SINNERS ENTERING THE KINGDOM OF GOD

SUNDAY, TWENTY SIXTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Ezek 18:25-28; Ps 25:4-9; Phil 2:1-11; Mt 21:28-32

Doing the Will of the Father

Our sins and sinful habits cause us to dwell in darkness. They make us remain ignorant of the will of God, our Father. To begin our journey toward the light, we must think deeply and understand what sin is. Sin is basically the abandonment of God’s holy will to do our own will. From the moment of the fall of Adam and Eve, the will of God that was clear to them became obscure, for they chose to do their own will at the instigation of the devil. Since the doing of our own will is always at the instigation of the devil, we not only sin against God by doing what we want instead of what God wants of us, but we become evil and share in the communion of evil doers. On this understanding, we see that God did not totally abandon us at the fall; he gave us his word about a future redemption of our race in the promise of the woman and her Offspring. That was a prophetic light that illuminated the human horizon in the darkness of their ignorance of God’s will for us. God gradually increased the light, dispelling the darkness of ignorance as he called Abraham and disclosed his divine plan for the salvation of the human race in greater detail.

By adopting the people of Israel, the descendants of Abraham who walked in the light of God’s word through faith, God formally constituted the foundation of his kingdom of light among men. Through the people of Israel, God leads us to understand the distinction between physical light and spiritual light, and between a spiritual and temporal kingdom of God. What God planned to build with and among men is the spiritual kingdom of light, which those who believe and live on his word will constitute. This clarifies the bone of contention in the first reading from Ezekiel. God justifies us based on whether we hold to his word at any moment. “You object, 'What the Lord does is unjust.” Listen, you House of Israel: is what I do unjust? Is it not what you do that is unjust? When the upright man renounces his integrity to commit sin and dies because of this, he dies because of the evil that he himself has committed.” Believing the word of God and living it leads us to become like God, which is God’s original will. But abandoning the word of God for our own will makes us like the devil. The reverse also applies. “When the sinner renounces sin to become law-abiding and honest, he deserves to live.”

The revelation of God’s word transmits his divine will to us. Our reception of God’s word leaves us with two options: to believe and live the word of God or to disbelieve and reject it. We are either going on the road that leads to communion with God or on the road that leads to communion with the devil. There is no sitting on the fence. Our Lord made the same clarification to the chief priests and the elders of the people using a parable. He confirms that communion with God should be a daily practice, not a historical monument we claim to have, which is no more active. “Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people, ‘What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He went and said to the first, “My boy, you go and work in the vineyard today.” He answered, “I will not go,” but afterwards thought better of it and went. The man then went and said the same thing to the second, who answered, “Certainly, sir,” but did not go. Which of the two did the Father’s will?’” Communion with God is not about living a self-righteous life, but obeying God’s will.

The public sinners encountered Jesus Christ, and believed his word and came to him for forgiveness and renewal, but the chief priests and the elders refused. “I tell you solemnly, tax collectors and prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you, a pattern of true righteousness, but you did not believe him, and yet the tax collectors and prostitutes did.” The Eternal Word of God, who is greater than John, is with us; he reveals the Father’s will to us. Saint Paul describes for us what our Christian life ought to be, patterned on the life of Jesus Christ. “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 common purpose and a common mind.” This common mind is to be that of Jesus Christ. “In your minds you must be the same as Christ Jesus: His state was divine, yet he did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave, and became as men are.” He did this to lead us to submit to the Father’s will in all things.

By his Incarnation, the Eternal Word of God has made himself our way, truth, and life. He reveals the Father’s will to us by living it out among us in our nature. In his life we see God’s justice, mercy, and goodness towards us. It is not about what we have done before, but what we are doing now. Our vocation is to live in the example of Jesus Christ, as Paul explained. In doing this, we see the answer to the prayer of the Psalmist: “Lord, make me know your ways. Lord, teach me your paths. Make me walk in your truth, and teach me; for you are God my saviour.” So, we must each embrace Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Teacher; we journey into him as into the heavenly city of light. This is the will of God the Father. “But God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all other names so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Righteousness consists in doing this with our whole being.

Let us pray: O God, who manifest your almighty power above all by pardoning and showing mercy, bestow, we pray, your grace abundantly upon us and make those hastening to attain your promises heirs to the treasures of heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.