Patrick Comerford
We have passed the half-way mark in the Season of Advent, and the countdown to Christmas continues gathered pace. The week began with the Third Sunday of Advent (Advent III, 14 December 2025), also known as Gaudete Sunday, and we are also in the eight-day Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:
1, today’s Gospel reading;
2, a short reflection;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
Matthew 21: 28-32 (NRSVA):
[Jesus said:] 28 ‘What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” 29 He answered, “I will not”; but later he changed his mind and went. 30 The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, “I go, sir”; but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, the tax-collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax-collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.’
Today’s Reflections:
We begin this week reflecting in the Sunday readings and in our prayers at lighting the third, pink candle on the Advent Wreath, on the life and ministry of Saint John the Baptist, and this continues in our Gospel readings yesterday and today.
Today’s Gospel reading at the Eucharist (Matthew 21: 28-32) follows immediately from yesterday’s reading (Matthew 21: 23-27), when the authority of Jesus was called into question.
In today’s reading, Jesus offers the religious leaders of the day a parable. He tells of two sons who are asked by their father to go and work in his vineyard. One refuses to go, but later repents and goes. The other son says he is going, but does not go. Jesus then asks: ‘Which of the two did the will of his father?’ (Matthew 21: 31).
Doing is more important than saying, deeds are more important than words, throughout the Gospels. As Jesus says earlier in this Gospel: ‘Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven …’ (Matthew 7: 21).
The important thing is actually to carry out the will of God in our daily lives.
Today’s parable points to the situation Jesus is facing. The religious leaders of the day and many of the apparently religious people, believe they are following God’s ways, but refuse to believe in John the Baptist or, after him, in Jesus. On the other hand, people who are perceived as sinful and as violators of the Law – tax collectors and prostitutes, for example – respond to John’s call to repentance. They were deeply moved by John’s preaching, changed their ways, and were baptised by him in the Jordan.
Even after that, the religious leaders still make no move. When Jesus comes, the religious leaders once again refuse to see God’s hand in all he is doing, while huge crowds gather round him.
The religious leaders of the day are like the son who says ‘Yes’ to his father’s word but does not follow this out in day-to-day life. They are experts in the wording and the interpretation of the Law. The sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes, who have constantly violated the Law of God, repent and change their way. It is clear which group is finding its way into the Kingdom.
Am I proud and arrogant like the priests and religious leaders in today’s Gospel reading?
Do I think arrogantly that because I am a practising Christian, I am in a privileged and untouchable position?
Do I spend too much time praying and not enough time showing God’s love?
Do I find myself speaking in critical or condescending ways of less devout Christians, or of people who do not seem to be very moral by my standards?
I have said yes to God in my baptism, in my Church membership and in my ordination vows. But do I continue to carry out what God is asking me to do?
Perhaps I need to realise that I am in no position to judge others. Perhaps I am not doing so well compared with others who have never had the support of a Christian faith and a Christian environment.
As Christmas approaches, I need to strive to be a follower of Christ in deeds as well as in words.
Today’s Prayers (Tuesday 16 December 2025):
The theme this week (14 to 20 December 2025) in Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘The Floating Church’ (pp 10-11). This theme was introduced on Sunday with a Programme Update by Sister Veronica of the Community of the Sisters of the Church in Melanesia.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Tuesday 16 December 2025) invites us to pray:
We pray for the school at Tetete Ni Kolivuti, for the Sisters who teach, and for the children who attend. Protect them during the monsoon season and grant gentle rains so learning may continue safely. May the children grow in knowledge, faith, and hope.
The Collect:
O Lord Jesus Christ,
who at your first coming sent your messenger
to prepare your way before you:
grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries
may likewise so prepare and make ready your way
by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world
we may be found an acceptable people in your sight;
for you are alive and reign with the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
We give you thanks, O Lord, for these heavenly gifts;
kindle in us the fire of your Spirit
that when your Christ comes again
we may shine as lights before his face;
who is alive and reigns now and for ever
Additional Collect:
God for whom we watch and wait,
you sent John the Baptist to prepare the way of your Son:
give us courage to speak the truth,
to hunger for justice,
and to suffer for the cause of right,
with Jesus Christ our Lord.
Yesterday’s Reflections
Continued Tomorrow
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
