Sunday 1st of October
“Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.”
Matthew 21: 28-32
People today are sensitive to hypocrisy. We say that you need to ‘walk the talk”. This saying is based on the first letter of St John, where he said whoever says, “I abide in Jesus,” ought to walk just as He walked. Jesus emphasised authenticity to the chief priests and the elders of the people who were experts in the Jewish law and in following the codes of what to eat and what to wear. They heard God’s way of righteousness, but they did not put His love into practice.
The elders were like the second son, who said that he would do his father’s will, but did nothing. The tax collectors betrayed their own people and were corrupt, and the prostitutes were impure, so they were two of the most rejected groups in Jewish society. But they were like the first son who admitted his mistake, changed his life and entered into the kingdom of God. Which group do we want to join, the people who are too proud to listen to the Good News, or those who admit their need for God and follow Jesus?