We often hear people say: “Actions speak louder than words.” There are many passages or statements in the Scripture that express the same thing like when Jesus says: Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. You certainly remember what the apostles James says: You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.
Today’s message is about the gap between what we profess in our creed, in our faith and what we do daily. Today’s message is about our commitment with God. As Christians, baptized people, we have committed ourselves to God, to his people. We have made committed to God. And we need to know that God is not interested in our telling others “I am a person of faith.” God is interested in our showing others how much we are a person of faith by what we say and by what we do. In fact, every day we make promises to God and to the people. Sometimes we accomplish, sometimes we don’t.
You and I have been hurt by empty promises given and then broken. Some of us have been given sweet talk of love only later discover that we were only used or betrayed. We can think about a married couple. Both the husband and the wife have promised to be faithful to each other for ever. Yet in some marriages that faithfulness breaks down. At times the marriage survives the breakdown and at other times it does not. We can think about women and men who have made vows in the Church. Sometimes their faithfulness is incredibly strong and at other times, there are failures. Sometimes the vows survive and the woman or the man renews his or her commitment. At other times, the faithfulness breaks down and the woman or man leaves his or her vows behind.
Today’s readings are inviting each one of us to look at our commitments. It is an invitation to check and review how we live what we believe and how faithful we are in doing the will of God. Are we faithful? When we fail, do we continue in our commitments? Are we growing in our capacity to live our commitments? In Jesus’ parable of the two sons, the father asked both sons to go and work in his vineyard. One son says “Yes sir!” But he does not go. Talk is cheap. He said the things to his father knowing what his father wanted to hear but he had no integrity. He was not sincere because he had no intention of working even though he said he would. The other son says, “No! I won’t!” But later he regrets disobeying his father and goes to work. Then Jesus asked the question, “Which of the two sons did what his father wanted of him?” The answer, of course, is the one that went to work, no matter what either of them said.
Jesus addressed this parable to the chief priests and elders in order to give them a wake up. He wanted to tell them that being leaders of Chosen people and keeping the Law is not a guarantee to possess the kingdom of heaven. Then Jesus said that the tax-gatherers and the prostitutes were going to go to heaven before any of them. What a powerful word of judgment! What shame for the Jewish leaders. So, the faithfulness of the sinner who repents is far greater than so-called believer who says all the right things and yet does not live up to what they say. In telling the story, Jesus wants to say that: God is not interested in our telling others “I am a person of faith.” God is interested in our showing others how much we are a person of faith by what we say and by what we do.
How many of us recognize ourselves in the older brother or in the younger one? I think in both. In each one of us exist the images of the two brothers. Most likely we can all recognize ourselves in today’s Gospel account. How often in our lives have we told others: “Sure, I will do that.” And then not done what we said we would do. This seems a fairly normal part of our human existence. Probably we can also recognize ourselves in the other son who says that he will not do what his father asks, and then does it. We humans have funny realities at work within us and we are not always straightforward and clear about our decisions. How often have I told someone “no” and then changed my mind only five minutes later. We are like the oldest son when we profess our faith saying we believe in God, we believe in Jesus,……. when we say amen, after reading the gospel, because we ………..but in our daily, sometimes there is a gap. Our challenge today is to reduce the gap between what we profess and what we do. In other words, the parable clearly teaches that the Christian Way is followed in performance, not in promise alone, and that the mark of a Christian is obedience, graciously and courteously given. We are not supposed to say “yes” to God on Sundays and “no” to God on weekdays. We should become men and women who profess our Faith in word and deed, remembering that, “Not all those who say to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but those who do the will of my Father who is in Heaven.”
