Sunday, September 27, 2026
How do people respond to God’s calls? In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus teaches through the parable of the two sons, whose father asked them to go work in the vineyard that day. The first replied, “I will not,” but later changed his mind and went. The second respectfully replied, “Yes, sir,” but he did not go. Jesus asks: “What is your opinion?” The answer is obvious. Professing righteousness or making commitments means nothing without action. True obedience is shown by actions, not words. Repentance opens the door to God. Those who initially reject God’s will, whom Jesus described as tax collectors and sinners, can still enter the Kingdom of God when they believe, sincerely repent, and change course.
The first reading from Ezekiel establishes this principle of changing hearts in a dispute between God and Israel. The people accuse the Lord of being unfair, but God replies that the real unfairness lies in their own ways. Ezekiel then describes two contrasting cases. A righteous person turns toward iniquity and dies because of that iniquity; a wicked person turns away from sin, begins doing what is lawful and right, and lives. A person cannot be reduced forever to his past, and similarly, for those who have lived virtuously, past virtue is not a license to abandon obedience today.
The New Testament reading from Saint Paul moves from conversion to the shape that obedience should take within our lives. He urges us to look not only to our own interests but also to the interests of others and presents Christ as the model: “Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” (Philippians 2:5-11). This is the Church’s confession of who Jesus is and what He has done.
Ezekiel teaches that the sinner who turns away from wrongdoing can live, whereas the person who abandons righteousness cannot presume on past virtue. Saint Matthew, once a tax collector and among those despised as sinners, changed course when Jesus called. His transformation also left a lasting legacy: the man once regarded as an outsider became an apostle and, according to Church tradition, the evangelist associated with the Gospel according to Matthew, a Gospel we read today.
The readings ask us to look beyond words, appearances, and past identities. God’s invitation may be accepted even after resistance. Repentance can transform a sinful past, and the mind of Christ can redirect a life. Like Saint Matthew, we must leave behind whatever keeps us from following Jesus into the vineyard.
Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord.