COMMENTARY

The Mission of Conversion: Saying Yes to the Father with Our Lives

The liturgy of the Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time presents us with a short yet deeply challenging Gospel passage: the parable of the two sons whom their father asks to go and work in the vineyard. The first son initially refuses, but later changes his mind and goes; the second immediately says yes, but never goes. Jesus then asks a simple yet decisive question: “Which of the two did his father’s will?” It is not enough to say “yes” with our lips; our “yes” must be translated into the way we live. As we enter the month dedicated to missions and celebrate the memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, patroness of the missions, this Word reminds us that mission is born of conversion and is fulfilled through concrete love.

1. “Son, go out and work in the vineyard today”: Mission Begins with a Call

The first thing that strikes us in the parable is the simplicity of the father’s call: “Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.” This is not merely an impersonal command given to a worker; it is a word addressed to a son. Before being asked to work, he is called to live in a relationship of sonship.

Christian mission springs precisely from this relationship: we are sent because we are sons and daughters, because we belong to the Father, and because, through Christ, we have received the grace to share in his own mission.

In the biblical tradition, the vineyard is an image of the people of God and of the plan of salvation that God unfolds throughout history. To enter the vineyard, therefore, means to cooperate in God’s work and to take part in his desire to gather, save, and sanctify his children.

Mission is not an activity that a few particularly generous Christians add to their lives; it belongs to the very identity of every disciple. Even today, the Father continues to go out and call: he calls priests, consecrated men and women, missionaries, families, young people, the elderly, lay people, and entire communities. He calls each one according to his or her vocation and according to the gifts he or she has received.

The fundamental question, then, is not simply, “What am I called to do?”, but rather, “How am I responding to the Father’s call?” We may find ourselves in the situation of the first son, who initially says, “I will not,” but later changes his mind and goes. He can be an image of so many people who have come to recognize their own weakness, resistance, and sin, yet have found the courage to change direction. God does not despise our “no” when it becomes the starting point of a genuine conversion. The Lord can transform even our initial resistance into a “yes” that is lived out in our daily lives.

This is especially important when we think about mission. Mission does not require perfect people, people without weaknesses or without a past. It requires people who are willing to let themselves be converted by the Lord. The true missionary is not the one who can say, “I have always said yes,” but the one who, even after experiencing his or her own weakness, is able to say: “Lord, here I am. Today I want to go into your vineyard.”

2. “‘I will not,’ but afterwards changed his mind”: True Obedience Begins with Conversion

The first son thus offers us a second lesson: the most authentic “yes” is not necessarily the one that is spoken first, but the one that ultimately becomes a way of life. He says, “‘I will not,’
but afterwards changed his mind and went.” In the Gospel, the verb points to an inner change of heart, to conversion. He reconsiders his decision and chooses to do his father’s will.

Here we find a central theme of mission: the missionary’s conversion precedes and accompanies the mission to others. We cannot effectively proclaim conversion to others if we ourselves are not continually willing to be converted. Mission is not simply a matter of bringing religious words to others; it means bearing witness through our lives that the Gospel truly has the power to transform a person. Before anything else, the missionary is a man or woman who allows himself or herself to be continually transformed by the very Gospel he or she proclaims.

For this reason, Jesus utters surprising words: “Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you”. He is certainly not praising sin. Rather, he places before his hearers the mystery of conversion. Those who were regarded as far from God believed John’s preaching and changed their lives; those who considered themselves close to God, on the other hand, heard the message but refused to repent. The issue, therefore, is not whether one has been far away or close at hand; the decisive question is whether one accepts or rejects the grace of conversion.

This, too, has great importance for mission. As Church we are meant to embrace everyone, especially those who feel distant, excluded, forgotten, or unworthy. The missionary cannot build walls based on people’s past. He or she must proclaim to them that the Father continues to call them and that the door to his vineyard remains open. As such, today’s Gospel asks us to change the way we look at others: not to classify people according to what they have been, but to recognize what the grace of God can do in them.

In this sense, mission is always a work of hope. No one should be considered definitively lost. As long as a person can hear the Father’s call, he or she can still say “yes.” And our missionary task consists precisely in helping people to recognize that voice, to welcome God’s mercy, and to set out on the journey.

3. With Saint Thérèse, Entering the Vineyard Through Love

The parable of the two sons takes on a particular light at the beginning of the month dedicated to the missions and on the eve of the feast of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus. Thérèse of Lisieux teaches us that working in the Father’s vineyard does not necessarily mean accomplishing great works that are visible in the eyes of others. Her mission was fulfilled in littleness, in hiddenness, in prayer, in daily sacrifice, and above all, in love. For this very reason, she was proclaimed patroness of the missions together with Saint Francis Xavier: she understood that the Church’s mission does not depend only on outward activity, but on the holiness and love with which each member of the Body of Christ participates in the work of evangelization.

In the light of today’s Gospel, we might say that Thérèse did not simply say to the Father, “Yes, I will go into your vineyard.” She sought to transform her whole life into a concrete, daily, and hidden “yes.” Her missionary vocation was born from the awareness that every small act of love, united to the love of Christ, can have a part in the salvation of the world. It is a mission that is not measured by the number of activities accomplished, nor by the visibility of the results, but by the depth of love.

This also helps us to understand the meaning of the month dedicated to the missions that is about to begin. In October 2026, the Church will celebrate the 100th World Mission Sunday, and Pope Leo XIV has chosen as its theme “One in Christ, united in mission.” His message recalls union with Christ as the source of missionary fruitfulness and emphasizes the need for reconciled communities and for generous and trusting collaboration in the work of evangelization. Mission, therefore, is not the work of a few specialists, but a shared responsibility of the entire People of God. Being “one in Christ” necessarily leads us to be “united in mission.”

The Gospel of the two sons reminds us, however, that this missionary unity cannot simply be proclaimed. Here too, we must move from words to life. We can say many beautiful things about mission and speak about evangelization, but Jesus’ question remains: “Which of the two did his father’s will?” The month dedicated to the missions thus becomes a privileged time to examine our own “yes”: to what extent does our faith truly become love, prayer, witness, availability, sharing, and collaboration in the mission of the Church?

Saint Thérèse teaches us that even a seemingly small life can become great in mission when it is filled with love. And this is perhaps one of the most beautiful messages to carry with us as we enter the month dedicated to the missions: there is a place for everyone in the Father’s vineyard. No one is too small to be a missionary, no one is too weak to offer something, and no one has come too late to respond to the call. What the Lord desires is a heart that, after hearing his voice, is willing to be converted and to say through its life: “Yes, Father, I will go.”

As we begin the month dedicated to the missions, let us therefore ask the Lord for the grace not to be Christians in words alone, but in our lives; not simply people who say “yes” with their lips, but disciples who truly enter his vineyard. Let us ask for the grace to be converted each day, to welcome into the Church those who return to the Lord, not to become discouraged by our weaknesses, and to recognize that mission belongs to everyone. And, with Saint Thérèse, let us learn to make love our missionary path, so that, by truly being “one in Christ,” we may also be “united in mission” and contribute, each according to our own vocation and gifts, to the great work of evangelization. Amen.