Homily of 26th Sunday Year A

 

OPTION FOR GOD NEEDS CORRESPONDING ACTIONS 

1st Reading - Ezekiel 18:25-28

Responsorial Psalm - Psalms 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9

2nd Reading - Philippians 2:1-11 Or Philippians 2:1-5

Alleluia - John 10:27

Gospel - Matthew 21:28-32

Dear friends, the profession of faith in God, which we did on the day of baptism and have continued to do at Mass and other prayers, is very important. However, this profession of faith will not be sufficient to take us to heaven if it is not supported with corresponding actions. Hence, it is possible that someone who has made a choice to follow or serve God will not enter the kingdom of God on the last day. It is also possible that a person whose initial choice was a rejection of God will enter heaven on the last day. Everything depends on a person’s active choice at the moment of death, made possible by a sincere change of heart. In the readings of today, the church teaches us the possibility of these suppositions.

In the gospel reading of today, Jesus gives a good example of a change of heart that affected the initial choice/decision of life. The first son in today’s parable made the first decision not to obey his father, but he had a change of heart that affected or changed his bad choice of not doing the will of his father. At the end, he did the will of his father. Then, the second son started with obedience, but, along the way, he had a change of heart that changed him from good to bad. At the end, he failed to do the will of his father. Let us say he did not follow his good first choice with good actions. Though, none of the two sons could be said to be perfect, because the perfect son would be the son who said ‘yes’ at the beginning and maintained ‘yes’ till the end, the first son, who said ‘no’ and later had a change of heart from bad to good, and did the will of his father, is the better son.

Jesus used the second son to represent the Pharisees and other leaders of the people of Israel, who were regarded as righteous. On the other hand, the first son was used to depict the publicans and prostitutes, who were the known sinners in the community. The purpose of this parable was to give a wake-up call to the Pharisees and elders. The parable hints that the position of the Pharisees and elders as leaders of the Chosen People of God gives them no guarantee that they will possess the Kingdom of God. Rather, it tells them that if they continue to disobey God’s will and refuse to obey God’s call to repentance, they will not enter heaven. On the other hand, it stated that if the tax-collectors and sinners, who were despised, repent of their sins, and obey God – that is, do a sincere change of heart - they will be welcomed into the Kingdom of God.

As Christians, we have said ‘yes’ to the will of God at baptism and, continually, through the daily profession of faith - we have made a fundamental option for God - but this ‘yes’ will not save us if we do not live according to it by doing the will of God in our daily lives. Heaven will not be ours if we say ‘yes’ before God and, then, say ‘no’ to doing his will when we are with our friends. If we continue to take the mercy of God for granted, those we refer to as sinners may be better than us on the day of judgment. When we model our lives in ways that contradict our Christian calling and faith, we have changed the fundamental option we made for God. Hence, we are called today to allow the ‘yes’ we have said to God and before God to influence the particular choices we make every day of our lives.

The prophet Ezekiel, in the first reading of today, shows us a clearer reality of the power and of this change of heart. He invites us to realize what a change of heart, from being good to being bad, can do to our former good works for God and humanity. He said if the upright man abandons his uprightness and turns to evil life, and dies in that evil life, his uprightness will be forgotten on the day of judgment. He will rather be judged for the evil things that he did. On the contrary, if the wicked renounces his wickedness and starts doing good, and dies in doing good, his wickedness will be forgotten on the judgment day. We do not want God to forget all the good things we have done in life on the day of judgment.

Dearest friends, the prophet Ezekiel is telling us that the option that is active on the last day of our lives will determine where we will go. Though it is wonderful to decide to follow God from the beginning of our lives, the last decision for him or against him is decisive on the judgment day. However, this is not a call for us to wait till the last days of our lives to make a decision to abandon evil and start doing good, nor is it an invitation to postpone our decision to follow God, because it is obvious that we do not know when the last days of our lives will be. Let us remember that for some people, the last days came at 10 years, for others at 20, 30, 50, 70 or more. It is rather a call for us to decide to follow God and, then, accompany this decision with good actions from the beginning of our lives till the end.  In the second reading, Saint Paul calls us to accompany this decision to follow God with the life of humility and placing others first before ourselves. All of us who have said ‘yes’ to God should remain steadfast is doing good till the end.  

The prophet Ezekiel also shows us the power of God’s mercy. We have a God who is ready to forgive us and wipe away the guilt of our sins even if we turned to him on the last day of our lives. Therefore, let no one think that he is too dirty to come to God; no sin is too big for God to forgive. The merciful heart of God is calling us to make this change of heart, abandon our evil ways and start this journey back to God. He will wipe away our evil past and begin a new page for us.

Let us join the Psalm of today in saying, “Remember that your compassion, O LORD, and your love are from of old. The sins of my youth and my frailties remember not; in your kindness remember me, because of your goodness, O LORD.”

Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima

Pontificia Università della Santa Croce, Roma.