Parish Bulletins

This Week in the Bulletin:

Keeping Up Appearances
A father asks his son for help and is refused. Later, the situation changes, and he does what his father wants. The second son initially agrees to work in the vineyard and then doesn’t go. One works, and the other does nothing. Both might have good reasons for refusing or agreeing to work: Jesus is merely telling a story and highlighting events that his listeners could all recognise. Can’t we all think of similar occasions in our own home? Haven’t we all found excuses to avoid jobs we really don’t want to do – even if we know they will only take a couple of minutes?
Jesus knows his audience. Some individuals want to look good, perhaps gaining status in their local community, but do nothing to help the people around them. Then there are others, perhaps known to live less than ideal lives, who have hearts of gold and who aren’t bothered about keeping up appearances: if their help is needed, they are there.
This parable is not about agricultural labour or family dynamics. It is about the difference between appearance and reality, between words and deeds, between outward religiosity and inward conversion. Jesus is speaking directly to the chief priests and elders – those who looked the part, spoke the part, and held the authority of religious leadership. Yet he tells them that tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of them. Why? Because those who seemed furthest from holiness were the ones who responded to God’s call with repentance and a change of life.
The first son represents those who may say ‘no’ with their lips or their lifestyle. But something happens: their heart softens and they turn back. Their ‘no’ becomes a ‘yes’ lived out in action. They are not perfect, but they are honest. They allow God to change them. The second son represents those who say all the right things, know how to appear obedient, respectable and devout. But their ‘yes’ is only a skin-deep performance that doesn’t touch their heart or change their life. Their relationship with God remains only lip service.
Sunday Living Word Majellan Publications

For more of the bulletin click on the following links:

Bulletin 27 September 2026
Bulletin 20 September 2026
Bulletin 13 September 2026
Bulletin 6 September 2026
Bulletin 30 August 2026

Bulletin 23 August 2026
Bulletin 16 August 2026
Bulletin 9 August 2026
Bulletin 2 August 2026
Bulletin 26 July 2026
Bulletin 19 July 2026
Bulletin 12 July 2026
Bulletin 5 July 2026
Bulletin 28 June 2026
Bulletin 21 June 2026
Bulletin 14 June 2026
Bulletin 7 June 2026
Bulletin 31 May 2026
Bulletin 24 May 2026
Bulletin 17 May 2026
Bulletin 10 May 2026
Bulletin 3 May 2026
Bulletin 26 April 2026
Bulletin 19 April 2026
Bulletin 12 April 2026
Bulletin 5 April 2026
Bulletin 29 March 2026
Bulletin 22 March 2026
Bulletin 15 March 2026
Bulletin 8 March 2026
Bulletin 1 March 2026
Bulletin 22 February 2026
Bulletin 15 February 2026
Bulletin 8 February 2026
Bulletin 1 February 2026
Bulletin 25 January 2026
Bulletin 18 January 2026
Bulletin 11 January 2026
Bulletin 4 January 2026

Quicklinks

Useful Links