Hi, I'm Matthew Kelly and welcome to Feed Your Soul. How good is your word? We live in a culture where fewer and fewer people do what they say they will do. And today's gospel is all about that. Jesus begins by saying, "What do you think?" So He's asking the people a question, "What do you think?" All great teachers use questions very powerfully to engage their audiences. And I think it's a great lesson for us when we're trying to engage people in meaningful conversation, whether it's about our faith, whether it's about important issues in the world, to use questions, to draw them out, to understand where they are at so that we can meet them where they are at. Jesus says to the audience today, he says, "What do you think?" A man had two sons, and he went to the first and said, "Son, go and work in the vineyard today." And he answered, "I will not." But afterward, he repented and went. And he went to the second son and said the same. And he answered, "I will go, sir." But did not go. Which of the two did the will of the Father? They said the first. Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him." But the tax collectors and the Harlots believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward repent and believe.

I want to focus in here on one phrase. Did the will of the Father? Did the will of the Father? When's the last time you thought about the will of God? When's the last time you asked yourself, "Okay, what is the will of God in this situation?" We live in a culture that says, "Do what you want to do." We live in a culture that says, "The more you're able to do what you want to do, the happier you'll be. The more freedom you have to do whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want, with whoever you want, the happier you'll be." And yet, we don't find happiness by doing what we want to do. I look back over my life, I survey so many different situations and circumstances where I have asserted my will, where I have done exactly what I wanted to do. And those moments in my life did not bring me happiness. In fact, very often, those moments in my life brought me heartache, pain, and suffering, self-inflicted. And very often, that self-inflicted woundedness continues on beyond that moment. 

And so we're reminded here which of the two did the will of his Father? And are we doing the will of God? Are we seeking the will of God? Do we pause when we need to make a decision and ask ourselves, what is it that God is calling me to do in this moment? Or are we still caught up in doing what we want to do? When we're little kids, people say, "What do you want to do when you grow up?" And tragically, this is a question that sets so many young people on the wrong path because it isn't about what we want to do when we grow up. It's about what do you feel called to do? What do you feel God is calling you to do? What gifts and talents do you feel God has called you to exercise and share with the world? And so this week, I challenge you, I challenge myself to pause for a moment, especially in moments of decision and ask ourselves, "Am I seeking the will of God or am I seeking to assert my own will in this situation?" To pause and to turn to God even momentarily and ask the big question, "God, what do you think I should do in this situation?"