December 16, 2025
Tuesday of the Third Week of
Advent
Lectionary: 188
Reading
I
Thus says the
LORD:
Woe to the city, rebellious and polluted,
to the tyrannical city!
She hears no voice,
accepts no correction;
In the LORD she has not trusted,
to her God she has not drawn near.
For then I will
change and purify
the lips of the peoples,
That they all may call upon the name of the LORD,
to serve him with one accord;
From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
and as far as the recesses of the North,
they shall bring me offerings.
On that day
You need not be ashamed
of all your deeds,
your rebellious actions against me;
For then will I remove from your midst
the proud braggarts,
And you shall no longer exalt yourself
on my holy mountain.
But I will leave as a remnant in your midst
a people humble and lowly,
Who shall take refuge in the name of the LORD:
the remnant of Israel.
They shall do no wrong
and speak no lies;
Nor shall there be found in their mouths
a deceitful tongue;
They shall pasture and couch their flocks
with none to disturb them.
Responsorial
Psalm
Psalm 34:2-3, 6-7, 17-18, 19
and 23
R.
(7a) The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
The LORD redeems the lives of his servants;
no one incurs guilt who takes refuge in him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Come, O Lord, do not delay;
forgive the sins of your people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to the
chief priests and the elders of the people:
“What is your opinion?
A man had two sons.
He came to the first and said,
‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’
The son said in reply, ‘I will not,’
but afterwards he changed his mind and went.
The man came to the other son and gave the same order.
He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir,’ but did not go.
Which of the two did his father’s will?”
They answered, “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you,
tax collectors and prostitutes
are entering the Kingdom of God before you.
When John came to you in the way of righteousness,
you did not believe him;
but tax collectors and prostitutes did.
Yet even when you saw that,
you did not later change your minds and believe him.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121625.cfm
Commentary on
Zephaniah 3:1-2,9-13
Zephaniah reflects a time early in the reign of King Josiah
(640-609 BC), before his reforms were fully developed. Zephaniah is very aware
of the corruption and injustice prevalent in the Judah of his day. There is a
harsh message of judgement, but it is not without a promise and hope, which is
reflected in today’s reading. This promise seems to have rested with a just
remnant of Israel, who were among the humble, and not including the corrupt and
disobedient leaders with whom Zephaniah must have been closely familiar, coming
as he did from the ruling class.
The reading begins on an ominous note of warning to an
unnamed city. It is generally agreed that it is Jerusalem, seen as representing
the whole of Israel. Officials, judges, prophets and priests are all seen as
corrupt and continuing to ignore the warnings they have received from God.
But change is on the way when the Lord:
…will change the speech of the peoples
to a pure speech…
They will begin to serve the Lord faithfully. The promise of
“pure speech” is a symbol of forgiveness. It also points to a reversal of the
curse of Babel, and anticipates Pentecost, when all will speak with the same
voice and proclaim the same message (see Is 6:5-7; Gen 11:1-9; Acts 2:1-11).
The nations will be converted and there will be a faithful remnant left in
Israel. All will obey the same Lord and God.
On that day, the Lord:
…will leave in the midst of you
a people humble and lowly.
This image of a simple and modest people, devoid of all
arrogance and pride, has been described as one of the most perfect descriptions
of the ‘spirit of poverty’ in the Old Testament. Earlier, the prophet had said:
Seek the Lord, all you humble [Hebrew, anawim] of
the land
who do his commands;
seek righteousness, seek humility;
perhaps you may be hidden
on the day of the Lord’s wrath. (Zeph 2:3)
The anawim, the lowly in this world, play a
significant role in the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments (see Matt
18:1-7). The prophets are aware that it is the poor who are usually the
oppressed. They continually call for justice for the weak and lowly and for
those in need. In short, the anawim are those Israelites who
submit, not passively, but actively, to the will of God. Later, the word anaw or ani will
come to represent those who opt to lead lives of material simplicity for the
sake of others. We see God himself doing this in the person of the baby Jesus,
born in the midst of poverty and deprivation. It is the ideal (not always lived
out!) of religious communities through their ‘vow of poverty’.
It is not mainly a question of being economically poor,
because where poverty indicates being deprived of what is needed for a life of
dignity, it is something to be removed. It is rather the attitude of those who
voluntarily have little, and are open to receive everything from God. The word
‘poverty’ formerly implied failure. But now, it will be the condition needed to
seek God. After that time, the “people humble and lowly” will mean all those in
Israel who hope to find God. The Gospels, especially the Gospel of Luke, will
proclaim the happiness (“blessedness”) of the poor (see Luke 6:20). With this
‘poverty’, there necessarily goes a high level of integrity:
…they shall do no wrong
and utter no lies,
nor shall a deceitful tongue
be found in their mouths.
The overall message of both readings today is that it is
never too late to start listening to God, and to follow Jesus in his life of
simplicity and dedication to the well-being of others.
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Commentary on
Matthew 21:28-32
It helps to be aware that today’s Gospel reading follows
immediately on yesterday’s when the authority of Jesus was called into
question. Today, Jesus offers the religious leaders a parable. It is about two
sons who were asked by their father to go and work in his vineyard. One refused
to go, but later repented and went. The other son said he would go, but did
not. The question Jesus asked was:
Which of the two did the will of his father?
The parable can be read on two levels. On a more general
level, it is the common theme of the Gospel that doing is more important than
mere words. Earlier, Jesus said:
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the
kingdom of heaven… (Matt 7:21)
The important thing is actually to carry out the will of God
in our daily lives.
On a more particular level, the parable points to the
situation which Jesus was facing. The religious leaders and many of the
apparently religious people, who believed they were following God’s ways,
refused to believe in John the Baptist and, after him, Jesus himself. On the other
hand, people who were rated as deeply sinful and violators of the Law—tax
collectors and prostitutes—responded to John’s call to repentance. They were
deeply moved by John’s preaching, changed their ways, and were baptised by him
in the Jordan. Even after that, the religious leaders still made no move. When
Jesus came, again the religious leaders refused to see God’s hand in all he was
doing, while huge crowds gathered round him.
The religious leaders are like the son who said ‘Yes’ to his
father’s word, but did not follow it out in his life. They were experts in the
wording and interpretation of the Law. The sinners, tax collectors and
prostitutes, who had constantly violated the Law of God, repented and changed
their ways. It is clear which group is finding its way into the Kingdom.
Of course, we are not reflecting on these readings just to
know how proud and arrogant the chief priests and elders were. They are for us
to reflect on our own lives. Do we think that because we are practising
Christians, we are in a privileged and untouchable position? Do we spend a lot
of time praying in church, but not doing much loving outside of it? Do we find
ourselves speaking in a critical or condescending way of less devout
Christians, or of people who do not seem to be very moral by our standards? We
have said yes to God by our baptism and membership in the Church, but can we
say that we always carry out what God is asking us to do?
Probably, after some honest reflection, we would have to
admit that we are not really in a position to sit in judgment on others. Given
the gifts and graces we have received as Christians, we may not be doing very
well compared with those who have never enjoyed the support of a Christian
faith and a Christian environment. As Christmas approaches, let us be followers
of the Lord in deeds as well as words.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/a1033g/
Tuesday,
December 16, 2025
3rd Week of
Advent
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
you are close to the poor and the
repentant. Do not allow us to be proud, that we may not trust in ourselves but
teach us to be humble and lowly, that we may recognize our limitations and be
open to you and to your coming through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Gospel Reading - Matthew 21: 28-32
Jesus asked to the chief priests and the
elders of the people: 'What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He went and
said to the first, "My boy, go and work in the vineyard today." He
answered, "I will not go," but afterwards thought better of it and
went. The man then went and said the same thing to the second who answered,
"Certainly, sir," but did not go. Which of the two did the father's
will?' They said, 'The first.' Jesus said to them, 'In truth I tell you, tax
collectors and prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before
you. For John came to you, showing the way of uprightness, but you did not
believe him, and yet the tax collectors and prostitutes did. Even after seeing
that, you refused to think better of it and believe in him.
Reflection
The Gospel today presents a parable.
Like always, Jesus tells a story taken from the daily life of the family; a
common story which speaks for itself and does not need much explanation.
Immediately, by means of a very simple question, Jesus tries to involve those
who are listening and to communicate a message. He involves them in the story
without, at the first moment, explaining the objective which Jesus has in mind.
After they answer the question, Jesus applies the story to the listeners, and
these become aware that alone they condemned themselves.
•
Matthew 21, 28-30: The story of the two sons.
Jesus asks an initial question: “What is your opinion?” He does this to call
the attention of the persons in order that they are attentive to the story
which follows. And this is the story: “A man had two sons; he went and said to
the first one: My son, go and work in the vineyard today. He answered: I will
not go, but afterwards thought better of it and went. The man then went and
said the same thing to the second who answered, ‘Certainly, sir, but he did not
go.” It is a question of a story of the life of a family in daily life. The
persons who listen to Jesus understand what he is speaking about, because they
have lived this same thing many times in their own house. But as yet we do not
understand what Jesus is thinking. Which is the objective that he wants to
attain with this story?
•
Matthew 21: 31ª: The involvement of authority in
the story of the two sons. Jesus tells the story in the form of a question. At
the beginning he says: “What is your opinion?” And at the end he asks: “Which
of the two did the father’s will?” Those who listen are parents and respond
according to what has happened several times with their own sons: The chief
priests and the elders will answer: “the first one.” This is the response that
Jesus wanted to hear from them and from where he takes the evidence to
communicate his message.
•
Matthew 21: 31b-32: The conclusion drawn by
Jesus. “And Jesus says to them:
In truth I tell you, tax collectors
and prostitutes are making their way into the Kingdom of God before you. John
came to you, showing the way of uprightness but you did not believe him, and
yet the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. Even after seeing that you
refused to think better of it and believe in him.”
The conclusion of Jesus is evident and very hard. According
to the opinion of the priests and the elders, the tax collectors and the
prostitutes were sinners and unclean who did not do the will of the Father.
According to the opinion of Jesus, the tax collectors and the prostitutes in
fact, said, “I do not want to,” but ended by doing the will of the Father,
because they repent in listening to the preaching of John the Baptist. While
they, the priests and the publicans who officially always say “Yes, Sir, I will
go”, ended by not observing the will of the Father, because they did not want
to believe in John the Baptist.
Personal Questions
•
With which of these two sons do I identify
myself?
•
Today, who are the prostitutes and the publicans
who say: “I do not want to,” but who end by doing the will of the Father?
Concluding Prayer
I will praise Yahweh from my heart; let the humble hear and
rejoice.
Proclaim with me the greatness of Yahweh, let us acclaim his
name together. (Sal 34: 2-3)
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