HOMILY OF 26TH SUNDAY OF THE ORDINARY TIME — YEAR A

HOMILY OF 26TH SUNDAY OF THE ORDINARY TIME — YEAR A

HOMILY THEME: GOD’S CALL TO CONVERSION AND RIGHTEOUSNESS

BY: Fr. Celestine Muonwe

Ez 18:25-28; Ps 25:4-5.6-7.8-9; Phil 2:1-11; Mtt 21:28-32

In the first reading, the Lord through prophet Ezekiel restates the conditions for His dealing with the house of Isreal with regard to punishment for sin and reward. God rejects the idea that children or descendants automatically inherit the guilt or righteousness of their ancestors. Instead, each person is judged based on their own actions, not the deeds of previous generations.

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God’s sense of justice can be different from the human perception of what is just. Human perception of unfairness often arises from misunderstanding or comparing God’s justice to human behavior. For instance, with the constant rise of Neo-paganism and Pentecostalism today, many believe the idea that the gods or deities served in the past by our ancestors need to be revived by the new generation, otherwise the deities will unleash various degrees of suffering on the living.

There is also the superstitious belief that suffering is as a result of the sins committed by the ancestors, that needed to be cleansed ritually for progress to arrive.For instance, an extended family had to spend a million naira on the funeral of a lady. There was the belief that the sins of their ancestors who sold a certain lady in the family was the cause of suffering visited on the family.

Further, God restates that change is highly possible. Even those who have lived wickedly can turn to righteousness and be spared, thus highlighting God’s mercy and the transformative power of repentance. A call to self-examination is of crucial importance. We are called to individually to consider our sins, and turn away from them, and actively pursue justice and righteousness

It is the soul that sinneth that shall die; hence, if a wicked man turns from his sinful ways to do good, he shall live and the Lord will forget all his sins, but if a good man turns from goodness to do evil, he shall die, and his good deeds will be forgotten by God. Many have fallen from good lives to evil lives and vice versa. We are called to conversion, righteousness, and total return to the Lord.

In the second reading, St. Paul admonishes us to lead lives of unity and love for each other. This can be achieved among brethren when selfishness is done away with and Christians learn how to give preference to each other. We are to avoid vainglory at all cost, that is, the desire to seek praise for oneself for whatever good is done.

Jesus’ life and manner of thought is to be a our model: “Though He was in the form of God, He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”

Jesus did not end His humiliation to just becoming man, but further subjected Himself to the power of death for us. Therefore, giving us an example of sacrificial and vicarious love, what theologians call kenosis, that is, a radical and total self-emptying of oneself for the good of others.

In the Gospel, Jesus narrates the parable of the two sons, one who first said yes to the demands of their father, but later did not carry out the orders of the father, and the one who initially said no, but later went and carried out his father’s will.

With this story, Jesus challenges the chief priests and elders, noting that tax collectors and prostitutes are entering God’s Kingdom ahead of them. These leaders were like the son who said “yes” to his father but then did nothing later on, offering only empty words.

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This message gives us the hope that no one is beyond the reach of God’s mercy. The path to the Kingdom is open to everyone who obey God’s word, by humbly listening to Him, repenting of their sins, and beginning to obey His will. ‎

Sometimes, when God calls us to a deeper holiness, our initial response might be resistance. It’s natural to find the Gospel challenging, and to initially say “No!” to breaking our sinful habits. Here, our fallen nature struggles against God’s will.

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‎However, the key to any spiritual growth is repentance, a habit of turning back to God. Even if we start like the first son who initially refused, a spirit of repentance can transform our hearts. Through it, our “no” can become a joyful “Yes, I will go,” followed by true obedience.

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‎We simply constantly ask ourselves, whether we pay lip service to God, or do we genuinely embrace His call to repent? We are invited to be poor in spirit, to recognize our need of God, to trust in Him, to identify with the humble sinners who knew they needed mercy.

We must bear in mind that repentance is not a sign of failure but the very beginning of freedom and the first step toward a deeper union with God.

Prayer

Lord, help us to be attentive to Your word, to obey it whenever we hear it and thus, be ever ready to inherit the Kingdom at the last day.

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