The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

September 27, 2026 – Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time  - Matthew 21:28-32

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
Download this simple process to Prepare for Sunday using the Observe, Judge, Act Method

 Last week we thought about one of the more challenging of Jesus’s parables where there seemed to be a mistake made in justly paying workers. Those who worked all day received the same earnings as those who worked just briefly. Today’s gospel parable seems to make more sense. Two sons are asked by their father to do some work for him.  One said he won’t do it and then did the work. The other says he would do it but in the end doesn’t. Jesus asks which one was the better son. The answer seems obvious. The one who did the work is the better son.

The phrase that came to my mind was “actions speak louder than words.” I looked this up on the sometimes reliable internet and learned that the phrase is first attributed to St. Anthony of Padua in the Twelfth Century, who is more known for finding lost objects. It is also words spoken by Ben Franklin and Abe Lincoln. I vaguely recall my parents using some version of them to me. In other words, there is genuine wisdom there.

And why is it often timely advice? Probably because we are all sometimes guilty of saying we will do one thing, and later we don’t. My wife can no doubt offer evidence of this tendency in me. We may excuse our lack of follow through to forgetfulness, but, let’s be honest, it’s often laziness or simply an unwillingness to do what is requested.

 But there is another lesson in this gospel. The importance of what we do, Our actions that contribute to a better life for ourselves and others. Often our actions are pre-determined by jobs, the work we do to earn money to support ourselves and those who depend on our financial support.  

But there is also what we do, not for financial gain, but simply to improve life for others. This might be volunteer work to help the less fortunate. Or simply what we do to help an elderly neighbor (like me). 

This extra work is often freely chosen so it arises from an interior attitude we might have to simply make the world a better place. Often these extra activities are unnoticed and unrewarded except in the awareness we have that we have tried to do something extra, They flow from a generosity that is at the heart of why you and I exist at all. God created us to know, love and serve God and be happy with God in the next life. An old catechism answer that still contains immense truth.  

David M. Thomas, PhD