Reflection
Today we read a beautiful parable narrated by Jesus in the Gospel. The Lord says, a father had two sons and the father goes now to one of them and says, my son go into my vineyard and do the work and he says I will not go but later he repents and he goes and does what his father says. He goes to the second son and tells him; my son you go into my vineyard and do the work he says I will do father but he did not go. Jesus in fact is speaking in his own concrete contextual life situation. He knew what kind of people are listening to Him. The pharisees at that time naturally believed themselves to be the most righteous people who are automatically selected for the kingdom and therefore they had a judgmental attitude towards everyone. You see today Jesus uses one of the most harsh words in the Scripture. The Gentile, the sinners and the tax collectors will go before you into the kingdom of God.
What you are invited today is to have a change of heart. Christianity today has to be a movement of a group of people who have understood the value of conversion of heart. We know the life of Matthew the tax collector and the moment he encountered Jesus his whole life got totally changed and he became someone different. Again, the thief who was on the right side of Jesus, although he was a thief by his very act and deed, the moment he converted himself in his heart and told the Lord forgive me.
When you are in paradise receive me and the Lord says today you shall be with me in paradise.
Change of heart is the best way to achieve what we are looking for in life. In the book of Ezekiel, we read through the first reading something that is very striking. When a righteous man falls from that grace of righteousness the Lord will condemn him but when a sinner in the conversion of his heart returns to that righteousness of God, He will be taken alone by the Lord. St. Paul in the second reading takes us deeper. He presents Jesus as the perfect example of a transformed heart. Jesus emptied himself and took the form of a servant. He humbled himself and became obedient to the Father. God is not asking us to have a perfect heart. He is asking us to have a heart that is willing to change. When a person turns away from wrongdoing and begins to do what is right, God gives that person a new beginning. Today God says, “turn back to me and begin again.”
