NOTES for Mat 21:28-32
Jesus' short parable of the two sons illustrates as clearly as possible one of the fundamental laws of spiritual life: a true intention is one that is carried through to completion. One might, of course, say that even the theoretical agreement of one son, who readily expressed his willingness to obey his father's will, is important in its own way. One might also point out that this son, who ultimately failed to do what he had promised, may not have intended to deceive his father at all. How many times in the life of every one of us have seemingly good plans and intentions remained unrealized in the end, not because of external circumstances and not because we abandoned them, but because we simply forgot them without even noticing how or when it happened? And this often happens precisely to people who are quite respectable, decent and successful.
Yet those who lack such qualities can sometimes, paradoxically enough, do more good and prove closer to the Kingdom. This is probably due in no small part to the fact that the “tax collectors and prostitutes” mentioned by Jesus know perfectly well that all is not right with them and that they must devote themselves entirely to the task before them once an opportunity to change something has appeared in their lives. If they let it pass now, another opportunity may never come. And if these people decide to use the possibilities that have opened to them, they will use them to the fullest and make this the chief purpose and meaning of their lives. Their will is wholly devoted to solving just one task. They will not scatter their efforts; nothing will appear in their lives that could distract them from what matters most, and if something does appear, they will simply pay no attention to it. They know what threatens them if they fail to use the chance they have been given. Their will is directed towards one goal and focused on solving one task.
Yet it is precisely the will that determines the quality and content of spiritual life. Whoever makes the Kingdom his chief goal will certainly find it. Respectable religiosity, however, may be of no help, for every religion is the work of human hands and minds. No religion has any direct relation to the Kingdom, although the Kingdom is certainly not closed to religious people. An indefinite “yes” may remain indefinite forever. And a definite “no” can turn into an equally definite “yes.”