To consummate his earthly ministry of redemption of the fallen humanity, Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly, receiving fervent welcome from people (Matthew 21:1-11). Upon entering the city, he cleansed the Temple, which was denigrated to a “den of robbers” by hypocrites (Matthew 21:12-17). This resulted in drawing more heightened and intense attentions from those who were annoyed by his presence.
A day after cleansing the Temple, Jesus returned to
the Temple area. There, he began teaching. Then, the chief priests and the
elders came to him and questioned, By what authority are you doing these
things? And who gave you this authority?, in regard to his teaching and
action of cleansing the Temple (Matthew 21:23). To this Jesus answered:
I shall ask you one question, and if you
answer it for me, then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things. Where
was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly or of human origin?
(Matthew 21:24-25).
The chief priests and the elders could not answer. So
Jesus said, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things”(Matthew
21:27).
Then, Jesus spoke the parable of the two sons to them
to ask their opinion on the sons (Matthew 21:28-31).
In the parable, a man asked his first son to work in the
vineyard. He said “no” at first but changed his mind later and went to the vineyard,
as asked by his father. The father also asked his second son to work in the
vineyard. He said “yes” but never went there. Then, Jesus asked them, which of the
two sons did their father’s will. And they answered, “first one”.
So, Jesus said to them:
Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and
prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. When John came to you
in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and
prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your
minds and believe him (Matthew 21:31b-32).
The question is, why did Jesus present this parable
about the two sons: the first one declined to work in the vineyard but actually
went to work, while the second one consented to work but never went to work,
and asked which so did their father’s will?
First, we must understand the context of the parable
and the inquiry of the opinion of the chief priests and the elders about the
two sons.
It was, indeed, to confront their hypocrisy, which is
associated with the corruption of the Temple. The parable and the question of
their opinion on the parable served as a mirror for them to recognize their
problem.
First, Jesus juxtaposed these hypocrites to the son
who made an impression to his father that he would go to the vineyard to work
there. Then, he allegorically reminded them that they were worse than those who
whom they despise for their sinfulness, represented with the tax collectors and
the prostitutes, because they repented their sins and went to John the Baptist
to be baptized (Matthew 21:31b-32a). This is because that the chief priests and
the elders saw them wen to John the Baptist with contrite hearts, they saw that
but did not change their mind to believe John the Baptist (Matthew 21:32b).
This method of confrontation was used also by Nathan
when he confronted David’s sin, asking the king’s opinion about a rich man
oppressing a poor man out of his greed (2 Samuel 12: 1-7). David responded with
his indignation toward the rich man for his evil act on the poor man. And
Nathan reminded David that the man whom he showed his anger and thought to be
condemned to death was him for what he did to Uriah to take his wife, Bathsheba,
for himself. Then, David humbly confessed his sin and repented (2 Samuel 7:13).
Yes, David recognized his sin through Nathan’s
parable. But, what about the chief priests and the elders? Did they recognize their
sin and repent? Hold your answer until you read the next parable, in which
Jesus spoke about the tenant workers in the vineyard, who killed the landowner’s
servants and son (Matthew 21:33-44), from which the Gospel Reading of the
Twenty-Seventh Sunday (Matthew 21:33-43) is drawn.
Jesus’ parable of the two sons (Matthew 21:28-31) is
about the imperative of the integrity to our promise to God. Once we say, “Yes”
to God, we must commit ourselves to what we have said “Yes” to God. For example, our vows to God, like those we
take to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, the Sacrament of Matrimony, and
the Sacrament of Holy Orders.
As Christians, what we must commit ourselves to is a
virtuous life in order to enter the Kingdom (2 Peter 1:3-11). And to live a
life of virtues requires the Holy Spirit, because virtues are fruit of the Holy
Spirit, powerful antidote to vices (Galatians 5:13-26).
The First Reading (Ezekiel 18:25-28) calls us not just
to live a virtuous life but to maintain a life of virtues against vices all the
time, while it urges us to convert our hearts from wickedness of vices to
virtuousness. As the first son in the parable changed his mind to do his father’s
will, though he first refused to do (Matthew 21:29), those who live a life of
vices must change their hearts to a life of virtues (Ezekiel 18:27-28), while
those who fail to maintain a life of virtues, though they were virtuous before,
will be condemned to death (Ezekiel 18:26).
Remember, David would have been condemned to death for
his two-fold mortal sins: sending Uriah to a battle to have him killed and to
have committed adultery with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:1-27). But he
was not because he repented, confessed his sin, and changed his heart to commit
himself to a life of virtuousness (2 Samuel 12:1-25).
Perhaps, even these hypocritical chief priests and the
elders started off with a life of virtues to have held such positions. However,
they let vices take over virtues in their lives. According to the First Reading
(Ezekiel 18:25-28), they were to be condemned to death (v26), while those tax
collectors and the prostitutes who repented their sins and sought John the
Baptist for baptism were not condemned (vv. 27-28).
With the parable of the two sons, Jesus said that
those unrepentant hypocrites, namely, the chief priests and the elders,
involved with the corruption of the Temple, will not be the first to enter the
Kingdom (Matthew 21:28-32). But with the following parable, the parable of the
wicked tenant works of the vineyard, Jesus made it clear that they will be
condemned because they are like the wicked tenant workers, who basically turned
the vineyard into the land of murders (Matthew 21:33-45).
The Second Reading (Philippians 2:1-11) calls us to
live a virtuous life, especially with an emphasis on the virtue of humility,
manifested in selflessness, in order to safeguard against vices. And we are
humbly minded that it was Christ himself demonstrated humility, as well as, obedience,
for our salvation. Thus, Paul wrote:
Have among yourselves the same attitude
that is also yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did
not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied
himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human
in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a
cross (Philippians 2:5-8).
In his letter to Dioscorus, St. Augustine of Hippo prescribed
the virtue of humility, as the foundation of all virtues, to this young proud
orator, through these words in the hope for him to turn away from the vice of
pride to the virtue of humility:
My Dioscorus, I desire you to submit
yourself with unreserved piety, and I wish you to prepare for yourself no other
way of seizing and holding the truth than that which has been prepared by Him
who, as God, saw the weakness of our goings. In that way the first part is
humility; the second, humility; the third, humility: and this I would continue
to repeat as often as you might ask direction, not that there are no other
instructions which may be given, but because, unless humility precede,
accompany, and follow every good action which we perform, being at once the
object which we keep before our eyes, the support to which we cling, and the
monitor by which we are restrained, pride wrests wholly from our hand any good
work on which we are congratulating ourselves. All other vices are to be
apprehended when we are doing wrong; but pride is to be feared even when we do
right actions, lest those things which are done in a praiseworthy manner be
spoiled by the desire for praise itself (St. Augustine, Letter
118, paragraph 22).
Basically, humility and obedience go hand in hand. And
this combination makes a very powerful antidote to vices. Laking the twofold
virtue of humility-obedience puts us at risk of becoming hypocrites like the
chief priests and the elders, who did not believe in Jesus and his authority,
as they did not believe John the Baptist and repent. Because of their lack of
humility, they failed to maintain a life of virtuousness with obedience to God’s
will to serve as the chief priests and elders, contrary to the vows they had
taken.
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