Scripture: "What do you think? A
man had two sons; and he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the
vineyard today.' 29 And he answered, 'I will
not'; but afterward he repented and went. 30 And
he went to the second and said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir,' but did
not go. 31 Which of the two did the
will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them,
"Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the harlots go into the
kingdom of God before you. Matt
21:28-31
Reflection: There
are people who are very Christian or shall I say they appear very Christian.
They are loving and kind and have love as their goal in whatever they do. For
them to be a Christian means to love.
They
cannot be easily faulted for their loving attitude to life. Yet the love which they practice is that of
being pleasing to people and would say yes as long as it pleases them. But deep
within they may grumble and fret at being made use of by people and play all
types of games which may not be visible to the ordinary non-discerning ones.
In
the Gospel we could be having a similar situation of a son who did not want to
hurt his father and says yes to his father’s request but later plays his game
or the little home politics and gets away from his commitment and duty. Who knows, since no one can watch the heart,
he may have even grumbled and cursed his father for always asking him.
Maybe
at the family level the consequence is not great, but at the corporate level
the employee could get the sack. But at
the divine level, which is nurtured with great patience and love, mercy and
forgiveness, there could be eternal ramification.
Prayer: Lord,
let me be pleasing to you and guided by your Spirit serve you for your glory.
DD = Dedicated Discipleship: Come grow in the Lord with us
