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

 The Significance Of The Parable Of The Two Sons

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara

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

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, September 27, 2026

The context for today’s Gospel (Matthew 21:28-32) is the growing tension between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders. The Lord has entered Jerusalem and overturned the money changer’s tables in the Temple. He has caught the attention of the religious authorities, who are wondering: Who is this man who comes into Jerusalem, receiving the praises of the masses, overturning tables, and driving moneychangers out of the Temple? The chief priests and elders are questioning him about the source of his authority. Instead of answering directly, Jesus tells the parable of two sons: A man has two sons. He asks his first son to work in the vineyard. The son initially refuses, saying, “I will not,” but later changes his mind and obeys. The second son agrees, saying, “Yes, sir, I will go,” but then also changes his mind and refuses. Jesus asks the authorities which son did the father’s will. They reply honestly, “The first.” Then Jesus makes a startling statement, call it a theological and spiritual bomb: “Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.” Why? He explains: “When John came in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even seeing this, you did not change your minds and believe him.” 

What is the significance of this parable? The point the Lord makes in today’s Gospel is that actions speak louder than words. Talk is cheap. God wants more than agreement; he wants obedience. God wants good words and good works as well. He wants faith and fidelity. If you want to test whether you have faith and fidelity, ask yourself: In the past week, have I done things I didn’t feel like but still did because I sensed God wanted me to? Also, have I avoided doing something I wanted to do because I believed it wasn’t God's will? I tell you, that is the Bible definition of faith. What marked the great heroes of our faith listed in Hebrews 11 is that their faith consisted in their obedience. They followed the directions of God. Their actions, not just their words or thoughts, aligned with God's commands. Faith means fidelity to God, fidelity to his will, obedience to his command. In Matthew 7:21, Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”

More to it, the parable emphasizes the first son's repentance: he changed his mind and followed his father's instruction. The theme of repentance, metanoia, is central in Jesus’ preaching. The moment he appeared on the public scene, the first word out of his mouth was “repent”: change your mind, change your thinking, go beyond the mind you have, and surrender to God’s new way of ordering things. Jesus wants a total renovation of our lives, behaviors, attitudes, and mindset. He wants us to get to the roots of our transgression and dysfunction, addressing not just the symptoms but the deep causes. For instance, if your relationships are unhealthy, Jesus wants us to root out the problem. If sin has affected your professional life, or if you're resistant to forgiveness, to God's word, or to what Jesus teaches through His Church, He wants us to get to work. Ultimately, Jesus wants us to change our hearts and turn to God. That’s why, after the parable of the two sons, Jesus tells the chief priests and elders of the people that “tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of heaven before you.” The tax collectors, like Matthew and Zacchaeus, and prostitutes, like the anonymous sinful woman who anoints Jesus’ feet in Luke 7, when they met Christ, repented, converted, were saved, and became saints. But not the religious leaders. 

Now, is Jesus minimizing the sins of tax collectors or prostitutes? Not at all! They repented because of the preaching of John the Baptist, while the chief priests and elders did not, even though they too had sins to repent of, which were more hidden. The implied warning to us is to beware of spiritual pride of feeling morally or spiritually superior to others and thinking that you are less sinful than some other people whose sins are more obvious. When the great St. Augustine was asked to name the four cardinal virtues, his response was: humilitas, humilitas, humilitas, and humilitas (humility, humility, humility, and humility). Have you noticed that the very first prayers of the Mass are the Confiteor, the confession of sins (I confess to Almighty God), and the Kyrie Eleison (“Lord, have mercy”)? In Eastern Orthodox spirituality, the most loved and repeated prayer is “O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” To deny that truth—the truth of one’s brokenness, dysfunction, and sin—is a profound spiritual dishonesty. 

God bless you!