Walking with Jesus: 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ezekiel 18:25-28; Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew 21:28-32

Today’s readings ask us to give ourselves a test-check on how we are living up to our baptismal promises as followers and sharers of Jesus’ teaching on love. When things are going well, do I think I will have plenty of time later to be an active follower of Jesus? Am I too busy to take the time to be active in my faith? Has it crossed my mind that COVID-19 has stopped millions who felt healthy in their tracks and died way too quickly while their loved ones were deprived of being with them? Have I reflected on the moments that I see myself as an exception and immune to the problems, hardships and sicknesses others experience? Do I feel that doing God’s will is always the best course to follow, or do I just go my own way? These are some interesting and perhaps uncomfortable questions to ponder. More importantly, what is God’s view on these questions? What is the Lord saying today … where is He leading?

“Thus says the Lord: You say ‘the Lord’s way is not fair!'” Do I believe God’s ways have been unfair? Ezekiel and his community are dragged from Jerusalem into exile in Babylon. People are grumbling and angry because they feel they don’t deserve this type of treatment from their God. So why should they remain faithful? Hasn’t this thought passed through our minds? Ezekiel gets right in their faces and reminds them how grossly disloyal they have been to God. He makes the point that they deserve exactly what's coming to them. Do I feel that I am the one who makes the best choice and not someone else? We have we heard words like this: “If only someone … had done … then my life would have turned out so much better.” But how often have we said, “If only I had done … then my life would have turned out better.” Ezekiel and Matthew emphasize personal honesty and strong moral principles. God holds us responsible for our own actions. To the sinful person, God always extends an invitation to turn away from sin and evil and start anew. God sees how each of us is living and is constantly calling us to His way of life … the only way to heaven. What needs to be changed in us to live God’s life to fruition?

Paul goes deeper, suggesting that if we want to debate fairness then we have to turn to Jesus. Why did He come? To save us and show us God’s total love. He walked the journey of life just as each of us do ... but His purpose was to show God’s pre-existent love which is seen in His self-humiliation and obedience to the point of death. If we want to measure the issue of fairness, we have to wind up at the foot of the cross. Do we want to go there? Do we really want to argue with God that we don’t deserve the suffering we endure? What is clear is that often we are unfair: We choose and act on our own choices. Paul says the bottom line is uniting in love as we are loved by God. God has exalted Jesus and declared Him Lord of all. At His name every knee should bend, every tongue praise Him and follow His way of love. This is the message. There is no other.

Jesus has come into contact with serious debaters who are trying to trap Him by asking where His authority comes from. Jesus turns the tables on them so that they end up accusing themselves of being unfaithful to God. The parable of the two sons focuses on their responsibility to God: The first son is told to work in the vineyard and refuses but later goes. The second son is given the same order, says yes and does not go. The choice: being publicly honored and privately shamed, or being publicly shamed and privately honored. The honorable choice to the Pharisees is to publicly save face. Jesus’ big point is that anyone who hears the word of God must act on it … saying yes must be accompanied by corresponding action. Tax collectors, sinners HEARD and CHANGED. But the religious leaders also heard John the Baptist’s call to transform and change their lives … and did nothing. People involved in great wrongs may be willing to accept their error and change their lives. Those who follow “I do what I want to do because I want to do it” … who believe they're always right … who believe they do not sin … never consider the need for repentance. Faith means trusting someone else’s authority. The Pharisees trust only themselves. For Jesus, the answer hinges on the capacity to change. Who do I trust? Where is my trust at with God? What do I need to see His way is the only way?

So I reflect on:

• Which aspects of my life still need revision before I’m ready to enter heaven?
• Which decisions are most typical of me? How ready am I to change a decision that I later admit undermines my integrity as a disciple of Jesus?
• When is it hard for me to look God in the eye?
• In what ways do I feel that I have to be perfect in order to measure up to God?
  

Sacred Space 2020 states:

“The Lord has always prepared great things for the people He chose as His own. But when the offer of these gifts came to be made through God’s envoys, the prophets, the people turned it all down. The preaching of John the Baptist is only the latest example: His appeal for belief was rejected by his own people but accepted by the prostitutes and the collectors of the Roman taxes.

“Lord, help us remember the prophets’ warnings against pride. May I never presume upon Your faithfulness to me by disregarding Your will and forgetting all You have given me and taught me thus far.”