Reflection for 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time

We have all heard the expression, “Actions speak louder than words.” Jesus’ parable in today’s gospel speaks of actions and words. A father goes to his son and says, “Go work in the vineyard.” And the boy answers – and you can imagine some of the things he might have said. “No, Dad, I won’t go. I’ve got other plans. I can’t make it, no way. It’s not my turn. Get my brother to do it. You’re always after me. It’s not fair. Forget it.” For the son - no respect, no admiration, no honor. And for the father – well, a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach – a feeling of disappointment, a feeling that his son is going wrong, that he doesn’t care, that the situation is out of control.

How wonderful it must have been for the father when he went to his other son and told him to go out into the vineyard and do the work that needed to be done. “Yes, Father, I will go.” Imagine how the heartbreak turned around. My son cares for me and what I need. My son has respect. My son is willing. Of course, we know what happened. The first son was honest when he said no, then has second thoughts, realizes that it is his father who asked him, who needed him, and he goes and does what was asked. The second son gives the right answer and then ignores his father’s request. Maybe he said yes just to get his dad off his back, then forgot about it.

What does this mean for us today? For most of us there have been times in our lives when we said one thing and did another. Have you ever said: “Yes, dear, I promise I won’t charge so much on the credit cards.” “Yes, dear. I promise I won’t drink so much.” “Yes, dear, I promise I’ll get along better with your parents.” “Yes, dad, I promise I will obey the speed limits.” “Yes, mom, I promise I’ll stay away from drugs.” Words are easy . . . actions are tough!

Now let’s imagine that the father in the story is God. Like the two sons, today God invites us to work in his vineyard - the vineyard of your home, or the vineyard of your school, or your neighborhood, or your workplace - the vineyard that produces the love, joy, peace, hope and strength that is so much needed in our world. He asks us to be people of prayer and compassion and forgiveness. He asks us to reach out to those in need, to not just say that we care but to show that we care. He asks us to pay attention to those we know who are sick or alone – showing our concern by our presence. He asks us to forgive those who have hurt us – to not only forgive them but to love them. How do we respond – like the son who says yes and then doesn’t go, or like the son who may at first say no but then realizes who it is that is asking?

The words of St. Paul are hard: “Do nothing out of selfishness and vanity; humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, look out not for your own interests but for the interests of others. Have the same attitude that Christ had – emptying himself, humbling himself.” That is our call as Christians. Do we realize this?

We are called to make the vineyard, the kingdom of God, present in our world. It’s probably safe to say that all of us are like both sons in the story. Sometimes we hear and respond faithfully, and at other times our actions don’t carry through what we say. The good news is that, no matter what our response, God will continue to love us and call us to faithfulness. If we realize this, then God’s Spirit will help us to find ways to cooperate for the good of all. If we realize this, if we accept his call, we will not be people whose words say “yes, yes” while our lives say “no, no.” We call ourselves believers. We call ourselves Christians. We know that God calls us to work in the vineyard. May our actions speak louder than our words.

If you have a brief faith reflection on today’s reading that you would like to share, please send it to me at deaconruss@holyspiritunoh.org.