Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Saint Therese of Lisieux
Personal Responsibility
This Sunday's readings my dear brethren call us to profound personal responsibility of both our behaviors and the choices we make, to repentance, and shows us the fairness of God's judgment. Ezekiel in the first reading is addressing a common human tendency, that is, to blame God for the consequences of our actions. The Lord says, "Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?" When faced with adversity or the outcomes of our decisions, it's all too easy to question God's fairness and righteousness.
But Ezekiel reminds us that God's ways are always just and righteous. It is our own choices and actions that lead to the consequences we face. Jesus in the Gospel also reminds us that good intentions are not enough but the effort we put in living up to the good intentions which we express in our words and taking up the responsibility of fulfilling what we promise. It takes humility to put in practice our good intentions just as it took ultimate humility for Jesus, though he was in form of God, did not redeem equality with God, came in human form, suffered and died for us so that we can be saved.
Jesus gives us the parable of the two sons to reinforce today's theme of personal responsibility. A father had two sons. He approached the first son and said, "Son, go and work in the vineyard today." The first son initially refused, saying, "I will not." However, later he changed his mind and went to work in the vineyard. Then the father went to the second son and made the same request. The second son initially agreed, saying, "I will go, sir," but he did not actually go and work in the vineyard. Who among the two sons did the father's will and who actually took seriously his personal responsibility? Obviously the first son. Don't we sometimes act like one of these sons?
The first son represents those who have initially rejected the will of God but then repent and turn back to Him. The second son represents those who claim to be faithful followers of the will of God but are not. This second son presents us with a very dangerous trap we can fall into. He represents the interior disposition of the chief priests and elders of the people. They said one thing but did another. They acted as if they were righteous but were not. They might have even been fooling themselves. More still, it represents some of us who always show the love for God while actually we are spiritually far from him. It should not be a shock to us that those whom we regard as public sinners are accepted by God than those of us who would look to be public saints. "Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you."
We must never make assumptions about whom the Lord will accept or reject. There can be so much good in those we consider evil and there can be so much evil in those we consider good. The prostitutes, the tax collectors, the garage boys, the street urchins, the prisoners and all those we see as the odd assortment of degeneration are finding their way to heaven through a sincere act of conversion. What matters to the Lord is sincerity of conversion and obedience to his word. In the words of G.K. Chesterton, “just going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car”. We may come to church every day, recite the rosary and follow the Stations of the Cross and observe other devotions; but, if there is no sincere act of conversion, we are off the track.
Notice in the parable that the does not follow up his sons after all had given him their answers; he left them each to do what his heart desired and according to their responses. In the same way God deal with us, he invites and makes know to us his truth and what we are supposed to do. He continues to remind of his fundamental truth and commandments in the gentle voice of His Spirit always calling us to do good in the heart of our consciences, but he does not force us nor impose himself and his commandments on but at the same time makes known to us the consequences of following and not following his commandments, letting us know that whatever happens to us is the consequences of our choices in life. God gives us freedom and a chance to exercise our personal responsibility and perhaps for us not to complain or blame him when something happens in our life. God gives us freedom but at the same time, He invites our individual responsibility.
Personal responsibility not only means that we fulfil what we promise and say but also to accept our shortcoming, turn back to God and ask for forgiveness. The first son's eventual change of heart and a decision to obey his father and work in the vineyard, illustrates the beauty of repentance. It reminds us that no matter how far we may have drifted from God's will, we can always turn back to Him with a sincere heart. No wonder Ezekiel reminds us, "But if the wicked turn away from all their sins that they have committed and keep all my statutes and do what is lawful and right, they shall surely live; they shall not die." This is the incredible gift of God's mercy and forgiveness. No matter how far we may have strayed from the path of righteousness, we have the opportunity to turn back to God, to repent, and to seek His forgiveness. In His boundless love, God welcomes the repentant sinner and offers the gift of eternal life.
The reverse is true, if we are like the second son who vehemently say yes and believe whatever God tells us, but we don't put them in action, or put them to the heart, we will lose eternal life and die. Ezekiel again reminds us, "When the righteous turn away from their righteousness and commit iniquity, they shall die for it; for the iniquity that they have committed, they shall die." As said earlier, this highlights the importance of personal responsibility. Each one of us is accountable for our own actions and choices. God does not punish us for the sins of our ancestors or for the actions of others. We bear the consequences of our own decisions.
May we strive to be like the first son, responding to God's call with humility, repentance, and a willingness to align our actions with our professed beliefs, knowing that in doing so, we draw closer to the kingdom of God.
Let us Pray.
With even a little of your charity, I could certainly be a son of two “yeses.” Help me to say “yes” when you ask me something and also to do it immediately – without hesitating for even a moment. Lord may your will be done! Amen
Be blessed.
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