Saying Yes vs. Doing Yes

Memorial of Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church

December 14, 2021, Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent

Readings: Click here to read full text.
    Reading I: Zep 3:1-2, 9-13 
    Responsorial Psalm: Ps 34:2-3, 6-7, 17-18, 19 and 23
    Gospel: Mt 21:28-32

Saying "yes" does not accomplish or mean anything yet until that "yes" is executed. This is what Jesus teaches us in our Gospel today. In the parable, it was the other son who refused to work in the vineyard who obeyed his father’s will. And the other son who said yes was the one who actually disobeyed. Both of them did not do what they said they would do. They changed their minds by doing the opposite. Yet at the end of the day, the one who said "no" but did the father’s will anyway, was the one who truly obeyed. Obedience, then, is not just saying yes, it is, most importantly, doing yes. It is one thing to express what we commit to doing with our faith, but it’s another thing to actually obey God’s will by acting upon it. Saying yes to God is just a word that means nothing unless it is made flesh.

Examining ourselves, we can readily identify with both of the sons, for we cannot totally say that we do God’s will all the time. At times, we can be one or the other or both; that is, we execute our yes. It is easy for us to say "yes" to God, but sometimes we find it difficult to do what our "yes" entails. God is reminding us to be more about doing our yes rather than just saying our yes. May our words be made flesh.

Fr. Joel R. Lasutaz, SSS

Image credit: crosswalk.com