When Your Yes Means Something

Reflection Date: September 27 2026 | Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Daily Readings: Ezekiel 18:25-28; Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew 21:28-32

Children of God:
During the Joseon dynasty, Korea was organized according to Neo-Confucian principles, and the yangban stood among the highest levels of society as the scholar-official and military elite. 

The yangban valued education, family lineage, social hierarchy, loyalty to the king, and filial piety, and many members of this class were deeply formed by Confucian learning. 

Yet in the eighteenth century, some Joseon scholars from this intellectual elite began studying what was called “Western Learning,” including Catholic writings brought from China. 

Some of these scholars eventually embraced Catholic Christianity and formed early communities of believers. 

Yangban Yi Seung-hun traveled to Beijing in 1784, received baptism, and returned to Joseon, where he baptized other Koreans and helped spread the new faith. 

This created a profound tension because Catholic teaching challenged certain established practices, particularly the Confucian ancestral rites that were considered important expressions of filial piety and family loyalty. 

Paul Yun Ji-chung, a member of a distinguished yangban family, became one of the clearest examples of this conflict when he refused to perform traditional ancestral rites at his mother's funeral after becoming Catholic. 

His decision was interpreted by authorities and relatives as a rejection of Confucian family ethics and contributed to his execution in 1791. 

As more scholars and members of different social classes embraced Catholicism, the faith increasingly appeared to challenge aspects of the Confucian hierarchy and ritual system that structured Joseon society. 

The resulting persecution eventually produced numerous Korean martyrs, including people from privileged families as well as ordinary believers.

The story of the yangban Christians gives us a powerful doorway into the gospel story of the two sons. 

One son initially refused his father's request but later changed his mind and went to work, while the other immediately said yes but did not go. 

Jesus therefore placed the emphasis not on the beauty of the answer but on the truth revealed by the action.

What are our inspirations for today? 

First, a real yes is proven by what we actually do.

The first son initially refused his father's request, but he later changed his mind and went to the vineyard. 

His first response was wrong, but his final decision became an act of obedience. 

The beauty of the first son is that he changed. 

His conversion began when his decision changed. 

A real yes is proven by what we actually do.

Second, sometimes saying yes to God requires us to change something we once considered unquestionable.

The second son said yes to his father, but he did not go. 

His words sounded correct, but his actions contradicted them. 

Jesus therefore exposed the danger of a faith that sounds good in conversation but never changes the way we live.

Sometimes saying yes to God requires us to change something we once considered unquestionable.

As we reflect, we ask ourselves: Are there areas of my life where I say yes to God but continue living as though I said no? 

What habit, attitude, or attachment am I being invited to examine in the light of my faith? When following Christ challenges what is familiar or comfortable, am I willing to make the changes that my faith requires?

Children of God:
The story of the two sons reminds us that God looks beyond our words. 

A beautiful promise means little when our actions continually contradict it. 

But a person who once said no can still change, return, and do what is right. 

Faith becomes credible when our convictions influence the way we treat people, use our freedom, and respond to God. 

May we therefore become people whose yes is supported by action.