The Transfer of the Holy Relics of the First-martyr and Archdeacon Stephen (5th c.).
Dormition Fast. Abstention from meat and foods that contain meat.
1 Corinthians 16:4-12; Matthew 21:28-32.
Read Matthew 21:28-32
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
Jesus teaches about who actually does the will of His Father. In the parable, the first son initially said “no” to his father’s command but then regretted it and proceeded to obey him. The second son said “yes” to his father but never actually followed through.
This parable also demonstrates how outward appearances aren’t everything. From the sound of it, the first son was disobedient and the second one was obedient, but since the first son did what his father commanded, he was the one who was actually obedient.
Jesus comments that the “tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you,” that is, before the chief priests and elders (Mt. 21:23). The tax collectors and harlots were seemingly sinners who rejected God’s will whereas the chief priests and elders were seemingly the righteous ones who obeyed God. However, Jesus explains that the tax collectors and harlots believed the preaching of John the Baptist and his message to repent, whereas the chief priests and elders heard his preaching and “did not afterward relent and believe him” (Mt. 21:32).
To follow God’s will in our lives requires action. We need to be moving away from sin and moving towards life with God. Telling God “yes” and then living lazily is akin to receiving talents from our master and burying them in the ground instead of working to multiply them (see Mt. 25:14-30). Like in the parable of the ten virgins, if we do not use our lives to prepare to meet God, the bridegroom, we may find the door to the kingdom shut. If we call out, “Lord, Lord, open to us!”, He may answer and say, “Assuredly I say to you, I do not know you” (Mt. 25:11-12).
No matter the sins we’ve committed in our lives, every moment is an opportunity for repentance. Every moment of our lives is a gift from God in which we can turn to Him and make the decision not to be the kind of person we were a moment before. We can always make a decision to repent and then follow through with our decision, changing the ways we think and act to become more Christ-like by the grace of God. Let us not only decide to be followers of Christ, but let us also take action and live seeking to fulfill the will of our Father.