25/09/2011 - 26th. Sunday in Ordinary Season - anno A
1Reading Ez 18,25-28 Psalm 23 2Reading Phil 2,1-11 Gospel Mt 21,28-32
The way that take us to God is marked by repentence. We all follow in the foot
steps of Adam on the way that takes us away from the Father's look. On this way
we are carried away thinking that our thoughts and our decisions are enlightened
and even better than those shown by God. In fact, as Ezechiel says: "You say:
<the behaviour of the Lord is not right>. We are really fools. We are to repent,
renew are way of thinking and orientation. Our compass cannot be our comfort, neither
our habits, nor our reasoning as fruit of our selfishness: the only sign is to be
the Word of God. This is the way that shows the return to the Father, and therefore
the way of life eternal, of truth, of a harmonic development of our human person,
of authentic realisation. This return is possible even to those who are far away
from the Father because of grave sins: of this the prophet Esechiel is sure.
Jesus too spoke of repentence in his parable when he addressed "the chief priests
and elders of the people". It's all about the repentence of the son who in
a first moment refused the invitation of his father: but after some reflection,
he returns to welcome his parent will, and follow it. Jesus presents him in opposition
to the son who promised, but never obeyed. The parable is short and immediate, in
fact all understood it, but Jesus applies to those present so as to avoid other
interpretations. The one who repented from not obeying the invitation of God represent
sinners, even so, prostitutes. The gates of heaven are open for them because they
are able to welcome the one whom the father sent to bring them salvation. Jesus,
in fact, was welcomed, obeyed and loved by tax collectors and prostitutes: these
are near to the King of the kingdom! Those who were listening to him, instead, the
chief priests and elders of the people, listen but won't accept him, on the contrary,
they reject him. They behave with him in the same way as they behaved with John
the Baptist: they didnt accept to repent, while sinners humbled themselves and showed
a will to change, when they were bathed by him in the Jordan waters.
del regno! Coloro che lo stanno ascoltando invece, capi dei sacerdoti e anziani
del popolo, lo ascoltano senza accoglierlo, anzi lo stanno decisamente rifiutando.
Essi si comportano con lui come si sono comportati con Giovanni Battista: non hanno
accettato di pentirsi, mentre i peccatori si sono umiliati e hanno manifestato volontà
di cambiamento, quando sono entrati nel Giordano sotto la sua mano.
How is Jesus to be accepted? The answer comes from st. Paul. Jesus is accepted when
we decide to practice his "same commitments", which are those of humility.
He, who is God, became one like us, like the ones in his times, like most of them,
who were servants. He, servant of the servants, made himself obedient. For Jesus
obedience is not as we think, an act of humiliation, but of an act of love! The
obedience of Jesus is turned to the Father, but the Father shows him his will also
through men. Let us learn from him. We are convinced that God can make use of the
our brothers and sisters to speak to us, that we are to be careful and dont bring
down one of them: the voice of God the Father can speak to us through them. "Each
and everyone of you, with all humility, consider the others as superiors to you
yourself": this is the way Jesus went through and has been shown to us as the
way of love, a way that leads to joy eternal. Let us not therefore look for our
interests, but the life and harmony of all.
God the Father exhalted his Son because of his obedience in humility. We too want
to exhalt him and kneel before him, proclaiming that he is "the Lord"
of all and everything. In this way we too become the son that gives joy to the Father,
because even though many times we have gone against what he asks of us, now, taken
by the hand of Jesus, we "go to work in his vineyard" with a joyful love!