Part of the homily originally delivered in Filipino on the occasion of the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time at the chapel of Barrio Visaya, Guadalupe Nuevo, Makati City
We begin our reflection on today's mass readings with this situation and question:
It is time to elect a new world leader, and only your vote counts. Here are the facts about the three leading candidates.
Candidate A
Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologers. He's had two Mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.
Candidate B
He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening.
Candidate C
He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't smoke, drinks an occasional beer, and never cheated on his wife.
Who would you vote for and what made you choose or vote for your candidate?
Interestingly, the people cited in as candidates were actual people, in fact prominent leaders, in world history. Let us then reveal who these candidates are:
Candidate A – Franklin D. Roosevelt (32nd President of the United States, only U.S. president that was elected to more than two terms in office)
Candidate B – Winston Churchill (former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, known for his leadership of the U.K. during World War II)
Candidate C – Adolf Hitler (leader of the National Socialist German Worker’s Party, promoted German nationalism, anti-semitism, and anti-communism)
It seems to us that there is a common denominator with these three candidates or people mentioned in the question. Obviously, they were not perfect people as they had their own shortcomings and failures in life, whether at the start or towards the end of their respective life stories. But there was a point when they experienced change in their lives.
Change. Our readings for this Sunday look into the challenge of change in our lives as Catholic Christians. The first reading, taken from the book of the prophet Ezekiel, speaks about a change in one's heart: if a virtuous man turns away from goodness and dies, he must die by virtue of such; but if he turns back to the path of goodness, he shall preserve his life. The letter of Paul to the Philippians speaks of Christ's self-emptying love as the attitude that Christians must embrace in order to look not for their own interests but for those of others. And our gospel reading today is the parable of the two sons: the first who said no yet followed the father's will, and the second who said yes but ended flaking from his commitment.
Interestingly, Jesus related the parable to his very own audience: the chief priests and elders of the people. What happened to the two sons was already happening in his time: those who were seen as the least, the last, and the lost in the community have responded to the invitation to take part in God's kingdom, while those who were expected to live by the law did not believe in the invitation originally given by John and even now by Jesus Christ himself.
Change. Our readings challenge us to change, but not just a simple case of change. We are challenged to change from within and not just from the outside: a change of heart that is translated to action. We are also asked to change for the better and not for the worse. Moreover, such change should be directed and aligned with God's will: a change that brings life, gives life, and completes life.
And so, we ask ourselves and reflect: What important changes in our life do we seek? How do we react or respond to change? Do we see change as something to be avoided, or something to be embraced for our own good? How do we value both inner and outer changes that occur in our lives? How do we translate inner positive changes into something concrete: in our thoughts, words, deeds, and actions? Are the changes in our lives towards the good or otherwise? And how are these changes in line with our response to God's invitation to be part of His active reign in the here and now?
deo gratias.
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