Afresh for God

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

September 27, 2026

📖 LITURGICAL READINGS
First Reading	Ezekiel 18:25-28
Responsorial Psalm	Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Second Reading	Philippians 2:1-11
Gospel	Matthew 21:28-32

🌱 Reflection

Author: Rev. Fr. Reginaldo V. Lavilla, MSP

The German theologian Karl Rahner invites us to reflect on a profound truth: we cannot fully understand ourselves apart from God, nor can we truly understand God without considering the human person. Yet today, humanity is often understood with little or no reference to God. We tend to think that we can reach our full potential and attain true freedom only by setting religion aside, treating it as myth or as a mere creation of the human mind. But what do we see around us? Where are we going? Are we losing the timeless search for the meaning and purpose of human life?

This Sunday’s three readings draw us to God’s call to conversion and transformation: a change of mind and heart, a turning away from sin, pride and self-sufficiency, and a humble return to God’s ways. In the first reading (Ezekiel 18:25-28), Ezekiel speaks of God’s promise that those who turn from evil and do what is right and just “shall preserve their life… they shall surely live, they shall not die.” Here, death refers not only to physical death but also to spiritual emptiness. Many people today are alive, yet do not truly live; they pass through life without purpose, hope, or vitality, like “dead men walking.” We experience meaninglessness and despair, yet still insist on our own way, resist God, and remain enclosed in the small worlds we have made for ourselves. We want life on our own terms.

St. Paul proposed a way of conversion as he wrote to the Philippians (2:1-11) in the second reading.  He found that they were living in rivalry, and pride and arrogance are causing them division.  He urged them to put on the mind, the attitude of Christ, “Though he was in the form of God, he did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at.”  This is “kenosis,” Jesus’ self-emptying for the sake of love. His way is humility and obedience to the will of the Father.  His is downward mobility.  However, St. Paul is also quite clear that this is the way of being exalted by God.  This is indeed contrary to the culture of the world where unrestrained self-assertion is the way to fame and power even it means indifference to God and to others.

In the parable of the two sons (Matthew 21:28-32), Jesus reveals the attitudes that shape our response to God’s call. One son refuses his father’s request to work in the vineyard but later changes his mind and goes. The other says yes but does not follow through. Through this contrast, the first son becomes a vivid image of conversion: a change of heart and mind that turns us toward the mercy and love of God revealed in Jesus Christ. We see a similar movement in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). When the son comes to his senses and returns home, the father welcomes him with abundant mercy and love. Likewise, we are invited to let God’s mercy take hold of us and shape the way we live.

True conversion is more than saying yes with our lips while our hearts remain unchanged. God desires a sincere change of heart more than eloquent words. This grace is God’s gift, yet it also grows through honest self-examination, humility, and the willingness to turn toward God for healing and reconciliation. To be converted is to fall afresh for God, who gives us new life in Jesus Christ.