26th Sunday in Ordinary Time · Matthew 21:28–32
Which one did the Father’s will?
When yes becomes a way of life
This Lectio Divina for the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, leads us into Matthew 21:28–32, the parable of the two sons. One promises to obey but never goes; the other refuses, then changes his mind and enters the vineyard. Through Lectio, Meditatio, Oratio, Contemplatio and Communicatio, we receive the Word in the Augustinian Recollect spirit, in personal prayer and in community.
Invocation
Come, Holy Spirit
Come, Holy Spirit,
through whom every faithful soul
that believes in Christ is made holy
and becomes a citizen
of the city of God.
Come, Holy Spirit;
make us receptive to God’s prompting.
Kindle your fire within us,
enlighten us and lift our hearts to God.
— Saint Augustine (En. Ps. 45, 8 · Serm. 128, 4)
The Gospel
Matthew 21:28–32
Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders: “What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ The son answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
The father went to the second son and made the same request. He replied, ‘I will not,’ but later he changed his mind and went. Which of the two did his father’s will?” They answered, “The second.”
Jesus said to them, “Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Even after seeing this, you did not change your minds and believe him.”
The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ
Lectio
What the text says
Saint Augustine · On Holy Virginity 35, 35; 36, 36–37
Jesus never taught what he had not first lived. We can therefore receive his invitation with the eyes of faith: “Come to me and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart.” All the treasures of wisdom are found in him, yet he shows us that becoming small opens the way to peace.
Let everyone who longs for truth and mercy listen to him. Let the weary hear him, along with those afraid to rise and sinners making their way home from far away. The centurion, Zacchaeus, the sinful woman, tax collectors and the sick all found in Christ the possibility of a new life. Turning towards him, they learned gentleness and humility of heart.
Saint Thomas of Villanova
Some presume so much upon God’s mercy that they neglect their actions. Others place so much trust in their actions that they forget the grace of God.
Reflection
The obedience that sets us free
Christian freedom says yes to God through the shape of a life, even when the first answer was no. The second son resists, but he allows the father’s call to change his decision. His return shows that a mistaken response need not become the final one.
The two sons reveal something of us. We sometimes say the right words while pride, resentment or indifference keeps us outside the vineyard. At other times we begin with refusal, recognise the truth and set out. The decisive movement is conversion.
Knowing what is good, speaking about God or appearing religious is not enough. Jesus seeks a coherence that reaches ordinary choices. Faith takes flesh when it serves, cares and chooses the good out of love.
Tax collectors and prostitutes received John’s call because they knew they needed a new life. Those who considered themselves close to God would not let the truth correct them. The most dangerous distance may come from believing that we no longer need conversion.
Obedience to the Father does not erase freedom. It directs freedom towards the good we truly desire. A Christian yes is more than a sentence spoken once; it becomes visible in the way we live.
Meditatio
What the Word says to me
Jesus asks a simple question that brings our own attitudes into view. The Father’s will may seem clear, yet selfishness, pride and a reluctance to give ourselves can keep us still even when we know the path.
Does my answer to God remain in words, or does it become self-giving?
Those who appeared far away welcomed the message and allowed it to change them. They admitted their need for mercy and received the grace of a new beginning. Nearness to the kingdom is measured by a life opened to Christ, not by appearances.
Do I recognise my need for grace, or do I assume that I am already close enough to God?
Oratio
What I say to God
Everyone suffers when pain comes,
but not everyone responds in the same way.
What becomes a path of virtue for one
may feel unbearable to another.
In the same fire gold shines
while straw gives off smoke.
The same trial purifies one person
and overwhelms another.
— Saint Augustine (The City of God 1, 8, 2)
Contemplatio
Keep me mindful of you, Lord
In the silence…
Hear the father’s request: “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.”
The second son refuses at first, then changes his mind and goes.
Look at Jesus as he tells the parable and allow his gaze to reach your first response.
Let him look at you
“Son, go today.”
For Jesus, all is not lost when our first answer is wrong. We can still return, change and begin again.
Remain
Let Christ show you what needs to become a genuine yes today.
Pray: “Lord, may my yes to you become visible in my life.”
To contemplate is to let the Word turn intention into life.
Communicatio
In community
In him we are one
Share
Speak about what the Lord has stirred in the heart.
What has Jesus revealed in the way I respond to him?
What does moving from words to life mean for me?
Discern
Listen together for what the Lord may be saying to the community.
Where do our words and actions need greater consistency with the Gospel?
Walk
Choose one concrete yes for the coming week.
What is the Lord asking of me today?
What shared action could express our response?
converted, we answer;
together, we do the Father’s will.
Prayer
Thank you, my Lord,
for all you have given me
and inspired within me in this moment.
May my restless heart
never cease to burn
until at last it rests in you,
the one true love.
May everything be for the greater glory of your name,
as we become one mind
and one heart directed towards you,
our God.
Amen.
Prayer
For Vocations
Lord our God,
let the call of your voice reach many hearts.
May they rise and learn to live as one in you.
Prepare their hearts through your Word,
so that they may bring good news to the poor
and care for your abundant harvest.
May all whom you call to Augustinian Recollect life
hear your voice
and have the courage to do your will.
Amen.
PredicAR · Augustinian Recollects