26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mt 21:28-32
October 1, 2023

It probably didn’t take more than a heartbeat before the religious leaders and elders answered Jesus’s question: Which of the two did his father’s will? And I bet they responded in unison…all together, shouting out: THE FIRST!

The answer seems so obvious that no thought is required…a classic “no-brainer.”

But notice…The Lord does not actually affirm their reply. He does not say: Correct! That’s right! Good answer! Instead, He makes what we can only imagine to have been an extremely offensive reply to these very important people…people of authority…religious leaders, no less!

What He seems to be telling them is: Guess again! Sinners are closer to the right answer than you are.

Maybe it’s not so much of a “no-brainier” as it first appears. Possibly, the answer to that question deserves a bit more thought. In fact, maybe it was their thoughtless reply that caused Jesus to snap back at them: Tax collectors and prostitutes…the fallen…the disgraced…the public sinners…are entering the kingdom of God before you.

I wonder if…just possibly…the correct answer to the question is: NEITHER! NEITHER DID THE FATHER’S WILL.

Even though he eventually changed his mind, there is no indication that the first son experienced a CHANGE OF HEART! Can’t you imagine the look on his face as he went storming out to the vineyard, all the while muttering to himself: This is so unfair. I had other plans today. I never get to do what I want to do. Why is he making me work again today? I put a full day in yesterday.

Parents know full well how unsettling that kind of confrontation with their children can be. As for the second son…wouldn’t that bring a double disappointment? Not only was the work left undone, but the father was left wondering: What kind of kid am I raising?

So, my personal answer to Jesus’s question is: NEITHER DID THE FATHER’S WILL. And that raises the question: DO I?

Every time we leave Mass, we are “sent forth” with words to the effect: My child, go out and work in the vineyard today. DO YOUR PART TO BUILD THE KINGDOM. The response comes back in unison, and in a heartbeat…very possibly without a great deal of thought: Thanks be to God!

And off we go, as we heard in our Second Reading, with the encouragement in Christ that comes to us from the Eucharist. So, what do we do next? After our enthusiastic Thanks be to God!…do we actually go out into the world with…as our Second Reading encourages: the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus?

Filled with the Holy Spirit, do we truly go out looking for ways to humbly regard OTHERS more important than OURSELVES? When we stumble on some way that we can work in the vineyard…do we put aside our own cares and concerns…LOVINGLY AND EAGERLY? Do we roll up our sleeves and imitate Christ’s compassion and mercy?

OR…do we grumble?

If our first thought is: This is so unfair. Why are they always calling on me? Well, I suggest that is NOT THE WAY TO DO GOD’S WILL. Moreover, that is not the way to find the joy that comes from working with one another…single minded and of the same heart. If we are “Sent Forth” from the Eucharist with the thought in our minds that we will all be doing the will of our heavenly Father, and the thought is simply this: NO GRUMBLE ZONE…CHRISTIANS AT WORK!