And the son answered, ‘I don’t want to.’ But later he thought better of it and went. Then
the father went to his other son and said the same thing to him. 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.

READ: Ezekiel makes it clear that our lives are not determined by a single
choice. Each day we decide anew if we will obey God’s commandments and
live justly or not. Each day we choose the path of life or the path of death.
Jesus’ parable reminds us that each moment of our life is a new opportunity
to follow him. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians describes the life of a disciple:
living in unity, caring for each other, and loving selflessly.

REFLECT: Riding in the highway, I see signs announcing, “Last exit before
toll” or “last fuel for seventy-five miles.” We’re always on the lookout for
last chances. Jesus’ parable in today’s Gospel reminds us that, as long as
we are alive, we can always turn back to the Lord and seek holiness. Good
intentions are not enough. We need to take action, turning away from sin
and pursuing holiness. It is easy to say that we want to be good, pray more,
love wholeheartedly, but it is much harder to put action behind these words.

PRAY: Lord, help me to do the things I need to do to grow closer to you.

ACT: Choose one spiritual goal and do something to put it into practice.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2023