26th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A
First Reading: Ez 18:25-28
Second Reading: Phil 2:1-11
Gospel Reading: Mt 21:28-32

In the Gospel Reading, Jesus tells the first of three parables with the same message: the fact that the Jewish leaders are part of God’s chosen people and observers of the Law of Moses is not a guarantee that they will possess the kingdom of God.

But of course his message is for us too. Like God’s commandments, Christ’s warnings still apply today.

Mere lip service will not earn us a place in Heaven. None of us will be able to demand an entrance to Heaven by holding up our baptismal certificate as if it were a ticket to a ball game.

At any moment we may be called upon to make an account of our stewardship. What will we say?

“I was going to change tomorrow”?

“Everyone else was doing it”?

“I was too busy with the cares of this world”?

We sometimes laugh at the flimsy excuses offered by fellow students or fellow workers for not doing their duty. Policemen, of all people, must get the phoniest of all phony explanations!

Nevertheless, we offer equally lame excuses to God. Just because they half-satisfy our consciences, we somehow expect God to be hoodwinked. We know the truth and can apply it to others, but, like the chief priests, we can have a blind spot with respect to ourselves.

In the parable of the two sons, Jesus asked which of the two really did his father’s will—the one who said “no” and then thought better of it and went, or the one who said “yes” but did not go. It was the first, his hearers acknowledged, who really did what his father wanted.

God makes the same point in the First Reading: those who turn from righteousness to iniquity shall die, but when the wicked turn away from their wickedness and do what is lawful and right, they shall save their lives.

In my experience of the confessional, I have found most people to be extremely sincere. Nevertheless, I do sometimes hear such things as “I missed Mass twice during the summer—but we were on holiday in Europe, Father”—to which I gently point out that there are several Catholic churches in Europe.

If we really want to go to Mass, we almost always can. If we do not, we find some excuse: the weather is too wet or too fine, or we have friends coming.

In May 1994, a man named Eddie Treadway turned 100. Asked why he was going, as usual, to Mass at 8:00 am, he said firmly, “To please God. We owe it to God.”

On Sundays, when I say two or three Masses, I have to make a conscious effort to offer the Mass properly, for there are many distractions. One—something all priests suffer from—is people coming late or leaving early. Sometimes, of course, there are valid reasons, but usually there are only flimsy excuses.

God will not be deceived by our promises to be good; they must be backed up by deeds. “It is not everyone who says ‘Lord, Lord’ who will enter the kingdom of Heaven,” Christ said, “but he who does the will of my Father.”

Christ gave us the ultimate example, for he “emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.”

Let us pray sincerely, in the words of the Psalm: “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me.”

“Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. According to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!”

“Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.”

Father Hawkswell is again  teaching The Catholic Faith in Plain English, with new insights. The whole course is available in written form and, one session per week, in YouTube form at beholdvancouver.org/catholic-faith-course. Father is also  teaching the course in person: on Sundays at 2:00 pm in the John Paul II Pastoral Centre, 4885 St John Paul II Way, Vancouver (33rd and Willow); and on Mondays at 10:00 am in St. Anthony’s Church hall, 2347 Inglewood Avenue, West Vancouver. The title of next week’s talk is “What is the Catholic Church?” No pre-registration is necessary.