Father David Herrera - Sept 27

St. Philip Catholic Church: Growing up with my parents, one of the things that I didn't struggle a lot but was obedience to them. They'll ask me to clean up my room, to do something. And they never set a time. So for me in my mindset it was like, well, it has to be done today at some point. But for them not saying a time meant now, for me meant later on. For them that's that was a sign of disobedience. I was like, I'm still obeying, I'm still doing it, maybe l maybe at nine PM but I'm still doing it. And you know, it was one of those things that it was a struggle with me trying to understand that. later in college and in life, you know, I'm a big procrastinator, never turn things late, but I always wait until the end. And I blame them for that. but for the kids are listening, do not wait till the end for your parents to clean up your rooms. just obey them and do them right there and then. You will avoid so many difficulties with your parents as well. But we we hear the same thing in the gospel in a way. and we hear two two sons w two workers, one saying no, the other saying yes. And we all have say no to God. The four the first one says, I will not do it. And it is an honest but rebellious answer. And in different ways in our lives, if we can if we can go back and just check our lives, we have given the same answer to God. God, no, I do not want to forgive. God, no, I do not want to change. God, no, I do not have time to pray. God, I know what the church teaches, but I want to do my things my way. I know I need confession, but not yet. And ultimately this is a no to the Father, and this translates to sin. But what happens in this gospel is that it doesn't end there. There is a change of direction. The sun changes direction. His first answer does not determine his final answer. Because we have to understand, and we see this on the sun, that repentance is more than feeling guilty. It means recognizing that I am going in the wrong direction, I took the wrong turn, and I need to turn around. And then he actually gets up and goes to the vineyard. And we hear this in the first reading of Ezekiel. It gives us the exact same message. Israel complains that God is unfair, but God explains that someone who turns away from wickedness And begins doing what is right shall preserve his life. See, the great thing about God is He did He does not imprison us in our past. What matters is what we do with His invitation now. God doesn't label us according to our worst moment. Compared to the world, the world often defines people by what they have done. He is the one who fell. She's the one who made the mistake. He's always been like that. But see, God sees more than that. God sees who we can actually become if we only accept his grace. And we see this in the disciples. Peter denied Jesus. St. Paul persecuted Christians. Saint Matthew was a tax collector. But that wasn't the end of their story. They all turned around. They all went back and said yes to the Lord and took action. And the saints are also proof that our words does not have to be our last word to God. See, we see we see the second song give the right answer, yes. The second song was like, Yes, I will definitely do it. But what happens? He falls short, he never does it. And sometimes we can be just as the second son saying, Yes, Lord, I will do it. We can say and know our prayers, we can attend Mass. We can say Amen. We can call Jesus, Jesus, I want you in my life. And yet the way that we live, the way our actions reflect is still a no to f to the Father. Because us as Christians, it's not about Just saying the correct things to God, but actually acting up on them. If I say yes to the Lord, I have to act on that. Our actions have to catch up with our words. And Saint Paul gives us the exact and the perfect example of what is it to be a good son. And he set his sight on Jesus Christ. Because Christ not merely say yes to the Father. His entire life became a yes. His obedience goes all the way to the cross. He answered that yes with his actions. Brothers and sisters, the question is simply have I ever said no to God? We all have, and we will continue probably to do so. The question is are we willing to turn around while Will my answer be today? Maybe I have been saying no to forgiveness, maybe I have been saying no to confession, no to prayer, not to offer some type of service, not to changing a sinful habit, not repairing a relationship that needs to be repaired, or maybe I've been saying no to something God has been asking me for a long time. The story for us doesn't end there because the gospel gives us hope. It shows that God continues to be patient to each of us. But it so it also shows us the freedom of our hearts to change that no to yes, Lord, I will do it. But it doesn't end there. It's not just a yes. We have to show it with our actions. We have to allow our actions to follow that yes to the Lord. May the Lord give us the grace today and this week that whenever we say yes to God, we show that yes to others with our actions, the way we treat them. And we remind that of that dignity that He has given us of beloved sons of God. Our yes to God combined with our actions. can change lives but also can lead others to conversion.