There is an old Japanese legend that tells of a man who died and went to heaven. Heaven was beautiful full of lush gardens and glittering mansions. But then the man came to a room lined with shelves. On the shelves were stacked piles of human ears!

A heavenly guide explained that these ears belonged to all the people on earth who listened each week to the word of God, but never acted on God’s teachings. Their worship never resulted in action. When these people died, therefore, only their ears ended up in heaven.

Today’s gospel is a parable about the contrasting attitudes of two sons. The first son said ‘No’ but after he came to his senses, he did his father’s wish. The second son said ‘Yes’ but later, he did nothing.

The meaning of this parable is crystal clear. The Jewish leaders are the people who said they would obey God and then, did not. The tax collectors and the prostitutes are those who said that they would go their own way and then took God’s way. May our answer be the one who said ‘no’ but at the end he did fulfill his father’s wish.

Submitted by Fr. Joseph Dovari