26th Sun Ordinary Time Rdgs & Reflection

September 25, 2011 ~ Liturgical Year A, Cycle I ~ Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time


First Reading: Ezekiel 18:25-28
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 25:4-5, 8-9
Second Reading: Philippians 2:1-11
Gospel: Matthew 21:28-32


These readings can be viewed at http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/092511.cfm.



Reflection Questions



1. How do you think the chief priests and elders reacted to Jesus’ parable? Describe.


2. How willing are you to ‘change’ in your life? Describe. What kinds of ‘change’ are the most difficult to adapt to and accept?


3. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being best, how would you rate your ability to listen to God in prayer? Describe any difficulties you have in listening to God in prayer. How can you become a better ‘prayer’?




Gospel Reflection




Ever get so caught up in your day-to-day routine that you don’t take time to reflect and pray? This lack of taking time is an epidemic in our culture, but Jesus wants us to reconsider our rushed-lifestyle. Here’s how He makes His point: Our Gospel passage describes Jesus testing the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of His day. He uses a parable to illustrate His point of true devotion and love of God. It’s not those who ‘say’ that will be righteous before God – it’s those who ‘do’ that will be righteous. In the story, the first son originally disobeyed his father, telling him that he would not do the work his father asked of him. Think of the times when your parents asked you to do something for them, and your gut reaction was, ‘why are they trying to take my fun away?’ The first son would have fallen into this trap as well, except that he did something most people in today’s world forget to do: He examined His actions. He listened to the voice inside of him that said, ‘you know, you really should obey dad’, and without telling his father, he just went ahead and did what he was supposed to do. The second son was all lip-service: He told his dad the ‘right things’ so dad would think his son was being good, but in actuality the second son was a coward: He didn’t have the guts to say the truth to his father that he really didn’t want to work. He was also stubborn, and did not take the time to reflect on the ‘wrongness’ of his actions. Jesus uses this parable to show a powerful point about the hypocrisy of the chief priests and elders, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. They choose not to follow St. John the Baptist even though they told society they would follow God and be spiritual leaders. By contrast, the tax collectors and prostitutes had told society that they would not follow God, but upon reflecting on St. John the Baptist, decided to change their ways. Our challenge from Jesus in this Gospel is to be Catholic all of the time, always open to the Holy Spirit and willing to change to be more like Jesus. When you feel stressed and under a time crunch, don’t allow yourself to make excuses for not praying. By not praying, you may miss God working and calling in your life. And that’s a call you can’t afford to miss.