October 1, 2017
A lady went to the post office to mail a Bible to an old friend. She wrote on the box the warning: “Fragile!” The postal clerk asked, “Is there anything breakable in here?” “Yes,” she replied. “It contains the Ten Commandments”. Sin is always a violation of God’s commandments. It practically means saying no to God. You and I have all been hurt by promises given and then broken. Some of us have been given sweet talk and words of love only to later discover that we were, in the name of love, only used. The two sons in the parable today disobeyed their father. The first son said ‘no’, but later decided to obey his father. The second son said ‘yes’, but did not do what his father told him to do. In effect, it was also a ‘no’. Both of them offended the father. The ‘yes’ of the second son, though it initially pleased the father, was rendered meaningless by his disobedience. The ‘no’ of the first son hurt the father, but his subsequent repentance and obedience made the father happy in the end. Ultimately, it is not the words that really matter, but the deed. Jesus said: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Mt 7:21). Many times, we have heard these phrases: “Talk is cheap, it’s actions that count.” “You have to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.” “Actions speak louder than words,” etc. In fact, there is no need for words when there are actions. So, when we do not do what we say, as in the case of the second son, our words lose credibility. And at that point it could be said of us that “our actions are too loud that people cannot hear our words.” The parable of Jesus this Sunday was intended for the religious leaders of Israel in his time, particularly the Pharisees. In their self-righteousness, they believed they were assured of entrance into heaven. But Jesus told them: “Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you” (Mt 21:31). They are the religious leaders who have clearly expressed their ‘yes’ to God. But based on their behavior and attitude, their hypocrisy and pride, their lack of concern for the people and their double-standard lifestyle, they have actually disobeyed God’s will and commands. They are like the second son in the parable. On the other hand, the tax collectors, prostitutes and other public sinners can be like the first son. They said ‘no’ to God, but eventually, they listened to the teachings of Jesus, and reformed their lives. This is what the prophet Ezekiel pointed out in the first reading: “But if the wicked turn from the wickedness they did and do what is right and just, they shall save their lives; since they turned away from all the sins they committed, he shall live; they shall not die” (Ezk. 18:27-28). Now, how do these affect us? What further lessons do we learn from these characters? The first son had no intention of working and then had the honesty of saying so to his father. He was wrong, but he was honest. The second son was the opposite. He said the convenient thing to his father knowing what his father wanted to hear, but he had no integrity. He was insincere because he had no intention of working even though he said he would. The questions I need to ask myself here are: How honest am I? What kind of promises do I make to people? What sorts of prayer do I offer? Sometimes, we can be so bizarre that in prayers we give God the words we think He wants to hear from us. It’s convenient for us. We go about deceiving ourselves when we speak them, feeling like we are pious and religious. On the surface, we feel righteous, but deep down we know full well that we are not going to follow through on those words with our deeds and actions. So we give God our Father in heaven nice sounding words, but never seem to get around to following through on them. Remember, God is never fooled. Now, between the two sons, which of them should we follow? The answer comes from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians in the second reading: we follow neither the first son, nor the second son. Rather, we follow the third son: the one who said “yes” and obeyed the will of the heavenly Father even unto death. He is Jesus Christ. So, Saint Paul exhorts us: “Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:5). The duties and responsibilities of Christian life are fulfilled not by talking but by doing, not by words but by action. When Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, someone told him: “ Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.” But Jesus looked around and asked, “Who is my mother? And who are my brothers?” And pointing to his disciples, he said: “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Mt. 12:48-50). It is in doing and obeying God’s will that makes us true brothers and sisters of Jesus. Words do not mean anything when they are not accompanied by actions.
Fr Sylvester Ajunwa