Posted by The WORD in other words (2010) by Fr Oliver Quilab SVD – Germany
Tuesday 3rd Week of Advent
Have you ever experienced a grilling during oral exams wherein you think your capacity and worth are tested? Or have you ever felt rejected when people openly show they do not believe in you? In those moments you could only wish you could convince your adversaries that they are mistaken.
Jesus encounters such an ordeal in his last days in Jerusalem when his authority is being questioned by the chief priests and elders. Who is this Jesus who comes into Jerusalem mobilizing the masses and driving the money changers out of the temple? The stage is set for the face-off.
It is in this circumstance that Jesus outsmarts them with three parables — the Two Sons, the Tenants, and the Wedding Feast — in a manner that they cannot deny or refute. Each story illustrates their rejection of Jesus and pronounces judgment on Israel for their rejection of their Messiah.
The meaning of the story of the Two Sons is so self-evident that the “scribes and Pharisees” get the answer right. Jesus, however, tightens the noose by saying that the “tax collectors and prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you.” While prioritizing the notorious sinners who acknowledged the Messiah and changed their lives, Jesus is not excluding the pious leaders, but merely showing them the way of faith that transforms and translates into action.
What has this parable to teach us today? Obviously, Jesus is dealing with two types of people. There are those whose profession is much better than their practice. They may know and say all the right words and even make promises, but their practice does not match with their profession.
In contemporary lingo we may say, all bark and no bite, all talk and no walk. On the other hand, there are those whose practice is far more tangible than their profession. They may profess to have no interest in religion or the church, yet when it comes to it, they seem to be living more Christian lives than many hardcore Christians.
You and I probably know people like that and may have even reflected that in our own lives at times.
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