This son replied, ‘I will go, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did what the father wanted?”
They answered, “The first.”
And Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you:
the publicans and the prostitutes are ahead of you on the way to the kingdom of heaven.
For John came, to show you the way of goodness, and you did not believe him;
but the publicans and the prostitutes did. You were witnesses of this,
but you neither repented nor believed him.
REFLECTION:
Privileges give us advantages over others.
Receiving special treatment can mean much specially when one is quite tired or harassed.
But it can also be quite dangerous. There lurks in being privileged the danger of undue sense of entitlement.
The end result of this undue sense of entitlement is the withdrawal of the privilege.
Such is the lesson of the readings of this day.
Israel’s pride results in the privilege being transferred to others more worthy.
This is the meaning of the parable of the two sons in the Gospel.
The first reading from Zephania prophesies the blessing of the pagans, non-Israelites.
And that prophecy includes us!
With privilege comes responsibility. John the Baptist prophesied right,
that when the Lord would come the wicked – those who refuse to repent – shall get their just desserts.
Those who repent shall enter the Kingdom. May we be counted among those who repent!
Those who repent are those whom Jesus earlier referred to as the “least in the kingdom of God” (see Gospel of December 10)
© Copyright Bible Diary 2020