By the Faithful Disciple
GO EVANGELIZE
It’s easy to talk a good game as Christians. We can all agree that it is right to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned and bury the dead, as the Corporal Works of Mercy instruct us. But when it comes to actually doing those things – “humbly regard[ing] others as more important than [ourselves], each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others” – we can find all sorts of reasons not to. Maybe our days are too busy or maybe we feel just the tiniest bit resentful at the idea of sharing something we’ve worked hard to earn. However, our words don’t mean much without action. Jesus says as much in today’s Gospel. If we are like the son who says yes but then does not go to work in the vineyard, we are not doing our Father’s will. We are like the chief priests who are being bypassed on the way to heaven by “tax collectors and prostitutes” who heard the word of God and believed.
PRAY
This week, let us look for ways to live out our faith. Rather than pray only with our words, let us pray with our actions. If you aren’t sure where to start, pay special consideration to the verses from the second reading, highlighted above: “Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others.”