Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
1. Let Our Yes Be Yes 2. We Say at Times a Reluctant Yes
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Greeting (See 2 Cor 1:18-20)
The Son of God, Jesus Christ,
was never Yes-and-No.
His nature is all Yes.
Therefore it is through him
that we say our Yes to God.
May the Lord Jesus be always with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
1. Let Our Yes Be Yes
We admire parents and educators who are so patient with the young that when they make mistakes or refuse to take up their responsibilities, they give them the time to change their minds. That is what God is doing all the time with us. He patiently waits for us. He gives us new chances. Could we do the same with one another? Let us ask Jesus in this Eucharist that with him we may always say Yes.
2. Our Yes Is At Times Reluctant
Quite often we feel within us the tension between what we know to be right and our own interests and inclinations. We usually know what our faith demands and yet we act against it or give only a reluctant Yes. Let us ask Jesus in this Eucharist that we may always say Yes with him.
Penitential Act
Too often we have gone our own ways
and done our will rather than God’s.
Let us ask forgiveness from the Lord.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, your Yes was a firm Yes
to the will of the Father,
even when it led you to suffering and the cross.
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, your word was reliable,
for you lived as you believed:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, we owe forgiveness and life
to your Yes to the Father:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Lord, forgive us our hesitations
and cowardice in living up to the Gospel.
Help us to serve you with generous love
and lead us to everlasting live. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray
that we may answer God’s call
with love and faithfulness
(pause)
Loving Father,
you do not want sinners to die,
but to turn away from sin
and to do what is right,
so that they may live.
You know that we are weak and fragile.
Keep forgiving us,
give us the mentality of Jesus,
that with him we may say Yes to you
with the deep love of those who have been forgiven.
Make us merciful to others too.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading
We Are Responsible for What We Do: The prophet Ezekiel insists in the name of God on personal responsibility for the good or evil we do. God seeks to forgive us and wants us to live in his love.
But you say: The Lord’s way is not just! Why, Israel! Is my judgment wrong? Or is it rather that yours is wrong?
If a righteous man turns from his righteous deeds and sins, he will die because of his sins.
And if the wicked man does what is good and right after turning from the sins he committed, he will save his life.
He will live and not die because he has opened his eyes and turned from the sins he had committed.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (6a) Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your love are from of old.
The sins of my youth and my frailties remember not;
in your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
and teaches the humble his way.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Second Reading
or Philippians 2:1-5
Be Self-effacing With Christ: We must have the same fundamental disposition as Christ our Lord, namely, to be humble and self-effacing before God and people.
Christian Love and the Humility of Christ
If I may advise you, in the name of Christ, and if you can hear it as the voice of love; if we share the same Spirit and are capable of mercy and compassion, then I beg you:
make me very happy—have one love, one Spirit, one feeling.
Do nothing out of rivalry or vain conceit. Let each of you gently consider the others as more important than yourselves.
Don’t pursue your own interest, but rather, that of others.
Your attitude should mirror that of Jesus Christ.
Though he was in the form of God,
he did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped.
Instead, he emptied himself
by taking on the nature of a servant,
made in human likeness,
and appeared as a man,
He humbled himself
by obediently facing death
—death on the cross.
That is why God exalted him
and gave him the name
above all names,
so that at the name of Jesus, all knees should bow
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Which of These Sons Am I?: The self-righteous leaders of the people reject Jesus and condemn sinners. The sinners welcome Jesus and are converted. Who does the will of God? With whom do we identify?
Parable of the Two Sons
Jesus continued, saying: “What do you think of this? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said to him, ‘Son, go and work today in my vineyard.’”
And the son replied: ‘I don’t want to.’ But later, he reconsidered and went.
Then the father went to his other son and said the same thing to him. This son replied: ‘I will go, sir,’ but he did not go.
Which of the two did what the father wanted?”
They answered:
“The first.”
And Jesus said to them:
“Truly, I tell you: tax collectors and the prostitutes are ahead of you on the way to the kingdom of heaven.
For John came to show you the way of goodness, and you did not believe him, but tax collectors and the prostitutes did. You witnessed this, yet you neither repented nor believed him.
Prayers of the Faithful
Let us not think of our interests first but pray for the needs of our sisters and brothers here and everywhere in the world. Let us say: R/ Lord, let your word guide us:
– With the people of God, the Church in our day, that members and leaders may be guided by the mentality of Jesus Christ in serving God and people faithfully, we pray to the Lord: R/ Lord, let your word guide us.
– With those who refuse to live according to their faith and conscience, that they may find the way back to God we pray: R/ Lord, let your word guide us.
– With those who seek God’s will in everyday life, that we may do so in all humility and with great love, aware of how fragile we all are, we pray: R/ Lord, let your word guide us.
– With those working in the mass media, that they may respect people and the truth and contribute to peace and understanding everywhere, we pray: R/ Lord, let your word guide us.
– With all those who have spoken their “I do” to God or to one another in marriage, that they may draw strength from the fidelity of Jesus and of the faithful love of good Christian families, we pray: R/ Lord, let your word guide us.
Lord our God, do not let us grow self-satisfied. Make each of us and our communities question whether we really seek your will or follow our own whims. Be our faithful and loving God now and for ever. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
we bring before you
the sacrifice of Jesus your Son.
Let our offering express that we are willing
to enter into his dispositions
of total loyalty to your will.
Help us to say with him
an unconditional Yes to your life and love
and to forget ourselves
in the service of our brothers and sisters.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
Jesus was the obedient servant who committed himself totally to the will of the Father to bring us the Father’s life and love, whatever the cost. With him we now offer ourselves.
Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer
With his obedient servant Jesus Christ
we seek God’s will and with him we pray
that we may not refuse to serve our Father well. R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us Lord, from the stranglehold
of sin and all evil.
Let your forgiveness come to us
as a liberation from our doubts and fears
and from our self-contented pride
at the expense of others.
Help us to seek your will in all we do
and to prepare for the full coming among us
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus Christ our Lord
who accepted death on the cross
while saying his Yes to the Father
to make us a free people.
Happy are we to receive him
as our glorious Lord. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
God our Father,
as a friend at table,
your Son Jesus has broken for us
his bread of peace
and spoken to us your word of forgiveness.
Let him be our strength
as we go to you and one another
our plodding way of good mixed with evil.
Help us to encourage each other
and to grow together nearer to you,
our living God, who have lifted us up
through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
We have heard Jesus’ disturbing statement
that notorious sinners may be ahead of us
in entering the Kingdom of God.
Let these hard words wake us up
from our smug self-contentment
and make us aware that our life too
is a mixture of Yes and No,
of an honest seeking to do what is right
together with moments of cowardice.
May God give you this insight and bless you:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let us go in the peace
and the love of Christ. R/ Thanks be to God.
REFLECTIONS
Matthew 21:28-32
When “Yes” Becomes Action
Jesus tells this parable after the leaders challenge his authority. A father asks two sons to work in his vineyard. The first refuses, but later changes his mind and goes. The second replies respectfully, “I go, sir,” yet never appears. When Jesus asks which son did the father’s will, the answer is clear: the first.
William Barclay titles it “The Better of Two Bad Sons.” Neither response is ideal. One son begins with disobedience; the other offers words without action. Barclay’s point is that promises cannot replace performance and fine words cannot substitute for fine deeds. The second son calls his father “sir,” displaying respect, but true courtesy is obedience given.
Jesus applies the parable to tax collectors, prostitutes, chief priests, and elders. The sinful had said “no” to God through their lives. Yet they believed John the Baptist, repented, and entered the vineyard. The religious leaders said “yes” through religious observance, but rejected John’s call and refused conversion. Their profession concealed disobedience.
Pope Francis teaches that obedience does not consist in saying “yes” or “no”; it consists in acting, cultivating the vineyard, doing good, and building God’s kingdom. He warns against religion that remains external but never changes attitudes or engages the conscience.
The Pope draws attention to sincerity. The first son is wrong but honest. Admitting resistance, he can reconsider, repent, and change direction. The second hides behind a false “yes,” protecting his image while avoiding responsibility. Pope Francis differentiated the sinner, for whom conversion remains possible, from the corrupt person who disguises disobedience and silences honest self-examination.
The parable does not praise sin or rude refusal. It proclaims that no “no” must become permanent. God patiently gives us space to reconsider and transform refusal into obedience. Yet religious language, rituals, and good intentions are worthless if they never become action.
The question is therefore not simply what we have promised, but whether we are working in the vineyard today. Does our faith become forgiveness, justice, service, honesty, and compassion? God prefers an imperfect disciple who repents and acts to an impressive believer whose “yes” remains only words.