September 27, 2020
During this stretch of beautiful late summer weather, I have been walking outside on the weekend. It may appear that I am talking to myself. I am! I am walking my talk. Homily prep. St. James writes: “We must be doers of the word.” Jesus says: “Not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter the Kingdom but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”
Jesus engages the chief priests and elders in discussion and makes a point with an illustration. A man has two sons. He asks both sons to work in the vineyard. The first son says “no” but then goes. The second son says “yes” but does not. Jesus asks: “Which one did the will of the father?” They reply: “The first.” Jesus continues with an accusation: “Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.” They repented at the preaching of John the Baptist, but you religious leaders did not.
By changing “tax collectors and prostitutes” to “drug dealers and scammers” we hear the bite in Jesus’ words for contemporary listeners. Sinners who recognize their wayward ways, repent and change, experience God’s mercy and favor more so than those who are convinced of their own goodness and see no need to change. Jesus comes for sinners not the self-righteous.
The “Jesus Prayer” is a humble confession of our sin and heartfelt petition for God’s forgiveness. “Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
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27th Sunday Ordinary
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28th Sunday Ordinary
Stewardship is having the wisdom to understand that everything we have is a gift from God.