the ones we have available in back of church, or do some spiritual reading.<\/p>\n

I hope most of us could list the Ten Commandments but can you go deeper and talk about how they fit with how Jesus calls us to live today?\u00a0 Jesus doesn\u2019t just want us to follow rules.\u00a0 Yes, God desires our \u201cobedience\u201d but not as a legal code but from what is in our hearts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Ezekiel 18:25-28 Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 Philippians 2:1-11 Matthew 21:28-32 The man says to his two sons, \u201cSon, go out and work in the vineyard today.\u201d\u00a0 The statement is clear and simple.\u00a0 It probably came as no surprise to them. The first son says he will not.\u00a0 No …<\/p>\n

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