For those who praise the Lord on Sunday, come Monday, what happens?
Sunday, Sept. 27, is the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Mass readings: Ezekiel 18:25-28; Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; Philippians 2:1-11 or Philippians 2:1-5; Matthew 21:28-32.
In the Gospel, Jesus calls out three common sins of the pious.
The text says, “A man had two sons.” Why emphasize this? Because it is too easy for us to try to sever the link we have with one another. We can be very tribal. Perhaps they are of a different political party, economic class or race. We divide, but God unites: “A man had two sons.” Yes, they were different, but he was father to them both. He loved them both; he spoke to them and called them his sons.
A second “sin of the pious” is leaping to the conclusion that someone is irredeemably lost. Many of the Scribes and Pharisees simply labeled the crowds “sinners” and dismissed them as lost.
But Jesus, in his parable, speaks of the first son who said “No” to his father but afterwards changed his mind and went. The point: We should be careful not to write people off, even those
