(Source from The Word Among Us)

A man had two sons. (Matthew 21:28)

It wasn’t an unusual beginning for a story. In Jesus’ time, rabbis often used stories with two sons who respond to their father—and by extension, to God—in two different ways. So when Jesus told the chief priests and elders this parable, it didn’t seem so different. Here, a father tells his sons to go work in his vineyard and gets two different answers. But ironically, despite their different responses, each son teaches us something similar about the free will that God has given us.

The first son, who immediately said no to his father but afterwards went to work, teaches us that it’s always possible to change our minds and hearts. This son’s “no” wasn’t the final answer for him; he thought better of his initial response and went on to do his father’s will.

The second son, who immediately said yes but did not do what his father wanted, also teaches us that it’s always possible to change our minds and hearts. This son’s yes sounded like an obedient response to his father, but in the end, something made him change his mind and turn that “yes” to a “no.”

Jesus’ parable tells us that changing your mind can work both ways. That’s the blessing of free will that Ezekiel also describes in today’s first reading. Imagine! God loves us so much that he gives us this freedom, even when it might mean—like that second son—that we turn away from him. But Ezekiel assures the Israelites of God’s promise: when someone turns from wickedness and toward the Lord, they will receive mercy (Ezekiel 18:27-28). And that can happen no matter how long ago we have turned away from the Lord.

So take heart! It’s never too late to use your free will as God intended. If there’s a way that you’ve turned from the Lord, be like the first son in Jesus’ parable and return to him with all your heart.

“Father, I choose to do your will today.”