Tuesday, December 15, 2020 - Third week of Advent - Gospel of Jesus Christ according to St. Matthew 21, 28-32 - Come, Lord, do not delay any longer, deliver your people from their sins!

Usually it is his opponents who question Jesus to trap him, especially the chief priests and elders. But here it is the opposite that happens, it is Jesus who takes their opinions, so that they express what they really have in their hearts. Two brothers are sent by their father to take care of his vineyard. The first one, the elder, immediately replied, "I will not go," but he regretted it and complied. The second, the younger, did not refuse: "I will go," but he did not. From these two opposing cases, we learn a lesson: "Which of the two did his father's will?" Perhaps we would be tempted to do justice to the elder son, and to blame the younger one by labeling him a good talker.

Brothers, we human beings all have different temperaments and all act differently. For the same mission, the same call from God, there are always those who deliberately close their eyes and do not worry at all about what is entrusted to them. We must take our lives in hand and we are fully responsible for them. God has made us the instrument of our fulfillment and that of our neighbors. Let us beware then, regret does not precede to correct but follows to mock! With our behavior, it would seem that it is God who bends to human choice! Why is this?

Faced with God's will, refusal is not an option, and consent must be fully carried out. To bend to God's will, we must make it a motto, a rule of life, lest the words of Jesus be effective for us: "tax collectors and prostitutes precede you into the kingdom of God".

Jesus! So many times we have neglected the mission You have entrusted to us, do not judge us by our weaknesses, but by our efforts accompanied by Your blessing. Amen!