“Good and upright is the LORD; thus he shows sinners the way.” Psalm 25
This week Jesus speaks to the chief priests and temple elders about a father who has two types of children. He asks each of them to work in his vineyard. One is willful and openly disobeys his father and refuses to work. The other is deceitful. He lies to his father, “Yes, I will do what you ask,” he says. Then, he does nothing. One commits a sin of defiance, the other a sin of fraud and self-deception.
Jesus describes the way the willful child repents after John the Baptist shows a path of purification and righteousness. Without attacking them directly, Jesus condemns the priests and elders for their refusal to change. He mocks their dishonesty. After all, Jesus and the wicked elders know the source of the elder’s lies.
Repent is from a Greek word that is also translated “changes his mind.” Jesus says it twice in this passage. He says the priests and elders will not enter the kingdom of heaven because they do not change their minds. This change or repentance means more than a small change. It means much more than thinking a new thought. It means getting a new mind. It’s not like a tune up for your car; it’s more like replacing the engine and transmission. It means seeing and understanding with a new heart.
Meditate for a moment on the Our Father. The willful child openly denies God’s right to bring His sacred name, His kingdom, and His loving guidance into this world. This is evil, but comparatively easy to remedy. When the defiant child discovers that God’s will is good and the path of righteousness welcomes him, he gladly rejects the pain of evil and embraces God (however imperfectly). The deceitful child finds this much more difficult, if not impossible. The deceitful child believes that he can fool God. The quintessential liar instills an unbounded pride in the deceitful. It leads them to intentional evil, a true stain in the soul that produces the brood of vipers Jesus complains of elsewhere in Matthew. Changing this child’s mind is incredibly difficult, because doing so requires that he give up the illusion of power with which Satan tempted Jesus in the desert.
Jesus says we must wash both inclinations from our souls. Willful defiance is childish and likely to be challenging, but manageable. Correctible over time. Self-deception is hard enough to see, much less change. For this we must ask for grace, seek guidance, and knock on the door of the confessional. If we find enough humility to see our pride, we may discover how much we deceive ourselves and refuse God’s mercy, even to His face. Thus, even now in this world, through prayer, service, and alms, we must (re)discover the Our Father (again and again). We must recognize the sanctity of God’s name; embrace His kingdom with body, soul, and spirit; and ask to be shown God’s will. Then, when we are shown, we must cooperate. We are called by God to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him. For that, we must accept and do God’s will.
“change your minds and believe!” Mt. 21:32
Everyone is invited to start by making an intention to join in prayer. As we pray the Sorrowful Mysteries, we ask to see when we are defiant and when we deceive ourselves. We pray that all will join us in the work announced in the Our Father. We pray for the grace that will change our minds. We pray for the intentions of friends and family, both living and deceased. And we pray for the unborn.
Saint Cecilia Congregation in the Rosary