“If our life in Christ means anything to you, if love can persuade at all, or the Spirit that we have in common, or any tenderness and sympathy, then be united in your convictions and united in your love, with a common purpose and a common mind. That is the one thing which would make me completely happy.” Philippians 2: 1-11
Then Jesus said to the chief priests and elders: “Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did.” Matthew 21: 28=32
The parable of the two sons, which is at the centre of the gospel-reading for this twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, expresses one of the recurrent themes in Matthew’s Gospel, namely that doing God’s will always trumps vocalising one’s intention to do the will of God. Matthew has highlighted this most clearly in words he has attributed to Jesus himself. He quoted Jesus describing genuine discipleship in this way: ‘It is not those who say to me “Lord, Lord” who will enter the kingdom of heaven but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven. When the day comes, many will say to me: “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?” Then I will tell them to their faces I have never known you;’. (Matthew 7:21-23) A few chapters later, in responding to a man who had informed him that his mother and brothers had come looking for him , Jesus pointed to his disciples and announced: “Here are my mother and my brothers: Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12: 46-50). Furthermore, following one of the many verbal jousts he had with the religious leaders of his day, Jesus said to the crowd gathered around him: “The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. You must therefore do what they tell you and listen to what they say; but do not be guided by what they do: since they do not practise what they preach…Everything they do is done to attract attention…” (Matthew 23: 3-5).
Throughout history, there has been no shortage of religious figures whose eloquence has been impressive, but whose actions have not matched their words.
This is a theme that has found an echo in the vernacular of many cultures. We can all recall challenges that have been put to us by caring parents and grand-parents who countered our youthful rashness with wake-up calls like: “Be careful, for the road to hell is paved with good intentions!” or “Remember, for actions speak louder than words!” or “People lie, actions don’t” or “You had better put your money where your mouth is!” or “I prefer to put my faith in what you do rather than in what you say!” Many of these expressions have become commonplace maxims and aphorisms. Jesus made it clear that our actions for others, especially for those who are overlooked or harshly dealt with, are more effective than the good intentions we express.
In his first Letter to the Christians of Corinth, Paul echoed the words of Jesus, pointing out that words not matched by loving action are no better than gongs booming or cymbals clashing: “If I have all the eloquence of men or of angels, but speak without love, I am simply a gong booming or a cymbal clashing” (1 Corinthians 13: !). Complementing this, Matthew also attributed to Jesus the sound advice of the importance of not slipping into the trap of becoming people pleasers by making extravagant promises. Jesus simply said: “All you need say is “yes” if you mean yes and “no” if you mean no; anything more than this comes from the evil one.” (Matthew 5: 37).
When we look closely at the parable in today’s gospel-reading, together with the challenge Jesus put to the chief priests and elders about their refusal to accept John’s Baptism, we see that they follow closely upon Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the feast of Passover and in the days immediately before his arrest, torture and crucifixion. The religious leaders of the time did not accept John’s baptism because they could not see that there was anything in their lives for which they had need to repent. Jesus confronted those religious leaders by telling them directly that prostitutes and tax-collectors had genuine self-knowledge that was well ahead of theirs. Jesus declared that those who had been labelled as public sinners knew that they could blame nobody but themselves for the disastrous failure of their own lives. They knew deep-down that the only one they could rely on was a merciful and forgiving God. They, like the son in the parable who changed his stance and did as his father asked, qualified themselves for entry into the kingdom of God by accepting their own need for God’s help, compassion and mercy. The chief priests and elders did not even come close to that.
Jesus was God’s grace, forgiveness and compassion in human flesh. Can we open ourselves to be transformed by him, knowing that he is our way to God?