Repent And Follow Him

Would someone be able to tell that you are a Christian based on your actions? If they never had a chance to speak with you but only saw what you did, would they know that you are a disciple of Christ? That is an important thought for us to ponder on this Memorial of Saint Lucy. Jesus is telling us today that saying we are going to follow the Lord is not enough. We must actually repent and follow him. Our actions must align with what comes off our lips and ultimately out of our hearts. As we read the words of the Gospel let his call to repentance penetrate your heart.

The Parable of the Two Sons

“What do you think? A man had two sons; and he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he repented and went. And he went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the harlots believed him; and even when you saw it, you did not afterward repent and believe him. Matthew 21 : 28-32

Scriptural Analysis

Jesus has just finished debating with the chief priests and elders on the topic of the identity of John the Baptist. The chief priests and elders evaded the question but Jesus will expose their rejection of John with a parable. The parable centers around a father with two sons. The father asks his sons to work in his vineyard, an image taken from the prophets, “Let me sing for my beloved a love song concerning his vineyard.” (Isaiah 5:1)

The first son refuses to work for his father. This act of defiance would have been shameful. In the Jewish culture, a son is expected to honor and obey his father, “Listen to me your father, O children; and act accordingly, that you may be kept in safety. For the Lord honored the father above the children.” (Sirach 3:1-2) However, the son later changed his mind and went out into the vineyard to work.

Now the second son is asked the same question. He agrees to work in the vineyard even addressing his father with the title sir (Lord in some translations). However, he did not actually go into the vineyard and do the work his father asked of him. This harkens back to an earlier message from Jesus where he warns against those who call him Lord but do not do the Father’s will, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21) Jesus asks, which of the two sons did the will of the father? Clearly, it was the first son who initially refused but then went into the vineyard and did as his father asked of him.

Now Jesus turns up the heat. He tells the religious leaders that tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the Kingdom of God before they will. These people were considered social outcasts, at the bottom of the societal ladder and certainly outside the covenant. They were looked down on by the chief priests and elders. However, these people, who initially rebelled against God, heard the words of John the Baptist. They repented and amended their ways. Still, that Jesus would say this class of people would enter the kingdom first would have been astounding and offensive.

Jesus links the chief priests and elders with the second son. They had the law and studied it: knew it inside and out. In taking their office they said that they would do the will of God. However, when God sent a prophet in John the Baptist, they did not listen to him and they did not repent. They will watch others enter the kingdom before them. What is implied is if they do not repent, they will be left outside the kingdom entirely.

Saint Lucy

Today the Church celebrates the Memorial of Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr. There is not much known for certain with regard to the life of Saint Lucy. We know she was a young woman who lived in the fourth century during a time of great persecution of the Christians. She lost her life as a result of that persecution. By the sixth century, we see that veneration of her has spread to the whole church.

Legend has it that she wanted to live her life in service of Christ but her mother had arranged for her to be married to a pagan. Inspire by devotion to Saint Agatha, Lucy devised a plan to get her mother to allow her to enter religious life. Upset over being rejected, the bridegroom betrayed Lucy and turned her in as a Christian. The government attempted to defile her by making her work in a brothel but she refused and the guards were physically unable to move her. They attempted to set her on fire but the wood would not burn so finally they used their swords to kill her. Legend also has it that Lucy removed her own eyes because her suitor admired them greatly. However, when her body was prepared for burial, her eyes had been restored.

Daily Application

Jesus’s message in the parable of the two sons is fairly direct yet as we read the parable, we often overlook an important detail. Neither son was perfect; both had their faults. Jesus is not praising either son nor is he praising the tax collectors and prostitutes over the chief priests and elders. He presents us with two sets of flawed people and through their flaws attempts to provide us with a path forward.

What we need to take from this parable then is a deeper understanding of what Jesus is ultimately calling for. He demands a repentant heart and shows us that ultimately, the state of our heart is expressed in our actions. The first son refused to help his father initially but then had an interior conversion, a repentance of the heart. That caused him to change course and obey his father. The second son said he would obey but that was lip service. He was not motivated by a repentant heart and thus he did not follow through with that promise.

John the Baptist, like so many of the prophets that came before him, called the people of his time to repentance. The word repentance means, “To feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one’s wrongdoing or sin.” It is an interior movement whereby one realizes what they have said and done is wrong and they express remorse or sorrow for that.

Recall the first line of the Act of Contrition which is spoken after one confesses their sins before the priest pronounces the words of absolution, “I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins.” This develops the notion of repentance further by adding the word Thee. The reason we express sorrow and remorse is because we have transgressed against the law of God.

This call to repentance from the prophets, from John, from Jesus, and from the Church to this very day is a call based upon the fact that sin damages our relationship with God. Sin damages the very essence of why humans exist: why we were created. Recall the answer from the Baltimore Catechism to the question, “Why did God make you?”

God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.

Sin destroys this key component of our identity and thus any desire to grow in relationship with God and ultimately in relationship with one another first starts with repentance. That relationship with God must be restored.

This is what all of the great Saints throughout history have known. Consider Saint Lucy. She knew full well that her identity, her very existence was as a daughter of God. Nothing was more important to her. She would rather die than turn her back on that or enter into sin. In the parable of the two sons, the first son figured that out, repented, and carried out the will of his father. So too did the tax collectors and prostitutes, upon hearing the call of John, repent and make right.

Of course, the final statement we make in the act of contrition is that, “with the help of Thy grace to sin no more.” In other words, our actions change. Confession solidifies in us a repentant heart and from that heart flows actions that are aligned. We obey our father’s request to work in the vineyard. We leave behind our sinful lifestyle. Our actions take on the quality of our repentant hearts.

As we draw closer to Christmas, take advantage of these last few days of Advent. Find time to go to confession and cleanse your heart. Even if you don’t have unrepentant mortal sin, it is good to avail yourself of the sacrament. Once your heart is aligned with God, your actions soon follow. People will see that and without ever hearing a word from you they know that you are a disciple of Christ, the one who is to come.

Additional Resources

#TheGospelOfMatthew