Obedience to the Lord makes us real Christians

Fr. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Homily for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

St. Gerard Majella Church

Baton Rouge, Louisiana 

September 25, 2011

Dearest beloved, in today’s gospel Jesus narrates a story that we cannot possibly ignore. It is a story of a father and his two bad sons in which one is better. It is a story that explains the general attitudes of some Christians towards the will of God. It is a story that points out the hypocritical nature of some Christians.

A father had two sons. He went to the first and said, “Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.” The first son replied, “I will not.” But after a soul searching reflection, he changed his mind and went in obedience to his father. The father went to the second son and gave him the same order. The second son replied with respect, “Yes sir, I will go!” But he never went. Now, it is important to understand that none of the sons in the story was the kind of son that bring full joy for his father. The first son was disrespectful to his father. In the Jewish society, the response he gave to his father wasn’t the kind of response expected from a loyal son. But what he lacked in his response, he accomplished through his obedience. He became the virtuous son when he eventually went to the vineyard. He did what the father wanted. The second son on the other hand applied courtesy in his response to his father, but ended up disrespecting him even further by not going to the vineyard to work. Courtesy without respect and obedience is worthless. The ideal son would be the son who who accepted the father’s request with respect and obediently carried it out. 

This gospel points out the two classes of Christians in the world. First, there are Christians who profess Jesus with their lips, but in their actions deny him. Their profession is much better than their practice. In the gospel of Matthew 15: 8, Jesus says, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” To such people the Lord says in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who calls me Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.” These people will promise anything, express outward show of piety and fidelity, but their practice is nothing to desired about. Describing such people St. Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:5, “They act religious, but deny its power that could make them godly.” St. urges us, “Stay away from people like that!”  

But there are Christians whose practice is bolder than their profession. Outwardly they are not pious and don’t appear to be religious. They look tough and hardhearted. But they are the ones seen doing acts of kindness. They are generous, honest, prayerful, just and upright. Some of them may not even be regular church goers, but they live more Christian lives than professing Christians. 

In today’s gospel, our Lord Jesus teaches us that making promises is not enough; we must fulfill the promises we make. Making a promise to do something for the Lord and for the Church is not enough. We must fulfill those promises. If we promise to do something, let’s do it. Promises can never take the place of actual performance, and fine words are never a substitute for fine deeds. The second son who promised his father that he would go to the vineyard to work, but never went had all the outward show of religion and outward mark of respect and courtesy. In his answer, he even called his father “Sir,” showing respect to his father. He showed courtesy. But his courtesy was empty since he  never did what he said he would do. True courtesy is obedience. The first son, though originally was disrespectful to his father, but won the respect and love of his father back by eventually going to the vineyard to work. 

Dearest beloved, the Christian way is the way of obedience, obedience to the Father through Jesus Christ. The Christian way is in performance and not in promise. Words are cheap; words can be deceptive. But deeds count more. Our relationship with Jesus is deepened by deeds of charity and love. What gets us divine merit is obedience and not professions. We are Christians because we follow in the footsteps of Christ. We are not Christians simply because we profess Christianity. Profession of faith is good, but it is not enough. Faith professed must be accompanied with charity. Faith professed must be demonstrated and lived out. Good deeds give life to faith. Good deeds demonstrate faith. Bad deeds and disobedience expose faith to ridicule. Christianity is a religion of profession and obedience, but more of obedience. It is a love relationship with Jesus which must give birth to obedience. In John 14:15, Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” 

In our Christian journey, we may have made many promises to God. Today, let’s review those promises and see if we have kept them. If we have not kept any of them, we have another chance to fulfill them. 1 Samuel 15:22 tells us that obedience is better than sacrifice. Obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ is what makes us faithful and actual Christians. Nominal Christians only make promises and professions but never lived them out. Faithful and real Christians live out the professions they make and honor the promises they make.