Dear Brothers and Sisters,
It is a strong word for the Pharisees, religious leaders, ministers, those who think they are already saints. They are the ‘good ones’ because they fulfill the Law and have certain functions as scribes and high priest. They thought that they are good, but then they hear Jesus say that tax collectors and prostitutes are winning the race to the kingdom of heaven. They are totally confused. The kingdom of heaven is not heaven. The kingdom of heaven has already come; it is Jesus Christ. This is why sinners are front runners in the race because they welcome Christ. You cannot welcome Christ unless you are poor and needy.
In the gospel, our Lord gives us a wonderful example. A man had two sons and he tells both of them to go and work in the vineyard and one says, no, he doesn’t want to go, but he regrets it later and goes. The other says, yes, yes, yes, yes, and never goes. Who does the will of the Father; it is the one who goes! We can frame this gospel in a few words: doing God’s will.
When we speak of doing God’s will I sense that everyone feels a bit heavy as if it is something horrible. This shows that you have been deceived by the devil as Adam and Eve were. They were told that they are not free because they have to do what God told them. Why do you have to do the will of God? If you do your own will, you will be happy, and so they ate the apple and lost paradise. Doing God’s will means you will be truly living in heaven. Heaven is to accept God’s will. It is one thing to do the will of God and another thing is to accept his will when unexpected things turn up, and you welcome them. Can you say to the Lord, I accept what you are doing in my life; I accept this economic precariousness; I accept this old age; I accept this disease, this loneliness; I accept all that you are giving me. I accept your will in my life.
Jesus said doing my Father’s will is that all men be saved! Doing God’s will is that I collaborate in saving all men and women because I cannot save anyone, only God can. How do I collaborate in doing God’s will? How is one saved, by loving them. The love that the Christian has for the enemy is what saves them. Look at the great number of martyrs who gave their life for those who are killing them: love saves! Hate doesn’t save; making demands doesn’t save; contempt for the other doesn’t save. I watched the movie Hacksaw Ridge recently. The medic who was nearly court-martialed for not picking up a gun and yet he saved some seventy-five men when everyone else ran and even saved some of the enemy. How do I do God’s will, by loving! This is doing God’s will! And it doesn’t matter if I am a priest, married or a single person.
What is doing God’s will for each of them? God calls you to a particular state in life: single, married, priest, according to where you will love more, where you will love the most. I stayed single to serve the Church for some forty-five years in one sense because it was easier, but in a deeper way because he knew I would love more this way. If I married, I would have never loved anyone. I would have made one woman very unhappy. As a priest I don’t love much, but certainly more than I would have as a married man. The Lord calls us to the mission where we can love the most. His will for us is to love.
We can love like the naturally religious person or the pietistic person who comes to warm a pew in the church. He is the one who always reminds us of what Father said: do this, don’t do that. He knows the liturgy and the by heart. He applies it to everyone but not himself. Then in every group there are people who think they are good because they do this and that and without them nothing would work. There are brothers or sisters who say: yes, yes, yes, when they are asked to work in the vineyard, but they don’t go, because to go to the vineyard means to do the will of God. If this sounds like you, the Lord will help you and me today. Some people spend their whole life telling God: you have to do my will, or I do what I think is your will, but it is far from what God wants.
The Word of God we hear today is God’s will and how do I do his will? The gospel of the healing of the leper can help us. He goes to Jesus and says, Sir, if you wish you can cure me, if you want you can cure me. It sounds absurd, but this man is saying: I want to do the will of God, and if you want, if it fits into your will, then make me clean. I want to be cured but do so only if you want. If not, I will accept it. This is how a Christian prays, adhering to God’s will. He is saying that I know that whatever you give me is good because you are a good father. We should start from this point. Doing God’s will is not doing bad things. We may often find it difficult, of course, and it costs us a lot to do it, like the son in the gospel who says, I don’t want to go but in the end, he regrets it, and he goes. It is a good expression: he regrets it, and then he goes. You can say he converts; he changes and does the will of the father.
Why are prostitutes and tax collectors at the head of the pack entering the kingdom of heaven? Because they convert. The Church needs sinners who convert. The Church needs saints, not goody goodies. We need holy people with their sins, weaknesses, with their sufferings, with their poverty who can love. They want to do God’s will and they bless God for everything he is doing in their life. A saint is one who wants to do the will of God and God will help him/her. It is God’s will that all men be saved. So, I collaborate in doing his will, which is to love the other. The saint is not to be sinless or perfect, who always carries holy water and is super generous and never speaks ill of anyone. First of all, a saint is one who sees his sins and wants to stop doing them. He knows that he cannot on his own and he asks for God’s help, who sends his Son in order to help us. Jesus Christ is the one who makes us saints.
So let us be like the brother who says he doesn’t want to go, but then goes. Perhaps you came to the Mass today not wanting to do God’s will or not even thinking about it. I hope you can leave saying: I accept his will in my life; I want it. Thank you, Lord, for all that you give me.
There is a saint who always says: Lord, I am happy, I am totally content with what you are doing with me. A saint is always full of joy. So, let’s be happy with what the Lord gives us, be content, be at peace. Be able to say, and to know, that God gives me only what is best for me.