26th Sunday of the Year (A)

Edited for September 27, 2026: From Sunday reflections Year 2014 (A)

September 28, 2014
Ezekiel 18:25-28
Psalm 25
Philippians 2:1-11
Matthew 21:28-32

"Which of the two did what the father wanted?"

In this parable from Jesus, He tells the story of a father who has two sons. The father owned a vineyard and wanted his sons to work in it. The father ordered his two sons, one after the other, to work in their vineyard. The first son replied "yes", but did not go and do as his father told him. The second son was a direct opposite to his brother. He said "no", but regretted it and decided to go and work in the vineyard. After Jesus finished telling this parable, He turned to those who listened and asked them: "which of the two did what the father wanted?" And the people all replied, "the second son".

This parable, as in the previous Sunday's, can also make an analogy to the reign of God. The father who owns a vineyard with sons who can work in it, is like God who asks us to work in "His vineyard". If we examine our relationship with God, we can see many times when we said "Yes", but failed to obey Him like the first son. But, when we examine our relationship with God again from another perspective, there were also many times when we have said "No", but had a change of mind and heart and went and obeyed Him like the second son: we did as the Lord wanted; to do our part in building His Kingdom.

Examining the parable again more closely, we see the importance of action over one's word. Surely, the ideal is to be men and women of integrity, that is, we "do as we say", or "we walk our talk". Integrity is not cheap. It is the result of a discipline in work and life. But even when we say the wrong thing, or if at first we did not obey what ought to be done, there is always time to have a change of mind and heart. And the second son in the parable shows us that reality of our humanity.

So like the parable of the laborers in the vineyard last Sunday, God does not give up on any of us. He wants all to listen to Him, work in His Kingdom and be saved. He continues to move in ways that we do not recognize at first, but upon deeper prayer and reflection, we see His will and discover ourselves in relation to Him. We discover how we may have been like the "first group of laborers who complained on the wage they received" and the "first son who said 'Yes' but did not go to the vineyard". But we can also discover the many times we are like the "last group of laborers who received a day's wage for working only an hour" and the "second son who said 'No' at first but repented and went to work in his father's vineyard."

The example "par excellance" of this Sunday's gospel is Jesus our Lord. He is the "only Son" who said "Yes" to the Father and went and did His Father's will. We see in the Person of Jesus our Lord that integrity is really not cheap. It cost Him His life on the Cross to be the best example of a Son to a Father for all of us. That is why Jesus instituted the Eucharist so that we may receive His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity - the Bread from Heaven. For it is in the Eucharist that we are strengthened and encouraged to say "yes" and work for our Father's Kingdom as He did by His very example.

Scripture quotes for reflection:
"Good and upright is the Lord; thus he shows sinners the way. He guides the humble to justice, he teaches the humble his way." (Psalm 25)

Notes: The text of the gospel used in this Sunday's reflection is from "The Sunday Pocket Lectionary" which is based on the Confraternity Edition of the Holy Bible. The Confraternity Edition is based partly on the Vulgate, the translation of the Bible text to Latin by St. Jerome. According to a response to a prompt to an LLM, this translation presents the elder son as saying "yes", but not going. If your bible translation is the Douay-Rheims, the Knox Bible, the Challoner Revision, or any text of this parable from the older Catholic lectionaries and missals, then they also relied on the Vulgate text. As for the version of Mt 21:28-32 which has the older son say "no" at first, but then repented and said "yes" to work at his father's vineyard, these are seen in modern Bible translations which relied on the original Hebrew/Greek sources of the text. These variation of the text are seen in such modern Bible translations as the Good News Bible, the Revised Standard Version and the NRSV, the Jerusalem Bible, and the New American Bible.

25th Sunday of the Year (A)

(Edited for September 20, 2026) Sunday reflections: (From) Years 2014 (A), 2015 (B), and 2016 (C)

September 21, 2014
Liturgical readings
Isaiah 55:6-9
Psalm 145
Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a
Matthew 20:1-16

"You go to the vineyard too."

The passage in Matthew 20 is another parable taught by Jesus: the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard. It shows how the Reign of God is like the owner of a vineyard, who hires laborers at different hours of a day. The owner went out to hire: early in the a.m., at 9:00 a.m., 12:00 noon, 3:00 p.m., and at 5:00 p.m. What is surprising about this vineyard-owner is that he continued to hire even up to the last hour of the day - at 5pm.

When work day ended, the owner of the vineyard commanded his steward to call everyone and pay each group of laborers - beginning with the last group who worked only one hour and then ending with the first group who worked early. Those who worked only 1 hour were paid a day's wage, but those who worked since the early a.m. also received a day's wage. The first group naturally complained. But the vineyard-owner explained to them, that they (the first group) had agreed to receive a day's wage. Could this vineyard-owner's business involve more than just the number of work hours? Was he emphasizing his business as more important than the laborers sense of justice?


In the parable of Jesus, that vineyard owner represented God and His ways of repaying those who respond to His call. The parable shows the nature of God's "business" as different from the human understanding of labor, hours worked, and wages. God's "business" in that parable revealed a justice that is not based on mere labor and hours worked. It is a "business" that emphasizes His judgment as the basis for His repaying the laborers. It challenges our modern economic systems to think also in terms of a God who is generous to laborers and whose judgment is based on His divine point of view. But how can we understand this "divine point of view"?

In our very secularized world of business, we can think of corporate values such as social responsibility and laws that defend the rights of all stakeholders in any enterprise. This is understood in the field of business law and ethics. But the parable in Matthew's gospel calls our attention not to what is unjust in the dealing of the vineyard-owner to the first group laborers, but to what the vineyard-owner values most: his generosity and how he exercises it with his money. Could Jesus be revealing to those who hear this parable a God whose omnipotence and omniscience in "His business" is not for us to question? Perhaps.

But this parable also suggests a God who gives importance to His judgment based on "ownership" and His generous character. It reveals a God who can surprise us with ways we do not understand because of our common but limited human knowledge and systems of dealing in the world.

The truth Jesus wants to reveal is also the truth many classic spiritual writers and theologians have always written about who our God is: Yes, He is as close to us as Jesus was to His apostles, but He still remains to be a mystery. His ways are beyond all worldly standards. It is only by the gift of faith and common reason that we learn who He is for us personally, and how He is generous to us at times when we need His generosity the most.

Scripture quote:
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts." (Isaiah 55)

Solemnity of Christmas (A)

(Edited for 12/25/2025) Reflection (from) Christmas Mass for the Day (B), December 25, 2011

Author's note: The Liturgical readings for Christmas Mass for the Day is the same for all liturgical cycles: Year A, B, & C

Liturgical readings
Isaiah 52:7-10
Psalm 98
Hebrews 1:1-6
John 1:1-18

"The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us."

Modern man has lost his rootedness in a past that was deeply religious in context. This is perhaps the reason why many have also lost the depth of listening that is a prerequisite for focusing on what truly matters in life. If one were to review the writings of great spiritual writers, one will discover a depth of understanding not often found in a modern world filled with distractions that limit our senses to surface realities.

In a sermon for Christmas, St. Bernard (a Cistercian abbot of the monastery of Clairvaux in the beginning of the 2nd millenium), describes the mystery of Christmas as follows:

"A little child has been given to us, but in Him dwells all the fullness of a divine nature...the smaller He became through His human nature the greater was His goodness; the more He lowered Himself for us, the dearer He is to us."

What can humble some human minds is the challenge to have faith in this little child, who has that fullness of divinity which contains the Wisdom of God - a Wisdom not only for the known universe that everyone knows, but also for what is unknown. In a little child, the hope of humanity is borne in the lowliness of a baby, born of a simple maiden from Nazareth.

Looking at the traditional Christmas crèche, and taking time to contemplate how God-became-flesh-in-Jesus, can fill any soul with a hope not like any hope found in the other liturgical seasons of the Catholic faith. As present external circumstances appear to be heading towards negativity and a downtrend often presented in a lot of news, the mystery of hope and joy which the Christ-Child presents every Christmas to all the faithful, is enough to dispel any form of discouragement or sorrow one may have encountered in the difficulties of life this year. And it gives all a source of hope for a future that all seek sincerely and anticipate. This hope for a future within the deepest desire of the human heart is now found in the Christmas spirit of the Eucharist itself. And it is magnified with the knowledge that the Spirit of God is present in all who receive this hope in the Eucharist in every corner of the world. The Eucharist brings that Christmas hope to every heart until it overflows and benefits others as well.

It has been two millenia since that mystery of the Word-became-flesh quietly entered human history in a small town in Bethlehem. This Spirit of the Word-became-flesh from then on continued to be poured out all over the nations through the zeal of the apostles and their followers. Even to this day, it continues to be poured out to all humanity through the Church, and all its baptized members of every culture and race. Though there are still others who may not as yet see the light of the truth of the mystery of the Incarnation, every faithful soul knows by heart, that the spirit of joy and hope which the poor Bethlehem scene brings, can still, and can continue to inspire a world in need of this Christmas spirit until the end of the world. It is the task therefore of every baptized Catholic not only to remain in this Christmas hope, but to bring it to others in the very circumstances of each one's respective work and state of life. Since the spirit of Christmas is strong and vibrant, there are no words necessary to extend the joy and the hope of the season to others.

A

• kind gesture,
• a smile (the most universal language),
• a helping hand,
• a small contribution,
• giving one's time to listen,
• to reply,
• to thank,
• to chat,
• to treat oneself and a neighbor with respect

is already an extension of the Word-made-flesh in deed.