Today’s Gospel parable (Matt 21: 28-32) is about two brothers, one who promises but then does not obey his father, and another who stubbornly refuses to obey but then relents and complies. It reminds me of my mother, trying to get my five brothers to clean their rooms on Saturdays! On a human level, we’ve all met irritating people who promise but don’t really deliver, probably a lot of them over time. And of course, as midterm elections approach, we might think of politicians. The context of this Jesus-story, however, is religion. He is addressing the priests and elders of his Jewish faith, asking them if they are really listening to His Father. He reminds these religious leaders of how they rejected John the Baptist, even when the regular folks (lower classes and less educated Jews) recognized John’s saving message and flocked to him for baptism. You saw, Jesus says to them, but you did not later change your minds… . A recent tragedy for our Roman Catholic faith is that Pope Leo has had to excommunicate a schismatic group, the Society of Saint Pius X, after many decades of discussions between them and several popes. This group has refused to change its mind since Vatican II ended (1964); it rejects several of the Council’s main teachings. These include how the authority works in our Church and how our Church relates with other religions in our world (ecumenism). So what about us? Do we really “change our minds” by keeping up with what our popes are saying and teaching? Do we listen to them carefully, and read carefully what they say, or just rely on the snippets and dubious information on our internet feeds? Religions need to change as they move through history. We Catholics believe that the Spirit is in history and continues to reveal God to us and lead us to God in many ways, including through our bishops and popes. That’s why we listen to them, even when they say something we might find hard to hear. It’s through them in a special way that the Spirit keeps our religion refreshed and growing.
— Blog entry by Sister Mary Garascia
The post September 27, 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Obedience: a Sunday Scriptures blog first appeared on Sisters of the Precious Blood.