“What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.” Mt. 21:28-32
“Go out and work.” I can remember a thousand times growing up and my father said these words to me. I was usually playing video games or reading a book; he’d remind me that I had chores to finish, usually feeding the ranch animals. I’d say, “Yes sir”, but I wanted to finish the chapter I was reading or the level in the videogame. I didn’t go out and work even when I said I would.
This passage is a reminder that work should be a normal part of life. It should be normal for us Christians to leave our comfort zones and go out to work. The comfort zone is the son who says I will go (like myself to my dad), then does not go. In our comfort zone, we are claiming independence from God. We have these other things of devotion. Maybe it is watching TV, playing a video game, scrolling social media, reading political news, etc. We say “I will go”, but then fall back into these comfort zones Why? Because we are afraid to be dependent on God, to change our minds and allow God to work with us.
Jesus points this out here to the chief priests and Pharisees because they profess to live a faith but don’t commit to living it. They live as the first son, who says yes, but does not go out to work and do the fathers will. While the tax collectors and prostitutes, they are the second son. They start by saying no, acknowledging their sinfulness and distance from God. But they change their minds. They allow themselves to be open to the workings of God. Living a Christian life means embracing the work, embracing the yes of faith we live. Let us keep our faith always in front of us leading and guiding our lives, always ready to say yes and mean it for the work of God and our faith.