To Do God’s Will

I irritate some people because I cannot make up my mind. However, living with people who constantly change their minds drives me batty! Such a simple thing as to what to have for dinner can bring ten things out of the freezer and take a half hour to decide! In this instance changing our mind has no serious consequences -maybe time lost and nerves frayed, but these are forgotten as dinner is finally served. In our Gospel today, two sons change their minds about how they carry through on their response to their father’s command to go and work in his vineyard.

The point of the parable goes far beyond simply doing work. Jesus is telling us something about the kingdom of God and salvation. We cannot dilly-dally around. Our belief must be decisive and our actions must carry through and be consistent with our belief.

No matter what we say, the real issue is what we do. Any change of mind we have must be about turning ourselves from mere talk to doing God’s will. This is how we enter the kingdom of God.

All of us are a little like both sons. Sometimes we hear and respond faithfully to God’s will, but at other times our actions don’t carry through what we hear and believe. The good news is that God does not change the divine mind about calling us to salvation. Whether we say yes or no to God’s call, God keeps calling us. We are the ones who need a change of mind. We are the ones who must believe in God’s offer of salvation and faithfully do God’s will.