Message from Fr. Cyrain

The varying attitudes of the two sons in our gospel episode today give us cause to think carefully because whether we like it or not, there is a mixture of both personalities in our make-up. Very few of us can say that, when the Lord called us, we were ready and eager to answer: “Here I am Lord, I have come to do your will.”  The gospel tells us that actions speak louder than words. If regular Sunday church attendance is not accompanied by upright Christian living, what we profess to believe has no value and amounts to no more than lip service or idle promises.

The gospel points out that there must be a connection between what we say and what we do. The trail of broken promises that each of us leaves behind shows the inconsistency between what we promise and what we do. We may be saying “yes” to God on Sunday, and turning our back on what we profess during the rest of the week. 

Many of us who say “yes” to the body of Christ don’t realize that we are saying “no” to the community of Christ when, at the church door, an age-old difference between families prevents us from speaking to a neighbor. Newly married couples have no problems saying “yes” on their wedding day but find it increasingly difficult to keep their promise through the ups and downs of life. The test of our allegiance to Christ is in keeping the promises that we have made and accepting His will, whatever it may be.