A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.' He said in reply, 'I will not, 'but afterward changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, 'Yes, sir, 'but did not go. Which of the two did his father's will?" Matt 21:28-30
Friends, God is good, all the time.
When we make promises, we are expected to honor them. We call promises that are not followed through EMPTY, and no one appreciates empty words. Our words do not have the power of inducement or effect by themselves; it is the human will to act on the basis of the words that cause the words to hold true for our families, friends, colleagues, or an organization without amounting to broken promises. And what is even more excellent is that in dealing with others, let them discover that the help we give them is more than we promise and what we need from others is less than we said.
Jesus shares a story about a family, a man, and his two sons. One son received orders from the father to go and work in the vineyard, but he said no. However, he changed his mind and went to the farm, which was what the father's desire was. The second son said yes upon receiving the order, but he never honored his father's desire of working in the farm. Two related issues emerge in the story for our learning and practice:
First, affirming the opinion of the chief priests and the scribes that the first son ultimately followed through with the father's wish, Jesus pointed out how they( the leaders) have taken the places of honor and responsibility in Judaism and the community, and yet their hearts have not responded to the will of God. They labeled certain people as "sinners" and undeserving of recognition as God's children, yet such people rather have always shown interest in God's messengers and the works of repentance and salvation. A parallel story is narrated by the prophet Nathan concerning David, and how he used his power as the king of Israel to murder Uriah and to take his wife (Cf 2 Sam 12). The truth is that the power and control of leadership are meant for showing mercy, compassion, and support for the poor, the weak, the vulnerable, and those on society's fringes; they are not meant for breaking the rules while enforcing them on others.
Second, doing more than what we say is more honorable than doing less of it. It means we should be people of our words and keep our promises. There are many things we don't have control over, but we can always have control over our will to do what we say. And in the end, doing what we say is far better than ignoring them. It’s walking the walk instead of talking the talk of some sort. Sadly, often when promises are broken, they occur more within families. It should not be so; keeping our words towards spouses, children, parents matter in the same way it matters to honor them to friends, colleagues, the church, and all groups and organizations.
Prayer blessings: Father, we thank you for giving us your word to guide and shape our lives on earth. As certain as the night follows the day, so are you faithful to your promises. We entreat you to help us to learn from you and match our promises with the will to act. Amen.