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Action over Words
Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people: “What is
your opinion? 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?”
Matthew 21:28–31
This parable must have been difficult for the chief priests and
elders to hear, especially since it was clearly directed at them.
In fact, after Jesus tells them a second parable, not included in
today’s Gospel, we read, “although they were attempting to arrest
him, they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet”
(Matthew 21:46). It seems they dismissed Jesus’ words and His
rebuke, but fear of public backlash, rather than fear of God’s
judgment, kept them silent for a time.
In today’s Gospel, the first son represents the tax collectors and
prostitutes, those who initially violated God’s law but later
repented after hearing the preaching of John the Baptist and Jesus.
The second son represents the chief priests and elders. After
telling the parable, Jesus declares, “Amen, I say to you, tax
collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before
you.”
Like the second son, the religious and civic leaders paid lip
service to God’s law, but their actions did not align with its
intent. They were hypocrites, blind to their own rejection of God’s
saving Word, and they misled others by their outward piety and
self-righteous attitudes.
Consider more carefully the reactions of the two sons. We might
imagine that the second son, who said, “Yes, sir,” represents all
who put on a false appearance of holiness. In the sight of others,
they say the right things, but behind closed doors they fail to
act.
The first son is markedly different. Though he initially responds
with defiance—“I will not”—his conscience eventually moves him to
do what is right. Some may wonder why Jesus didn’t include a third
son, one who says “Yes, sir,” and then follows through. But Jesus
likely omits such a son because all of us fall into one of the two
categories He presents. Only our Blessed Mother obeyed perfectly in
both word and deed from the first moment of her Immaculate
Conception.
The first son becomes our model because each of us, in some way,
struggles to enter into perfect obedience to God’s will. From
childhood, we contend with what the Church calls concupiscence, the
disordered tendency that arises from Original Sin. Though we are
created good and in the image of God, our nature is wounded and
inclined toward what is contrary to His will. The spiritual journey
we undertake in this life is one in which grace slowly reorders our
fallen inclinations and restores us to the obedience we are called
to live.
Reflect today on the first son, and humbly see yourself in him. In
what ways do you find it difficult to say “Yes” to God’s will right
away? It is not a sin to struggle with obedience. This struggle is
part of our fallen human nature. Like the first son, we must allow
grace to work within us, forming our conscience and compelling us
to act in accordance with God’s will, especially in the areas where
we resist. When we allow grace to move us beyond our initial
hesitation, we grow in virtue and become more like our Blessed
Mother and our Lord Jesus, who both said “Yes” to the Father and
followed through completely.
My obedient Lord, You and Your Blessed Mother always responded
with wholehearted fidelity to the Father’s will, both in word and
in deed. Grant me the grace to imitate Your example and to share in
the very obedience You lived in union with Your Mother. Root out my
fallen tendencies toward selfishness, and make me generous in
charity, living in full accord with and in obedience to the
Father’s glorious will. Jesus, I trust in You.
Image: Georg Pencz, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
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