OMELIE / Omelie EN

27 set 2020

27/09/2020 – 26th Sunday in O. T. - year A

27/09/2020 – 26^th Sunday in O. T. - year A

Reading 1 EZ 18,25-28  Psalm 24/25 Reading 2 PHIL 2,1-11 Gospel  MT 21,28-32

The prophet Ezekiel is offering us a simple thought, but serious: he knows men often are blasphemous, so they ascribe to God the evil that happens: « You say, “The Lord’s way is not fair” ». How can a man judge the Lord, the creator of heaven and earth? Can a man be better than Him? Or wiser? Or more thoughtful? Is it not this thinking maybe an injustice that brings great disobedience, and therefore ruins one's life? If you think you are fair, but you condemn God, not only you are ignorant, but also guilty and deserving punishments. On the contrary, they who know they are sinners, if they start obeying God, receive His life!

The prophet's words are useful to Jesus in order to word today’s parable: two sons are addressed by their father for the same task, working in His vineyard. The vineyard is the people which needs to be gathered, purified and made holy. This is what God Himself will say in Ezekiel’s book: to make Himself known to all peoples as the holy and true God, He needs to gather the scattered children, purify them from the idols and give them a new heart, capable of containing His Spirit. The task will then go in this direction: cooperate in gathering men, who will become united in the Church, in making them distance themselves from the idols, so from those vices become a right almost sacrosanct or even thought necessary for human life, in sharing with them God's Word which makes holy with its richness in wisdom and Holy Spirit! The two sons are required to take on this task by their father. Two sons: the disciples know that Jesus, when He talks about the first son, He talks about the Jews, the favourite son, and, talking about the second, He talks about the pagans – to which the sinners might be added – the reckless son. The Father calls both of them to cooperate with Him. Jesus' times are the times of the calling.

Which one of the two sons will run to offer his efforts to make the Father’s desires happen? Are they going both for it? Jesus gives a unexpected answer: the son from whom the Father would expect a ready answer, gives right away a positive reply, but only in words. With his actions he disappoints the Father. The other son, the one from whom we would expect a decisive refusal, as a matter of fact shows his independence and laziness, but afterwards is able to change his decision; he has the humility to put himself out there and to offer himself to fulfill the Father’s request giving up his own plans, his preferences and his convenience.

This is a parable, very similar to reality: Jesus gives right away the practical application of it: publicans and prostitutes, so those who clearly live not obeying the commandments, these are in the end the most zealous religious people. Those sinners, knowing that they are living in sin, have welcomed John the Baptist's invitation to go for the repairing action of the baptism in order to prepare themselves to believe in the one who was coming after him, and so they are ready to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, to listen to Him in order to obey Him.

Is Jesus' observation good for us too? The second reading is helping us. Do we have in us the will to maintain a unity of spirit and charity with our brethren? Or else, do we let ourselves go for claiming our rights, revenging the injustices we suffer, ignoring and being uncharitable with the brethren who have damaged us, even if this means to divide God's church? We say we love Jesus, but we make Him look bad, as if He was a shepherd incapable of guiding His sheep, as if He was the head of a dismembered body. Jesus stripped Himself, gave up His glory in order to love us: we, in order to love Him, cannot give up anything, we do not humble ourselves in front of the brethren. We know, our brethren are sinners. Would we like they were holy and perfect without putting any effort on our part in, in order to be a single body and a single family with them?

I want to work in your vineyard, Father: it will cost me some effort to work alongside someone who does not love me the way I would like, but – for love of you – here I am!