Sept. 27, 2020: 26th Sunday A
Sept. 27, 2020: 26th Sunday A
Parents know that their children exercise their freedom of choice the moment they emerge from their mother’s womb. While as infants they have yet to verbalize their wants in words, they certainly let their wants be known by their cry or their look. The moment they learn the word, “NO”, they make full use of that powerful word to the chagrin of their parents. You ask your child to do something reasonable, like washing his hands before a meal, put his shoes on before leaving the house, pick up the toys in his room, or brush her teeth before going to bed. You know, though, your children have a mind of their own. You wish your child would do what you told him to do without much fuss. Often parents have to negotiate with their child using rewards, dialogue, or even punishments to get the child to do what they want him to do. An ideal child is the one who accepts the parents’ orders with obedience and with respect and who unquestioningly and fully carries them out.
Our relationship with God is like a father to his beloved daughter or son. Our Heavenly Father has so much love, affection, hopes, and dreams for His daughters and sons. He wants us to share in His creative work, the work which will fulfill His Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven. He counts on each of us; He has carefully chosen each of us to carry out a unique plan. He waits for our willingness to say ‘yes’; He does not force this upon us, nor does He want us to do something out of fear. He hopes that we will respond to Him out of love and gratitude. He gave each of us free will; we have in our power to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to His invitation. His only Son, Jesus fulfilled His will perfectly. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus realizing the full weight of the suffering he was about to undertake asked his Father the final time, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matt 26:39) Jesus’ response to the Father’s call was final and resolute. At the Cross he cried out, “It is finished,” after fulfilling His Father’s will completely. Also, Blessed Mother fulfilled the Father’s will when she responded, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Her ‘yes’ to the Father was not just at the moment when Archangel Gabriel appeared to her, but also throughout her whole life. Her ‘yes’ was never more fully complete than at the time she clutched the dead body of her Son in her arms in grief when he was taken down from the Cross.
As for the rest of us, our response to Heavenly Father’s call each day varies moment to moment somewhere between the response of the first son and the response of the second son in the Parable that Jesus told in the Gospel today. In the Parable of the Two Sons, the first son immediately said ‘no’ when asked by his father to go work in the vineyard. However, he later regretted rebuffing his father. Perhaps he reflected or prayed about not respecting and honoring his father. With a change of heart he went to the vineyard to work.
The second son initially said ‘yes’ when asked by his father to go work in the vineyard. However, he failed to go at all. Perhaps his excuse was, “I forgot,” “I got carried away doing something more fun,” or “I already have too much to do.” While he may have said “yes” with his mouth, in reality he said “no” to his father by his action. At times our response to God can be begrudging, half-hearted, untruthful, and even ungrateful--“Let me think about that…,” “May be…,” “Are you sure you want that…”, or “I rather prefer to…” In the end, what we may be actually saying to God is a simple, “no.”
Every choice or decision we make today has consequences now and for all eternity. Jesus is encouraging us to ponder about how our actions are shaping our future. We need to reflect whether we desire to work diligently for Him, are tired of working so much, or have left God’s vineyard altogether. Have we been faithful to the promises we made to our employers, our spouse, our children, and God? God is inviting us today to turn our “no” into “yes” to His will for us. We can’t say, “I don’t have what it takes to accomplish what You are asking of me,” for we are equipped with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit necessary to fulfill our duties. We need to look at everything that God has given us; recognize what an amazing treasure He has entrusted to us, and use the gifts for building His Kingdom. We humbly ask the Lord today to change our hearts to only desire that which is pleasing to Him and to carry out His will wholeheartedly.
