Thoughts for the Day

Jesus said, 'What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, "Son, go and work in the vineyard today." He answered, "I will not"; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, "I go, sir"; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?'

They said, 'The first.' Jesus said to them. 'Truly I tell you, the tax-collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax-collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.'

* Picture is the 'Calling of St Matthew' - a tax collector.

(Church in Wales lectionary, from New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

These verses from Matthew, are a stinging indictment against the leaders of Israel, who support the covenant with God. Put simply, a 'covenant' is an agreement with an equal, each side offering something. Amazingly the God of Heaven and earth made a covenant with His people. He agreed to be their God, their protector, and in return they promised to obey His laws.

In this parable, Jesus tells the story of a son who reneges on the promise to do his father's work, and a son who does the work after refusing it. The chief priests and elders of the people are like the second son, they say they support the covenant with God, but in reality ignore it. The outcasts who break all the Laws of Moses, like the tax-collectors who work for the Romans, are the first son who are willing to repent.

Today, each one of us must ask ourselves, are we like the second son - we appear to sign up to Christianity but it's all smoke and mirrors? Or are we like the first son - we turn away from God or His ways initially - but are now trying with God's help to change things?

Heavenly Father,
You know the secrets of our hearts;
whether we pay lip-service to You,
or whether we truly repent of
the mistakes we make.
We cannot do this alone,
and we ask for Your help
to amend our lives and
to live closer to You.
Amen.