Word to the Wise
Sunday, October 1, 2017 - 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time - A
[Ezek 18:25-28; Phil 2:1-11 or 2:1-5; Matt 21:28-32]SUNDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2017 TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME [Ezekiel 18:25-28; Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew 21:28-32] "Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the the Kingdom of God before you. When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him." [Matthew] The gospel scene in today's scripture is about changing one's mind! Do you ever do that? I know I have had to do it many times, and some of those occasions have been painful ones because it was hard to give up well-settled notions about people or situations. Jesus' story about the two sons is directed to some very important people: chief priests and elders. These folks were the religious leaders of Judaism in that day. What he has to say is pretty tough because they would not take kinda to being compared negatively with tax collectors and prostitutes, whom they considered to be the worst kind of sinners. Their attitude was one that said, "If Jesus' "Kingdom" includes that sort of people, we want nothing to do with it. The scene may reflect struggles between the Jewish leadership and the community that Matthew wrote the gospel for. But, the problem is still there. The first son recoiled at the Father's request, but changed his mind and obeyed. The second claimed to be obedient, but his mind was not in accord with his words. Changing one's mind is another way of pointing to the continual need we all have for "conversion." I urge everyone to read Flannery O'Connor's short story, REVELATION, to see a wonderful literary presentation of this truth. We are going to find a lot of interesting people in heaven, but we may have to change our minds before we get there! AMEN
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