When Saying Yes Becomes a Performance

Dear friends,

There is a difference between saying yes and actually doing what we have said. We can say the right words, make the right promises, and even give the impression of being committed, while our actions tell a different story. This is precisely the tension that Jesus places before us in today’s Gospel.

A father approaches his two sons and asks them to go and work in the vineyard. The first son says, “I will not,” but later changes his mind and goes. The second says, “Yes, sir,” but does not go. Jesus then asks a simple but profound question: “Which of the two did his father’s will?” The answer is obvious: the one who eventually went. The parable is therefore not simply about good manners or bad manners. It is about obedience, conversion, and doing God’s will.

What is striking about the first son is that he begins with a no. His response is not respectful, polite, or religious. Yet something happens within him. He changes his mind and goes. This matters because the Gospel does not present our first response as the final word on who we are. A person can resist God and yet eventually return to Him. A person can have a sinful past and still begin again. A person can say no today and, through repentance, eventually say yes with his life. This is also the message of the prophet Ezekiel: “When the wicked man turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is right and just, he shall surely live.” God does not imprison a person permanently within his past. Conversion remains possible.

This is why Jesus’ reference to tax collectors and prostitutes is so challenging. Those whom the religious leaders considered sinners were entering the Kingdom because they believed and repented. Jesus was not praising their former way of life. He was revealing something deeper: God looks for a heart that turns toward Him. The Kingdom of God is not a reward for maintaining an impressive religious image. It is received by those who respond to God’s call with faith and conversion.

When “Yes” Remains Only a Word

The second son presents the opposite danger. He says exactly what his father wants to hear. His words are correct. His attitude sounds respectful. But nothing follows. His problem is not that he said something wrong. His problem is that his words never became obedience. This is where the Gospel becomes uncomfortable for those of us who consider ourselves believers. It is possible to know the right prayers, quote Scripture fervently, attend Mass, speak about God zealously, use religious language, and still fail to do the Father’s will. Christian discipleship cannot be reduced to what we say about God. It must eventually become visible in how we live and treat others.

This is also why the second reading points us toward Christ. St Paul tells the Philippians: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” He then describes Christ, who humbled himself and “became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” Jesus is the definitive example of the yes that becomes action. His obedience was not merely verbal. He did not simply speak about the Father’s will; He embraced it. His yes took Him to the cross. In Christ, therefore, obedience is not a performance before others. It is the concrete surrender of one’s life to the Father.

When Saying Yes Becomes a Performance

Our contemporary world adds another dimension to this Gospel. We live in a culture where people constantly present themselves to others. Modern communication has made this even more visible. We can carefully construct how we want others to see us. Recently, institutions and public officials, like politicians, have mastered the art of using words as performance. For instance, what they present on their social media handles is far from who they are and how they behave. Some companies quickly issue apology statements on social media to avoid public rage, yet they do little to address the issue at hand.  Their words are mere performance. This resonates with sociologist Erving Goffman, who famously described social interaction as a performance on a stage.  People constantly play out what they would like others to see. There is a “front stage,” where we present ourselves to others, and a “back stage,” where we can present ourselves differently.

The idea helps us understand one danger in Christian life: we can become more concerned with appearing faithful than with actually being faithful. We can perform Christianity. We can say yes because we want to be seen as good Christians. We can speak about compassion without being compassionate. We can speak about forgiveness while holding tightly to resentment. We can speak about humility while seeking recognition. We can speak about serving God while quietly serving ourselves. We follow the Church seasons like Advent, Lent, or Easter like yearly rituals without them having an impact on our lives. They have become mere performances of rites. But God is not impressed by the performance. In the parable, Jesus does not ask which son sounded more obedient. He asks which one did his will.

The Christian Life Is a Life of Conversion

This Gospel offers us hope. Jesus does not tell us that the person who has once said no is lost. The first son teaches us that conversion can begin after resistance. Perhaps there are areas of our lives where we have said no to God. Perhaps we have delayed forgiveness, resisted a difficult calling, ignored someone in need, or continued with something we know is contrary to the Gospel. The good news is that our no does not have to be our final answer. We can change or go to the vineyard to work. At the same time, the Gospel challenges those of us who readily say yes. We must ask whether our yes has become real in our lives. For Christian faith is not merely about having the right words; it is about allowing those words to become obedience, charity, humility, and service.

Dear friends, this week we should ask ourselves honestly: Is my yes to God something I say, something I perform, or something I actually live? In the end, God is not looking for a perfect performance. He is looking for a heart that hears His voice, turns back to Him, and goes to work in His vineyard. Happy Sunday.