Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Doing the right thing is not always easy. In fact, sometimes it’s really hard. In Sunday’s parable one of the sons tells his father no, he won’t go work in the yard, but then later changes his mind and decides to go do the work. The other son tells his father yes, but he never goes out to work.
This is a story about words and actions. Maybe your parents have told you before that actions speak louder than words. I know my parents used to tell me that when I would apologize for something, they would say, show me you’re sorry by changing your behavior and not doing it again.
Jesus tells us the same thing through this parable. The righteous Jews, the pharisees and religious spoke so much about their faith and their piety, but they weren’t living it out properly. Whereas those who were sinners, the prostitutes and tax collectors repented and changed their ways. Their actions spoke louder than the words of the pharisees.
The ultimate goal, obviously, is both of the sons to say yes to his father and then to go out and do the work in the vineyard. To align our words and our actions to send the same message and to make it a message of repentance and of love.
Take some time this week to reflect on the words you use. Do you call yourself a Christian? Do you talk to your friends about your faith? Do you share your love of Christ with those around you? Take some time to reflect on your actions. Do you love everyone the way Jesus calls us to? Even the people in school who are different, or the people who are mean? Do you stand up for what you believe in? Do you cut people off if they are spreading gossip? What do your actions and words say about who you are? Are they aligned? Do they spread a message of hope? Of love? Of Christ?