Sunday the 27th of September 2026 - The Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Ezekiel 18:25-28/ Ps 25(24)/ Philippians 2:1-5/ Matthew 21:28-32
Let us return to the night before Jesus died, to Peter, the one Jesus chose to lead his Church on earth. This was the man who promised that even if he had to die he would never deny Jesus. This was a resounding yes to Jesus but then just a few hours later he denied knowing Jesus, not once, but three times. The yes had so quickly turned to no. But Peter did not leave it there, he wept bitterly when he realised what he had done, and he turned back, changing his no back into a yes. His yes moved from a word on his lips to action in his hands, feet, his whole being. Peter became the rock on which Jesus built His church on earth. Peter shows us how to move the yes we proclaim in church from our lips into real action to build up the kingdom of God around us. It is not about what we say, it is about what we do.
God is asking us, as the father in the parable asked his two sons, to go and work in His vineyard. This short parable holds the heart of the Gospel, and it holds a mirror up to each of us today. We must ask ourselves which son we are. Jesus does not praise the first son for saying no. Saying no to God is never good. Jesus is praising him for something much more important, his willingness to change. The son who first refused was honest enough, and humble enough, to change his mind. This is conversion, and conversion, is what God desires to see in every human life. That is what the prophet Ezekiel proclaimed in the first reading. The people complained that God's ways were unfair. God answered through the prophet saying that when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. A good person can often fall and go the wrong way, but it is never impossible to turn back. The world is quick to condemn. It writes people off for the one wrong thing they might do. God, fortunately for us, is not like that. God will always welcome back the repentant sinner, without coercion, without arm-twisting, or threats, only an overwhelming love that longs to envelop everyone.
Just as a good person can become bad, so a bad person can become good. While we still have the opportunity in this life we should always be seeking the way back to God. The psalm today calls on the Lord to remember His compassion and merciful love. We do not earn our way home, we ask for mercy, and the God who guides the humble to justice leads us there. In the gospel passage Jesus warned the religious leaders of his day that those they consider to be sinners are entering the kingdom of God before them. The reason for this is that the outcasts, the sinners, first said no with their lives, but then believed and changed. The leaders said all the right words, wore the right robes, but never truly did God's will. Words are not enough, we cannot simply claim to be doing God's will, we have to actually do what He is calling us to do. We can be either son. We can be those who once said no to God and then had a change of heart. Or we can be those who pay lip service to our faith, who say yes at Mass on Sunday, but let that yes mean nothing by the time we walk out of the building. There might also be some of both sons living inside of us.
We cannot work our way into heaven or earn a position that deserves it. Our redemption is a free gift, won for us at enormous cost by Jesus, a gift that cost Him His life. Because it is such a gift, our good works should follow naturally from it. Our works are not a payment, they are a response, the grateful overflow of a heart that has been loved beyond measure.
In the second reading Saint Paul calls us to be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Love, fellowship, affection, compassion, humility, these should mark our life together as a faith community. Our fallen nature gets in the way of this ideal. We will not manage every virtue all of the time. Our goal should be to notice when we are failing and to correct our error promptly. Paul gives us the answer, telling us not to act out of selfish ambition or conceit. In humility we need to count others over and above ourselves looking not at our own interests but to those of others first. This is the example set for us by Jesus who said yes to the Father and then acted on that yes leading him all the way to the cross.
Today we are called to look into our hearts honestly. Is there somewhere in our lives where we have been saying no to God? Saying yes is easy, we can all raise a hand, we can all nod along at Mass. Today Jesus reminds us through his simple parable of the two sons that God our Father is not counting raised hands or nodding heads. He is waiting to see who actually turns up in the vineyard. Let today be the day we say yes and mean it. Let today be the day we step into the vineyard and work for God and His kingdom.
God Bless Brendan