Battling Our Way to Saying “Amen” to God’s Ways

Homily: Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Matthew 21:28-32

27 September 2020

Fr. Ricky C. Montanez 

Battling Our Way to Saying “Amen” to God’s Ways

Ang Pinoy ay “pasaway”. Do you agree with this? I am sure every household and every community to a certain extent would say that there is one who fits the mould and who could easily be the ‘pasaway’ among them. This pandemic has truly tested the capacity of the Filipinos to follow guidelines and comply with protocols to prevent the spread of the virus. When Covid 19 cases peaked in the country, many people attributed this to the stubbornness of Filipinos who mischievously insist on behaving contrary to what is expected of them, almost as if purposely baiting authorities to reprimand them. It is no wonder then that considering the strict quarantine measures, we still hear of people being arrested for the simplest reasons like not wearing a face masks/face shields, to the more serious offences of going out for non-essential travel, engaging in illegal cockfighting, drinking sessions, birthday celebrations, etc. “Huwag kang pasaway!” (Don’t be stubborn!) Why do people persist in doing things their way even if it is detrimental for their good and the good of many?  Is it accurate to place blame on the Filipino public, collectively, for the increasing Covid cases in the country? Are we, Filipinos really ‘pasaway’? 

One of the themes of our readings this Sunday has to do with what we all contend with all of our lives — the struggle between obedience and disobedience. Both the First Reading and the Gospel this Sunday point out this all too human propensity to vacillate between saying ‘yes’ and ‘no’ to God throughout various life situations. In the selection from Ezekiel this indecisiveness is illustrated in the change of behaviour of the righteous person who sins and the sinner who repents. In the Gospel this wavering between obedience and disobedience and vice versa is best exemplified by the ways the two sons responded to their father’s command. The first son outrightly rejects what his father required of him but afterwards repents and eventually does what was asked of him. On the other hand, the second son readily acceded to the father’s request, appearing respectful and obedient, but, in truth, failed to accomplish the task. We are confronted with the reality that even the best of us can sometimes falter. There are circumstances when we willingly conform to certain regulations placed before us; while on other opportunities we are unwilling to do so. 

Countless times in the Bible we are also presented with the ambiguity of God’s people. We read about how God’s people pleased Him with their obedience that He deemed it fit to reward them. Recall how Abraham was commended by God saying, “I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore… and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” (Genesis 22:17-18) Scripture also gives numerous accounts of the people’s rebellion against God beginning with the disobedience of Adam and Eve down through the ages to those who continue to refuse to believe in Jesus, God’s Anointed One. Throughout salvation history, mankind has been described as stubborn, stiff-necked, and hard-hearted, yet we are blessed to have a God who never wavers in His merciful love, who cares enough to set us straight until we become His dutiful sons and daughters.   

Are we, as Christians, expected to be obedient to God at times and in all circumstances of our life? Remember that we have been given the gift of FREE WILL and God does not force us into obedience. When we insist on deviating from God’s ways, we are assuming, we know better than Him and we can do better for ourselves, apart from Him. Our conformity to the will of God should be borne out of an understanding of the nature of our relationship with Him — the fact that He is our Creator and we are His creatures; that He is Our Father and we are His children. When we can humbly accept our place in the grand scheme of things and realize that as Father, God, always wants the best for His children, can we see that His ways are meant to save us from harm and lead us to fullness of life. Only then can obedience to God’s will make perfect sense and be the obvious choice.

Jesus, is our model of faithful obedience to the Father. Jesus invites us, by His example, to have a mind and heart for others, applied in the everyday, commonplace experiences of our lives.  Let us take a look at the Second Reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. The example of Jesus’ self-emptying is what inspires this change of mind and heart in each one of us. “He emptied Himself… becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8) Nothing was too much for Jesus who was obedient unto death. As St. Paul tells the Corinthians: “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us — by me and Silas and Timothy — was not “Yes” and “No,” but in Him it has always been “Yes.” For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so, through Him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 19-20) 

We pointed out earlier that being obedient may prove to be extremely difficult for those of us who are programmed to be independent and self-directed individuals. It is also equally difficult to be consistent in our choice to be obedient but we need to try our best to do so because it is the sum of our choices that develops into our propensities and eventually our character. C.S. Lewis said “Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching.” I do agree. A person truly obedient to the will of God does what is good, just and true even if no one is watching. Sadly, most people only do what is right when authorities are watching or faced with the threat of punishment.“When you are grocery shopping and accidentally damage merchandise, do you report it and take responsibility or pretend it didn’t happen and say, “That’s someone else’s problem?” For students going through online learning — “Do you honestly do the assignments, projects and exams yourself or do you have your parents, yaya or older siblings work on them for you?”  “Bato bato sa langit, ang tamaan huwag magagalit.”  One article I read says, “These are relatively small things, but it’s with these simple scenarios that we lay the foundation on how we behave in the bigger [scheme of] things in life.” And as they often say… “How we do something is how we do everything.” 

Our lives are governed by many regulations and restrictions, more so now during this pandemic. We trust that they are meant to keep order among us and to ensure everyone’s safety. We have a responsibility to do our part and to make the right choices consistently. By always seeking the common good, we turn our hearts to God. May we be persons of integrity patterned after Our Lord Jesus Christ who was humble and obedient to the Father. Through Him may we come to know and follow the path that leads to life!