From the desk of

Fr. Agustin

October 1st, 2023

Today's parable from the Gospel of Matthew is a parable that we can all relate to. The parable gives us the example of two brothers; which are asked by the father to go to work in the vineyard, one brother will refuse but eventually change his mind and go while the other will agree to go to the vineyard but ultimately does not go.

I think when in the face of the will of God, naturally, there is a resistance. Occasionally, it occurs that the will of God is something that maybe is calling us to come out of ourselves and to give of ourselves. We face this task with hesitance but ultimately at the urging of our conscience we enter into God's will. Meanwhile, how many times has it happened that we make promises to God that we will do something or give something up; and yet we find ourselves incapable of fulfilling these promises.

The parable of today is Jesus' response to the religious establishment's resistance to accept his authority in response to Jesus having entered Jerusalem and sending away the money changer in the cleansing of the Temple. The parable repeats a consistent emphasis of Matthew. The difference between the two sons in the parable is that one fails to do what he says, and the other ends up doing what he fails to say. What matters is not what you say but what you do.

This is why we see that Jesus ends the parable with not only a mention of how prostitutes and tax collectors will enter the kingdom before the religious establishment, but he also makes multiple references to belief. For Matthew, faith and belief are essential factors to the point that when there is a lack of faith; Jesus is incapable of working miracles. What is important to understand though, is that faith and believing for Matthew is not simply something intellectual but more importantly it involves a change of mind which is portrayed through a change of life and actions.

Father Agustin

Read More