2021.12.14
The thoughts of Dr. Jakubinyi György Archbishop Emeritus
Tuesday, 14 December.
St John of the Cross, communion priest and church teacher. Mt 21,28-32: Parable on the disobedient brothers
It is a well-known parable: a farmer asks his two sons to go out to work in the vineyard. One of them promises, but does not go. The other refuses and then goes out anyway. Which one did his father's will? Clearly, the second one. The two sons symbolize the two covenants: the chosen people of the Old Testament promised to accept the Messiah, but when he came, they rejected him. The Gentile nations did not even know the true God, but when the Messiah came, they accepted him. Therefore the new chosen people is the Church, who--Jews and non-Jews--accepted the Messiah. For us, the lesson is that it is not enough to make baptismal vows and promises, but those promises must be fulfilled! St. John of the Cross, St. Theresa of Avila, reformer and Doctor of the Carmelite Order, did the same when reforming their religious order: they returned to the original promise without any alleviation.
