HOMILY: Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 21:28-32
1 October 2023
Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez, AA
I have been learning to drive since 2019 but I have yet to graduate to driving on my own. Fr. Steve jokes that I already have a master’s degree in driving. I am not motivated to get behind the wheel because driving in the metro is incredibly frustrating and tiring. If I need to drive myself to mass, I would surely arrive stressed and exhausted. So, I opt to be a passenger so I can show up in the best condition possible. Someone said that Manila traffic can be so bad you could be cruising down a three-lane street with five cars side-by-side, and a horde of motorcycles zigzagging and squeezing in cars to get ahead!” Sometimes I wonder why we bother to threaten people with fines for road rules violations. Drivers do what they want and try to wiggle their way out of a ticket when caught! Why can’t we simply do the right thing even when no one is watching? In times like these, I wonder if people no longer know the meaning of the word integrity.
In our gospel passage this Sunday, Jesus presents a story of two sons and the manner by which both responded to their father’s command to work in the vineyard. One outrightly rejects what his father requires of him but afterwards repents and eventually does the task. On the other hand, the second son readily accedes to the father’s request, appearing respectful and obedient, but, in truth, fails to accomplish the task. Jesus then poses a question to the chief priests and elders: “What is your opinion?” (Matthew 21:28) This question is meant to challenge “the chief priests and elders” TO DO what they claim to believe. The story demonstrates how fidelity to God’s will is more than a question of words, but rather it is a matter of deeds. Believing is DOING God’s will. Hence, to profess faith in Jesus should not only remain in the level of words but by the quality of our lives and relationship with others.
In the Gospels, people saw in Jesus someone with authority because He lived a life that manifested what He proclaimed. No one will believe us if we do not practice what we preach. Some parents have a bad habit of saying “Follow what I say, but not what I do”. It is difficult to teach a child not to lie if we lie ourselves. (Mahirap turuan ang bata na huwag magsinungaling kung tayo mismo ay nagsisinungaling.) How can they believe the value of what we teach if we cannot be models of these virtues? Spouses must follow through on their promise to love each other through thick and thin and to remain faithful until death. How can your children want to marry if you prove to them that the institution of marriage is of little value? We quickly learn to stop believing people who promise some things but then do not follow through. We Filipinos, are already overdosing on empty promises from politicians. We would not be where we are now, if politicians followed through on their promise to serve the people — no grandstanding, no PR stunts, just authentic service. It is the integrity of Jesus’ way of life that gave His words power, and which also drew many to Him and challenged them to live lives of the same integrity. The Scribes of their day were big on words and they memorised all the Jewish Laws and Scriptures but they did not know how to translate them into actions. What they claim to know about God does not penetrate the heart so they cannot persuade people to change their lives and return to God. (Hindi tumagos sa puso ang kaalaman kaya di nila mahikayat ang tao na magbagong buhay at bumalik sa Diyos.)
In the Second Reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, we are urged to take heed of the example of Jesus’ self-emptying to inspire us to live a life of integrity as Christians. “Though He was in the form of God, 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 faithful to the Father’s will even to the point of death. In our attempt to live our faith and do practice what we preach, we have to be ready to sacrifice. Our faith is not built on convenience. Our values are those of heaven and these normally contradict the values of the world. That tension often causes difficulty and pain. However, if we claim to be Jesus’ followers, we have to walk the path He walked. There is no other choice. To obey the Father, we must follow the example of His Son, Jesus. This is the kind of children we must be.
Inasmuch as Jesus challenges these religious leaders to put their faith into action, we too are challenged to be Christians not only in name but more so in deed. In the passage from Ezekiel, the word of the Lord clearly calls the “House of Israel” to a conversion of life. Let us pray that God’s Word takes root in us deeply that all our thoughts and actions are motivated by it. Let us pray that God preserves us from fluctuating between saying “Yes” and “No” to Him. May we become persons of integrity patterned after Our Lord Jesus Christ who is humble and obedient to the Father.
Sunday Gospel Reflections 