Vineyard (2026-09-27, Sunday 26th)

[ver_02]   26^th Sunday _Year A __ September 27, 2026  ● Ezekiel 18:25-28 ●  Psalm ● Philippians 2:1-11 ● Matthew 21:28-32  ●  

1. SAY AND DO — What Did They Actually Do?

It is significant to notice whom Jesus is addressing in today’s Gospel. He is speaking to the chief priests and elders—the people who are supposed to know the Law and the Prophets very well. They are the religious and legal experts.

So Jesus gives them what we might call a case study.

A man has two sons. He tells both of them to go out and work in the vineyard. The first says, “I will not,” but later changes his mind and goes. The second gives the right answer—“Yes, sir”—but then does not go.

Jesus asks: “Which of the two did his father’s will?”

The answer is obvious: the one who actually went.

Jesus is reminding these religious leaders—and you and me—that it is not enough simply to know the right answer or say the right thing. Our faith also has to become visible in what we do.

There is an old question about Christian discipleship: If you were picked up and arrested for being a Catholic, would there be enough evidence to hold and convict you?

I have to ask myself: If I’m ever picked up and arrested for being a Catholic priest, would there be enough evidence to hold and convict me?

You might say, “Padre, you would go to jail forever. You wear vestments. You live in a rectory. Your name is on the bulletin.”

But is that enough?

Beyond what I wear, where I live, and what I am called, is there evidence in the way I actually live?

2. SUNDAY AND GIFT — More Than an Hour

One place all of us can ask that question is Sunday.

Yes, you and I have an obligation as Catholics to attend Sunday Mass. But does our obligation to God end after the forty-five minutes or hour we spend at Mass?

Sunday is more than an hour.

Sunday is the Lord’s Day, the day of the Resurrection. It is a day for God, for rest, for family, for love of neighbor. Mass is at the heart of Sunday, but the sacredness of Sunday does not end when we walk out the church door.

And I especially want our children and young people to understand that.

Boys and girls, when your parents bring you to church on Sunday, they are not simply imposing another rule on you. They are giving you a gift.

They are giving you time to know that God loves you. They are giving you time to pray and worship with your family. They are reminding you that you belong to a family and to a community of faith.

And for all of us, it is never too early and never too late to begin again with Sunday Mass.

Sunday is a gift of time.

The question is: What do we do with that gift?

3. PRIORITY AND INTENTION — What Sets the Tone?

This came home to me one Christmas Day several years ago. Christmas happened to fall on a Sunday, and there was plenty of NFL football on television.

My family was together. The television was on. The games were on. We wanted to see the touchdowns, the quarterbacks, who was winning and who was losing.

Eventually Christmas dinner was served, and we tried to say grace together.

Some people participated. Some people didn't. We were out of sync. And afterward there was some dissatisfaction: We couldn't even say grace together properly on Christmas Day.

But I thought about it later.

Did the problem really begin at the dinner table? Or had it begun hours earlier—or perhaps years earlier—with the way we thought about Sunday and Christmas Day?

I am not saying you cannot watch football on Sunday. I am not saying you cannot watch the Knicks, play golf, watch a movie, go out to dinner, or enjoy yourself.

The question is: What gets the priority? What sets the tone for the day?

I can remember when youth sports were beginning to be played on Sundays in my hometown. Even then, the games tended to begin later in the afternoon. Sunday morning was still treated differently.

And some of us are old enough to remember another Sunday tradition: you called your mother or your parents on Sunday.

Why Sunday?

One practical reason was that long-distance telephone rates were cheaper on Sundays. Today, with unlimited calling, that probably sounds strange.

But there is something interesting about it. Certain things used to be built into our schedules, our communities, even our economy, that helped make Sunday different.

Many of those things are gone.

So today, perhaps we have to be more intentional.

We have to make choices about preserving time for God, for rest, for family, and for people who may need our attention.

4. VINEYARD AND TODAY — The Time God Gives Us

And that brings us back to the vineyard.

The vineyard in today's Gospel is not just a place.

The vineyard is also a time.

And this church, this Mass, this Sunday, is part of the vineyard.

The first son initially said no. But then he changed his mind.

That is one of the most hopeful parts of the Gospel.

Maybe Mass has fallen away for someone. Maybe Sunday has gradually become just another day. Maybe schedules, sports, work, phones, television, or a hundred other things have crowded out time for God and one another.

The Gospel does not say that because we once said no, the story is over.

We can change our minds. We can begin again.

It is never too late and never too early to begin again with Sunday, with Mass, with our families, and with God.

And the vineyard extends beyond Sunday. It is the time God gives us and the people God places before us: our spouses, our children, our parents as they grow older, our relatives and friends, someone who is sick or alone, someone who needs our time.

Jesus asks the chief priests and elders which son did the Father's will.

Not which one knew the correct answer.

Not which one made the better promise.

Which one actually went?

That is the invitation to you and me—not only by what we say and believe, but by the choices we make with the time God has given us.

The Father still says to each one of us:

“You, go out and work in my vineyard today.”