Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13 / Matthew 21:28-32
One of the most difficult emotions to come to terms with is this sense of guilt and shame.
As if the burden of guilt and shame is not heavy enough, the impressions and attitude that others cast upon those who have done wrong only doubles the burden.
We can somehow easily forgive those characters in the Bible who did wrong, like David who committed adultery and murder, and Peter who denied Jesus, and even Judas who betrayed Jesus.
But when it comes to those who have been to prison or those whose wrong is made public, we tend to condemn them over and over again with our glancing eyes or even with our sarcastic words.
In the time of Jesus, the tax collectors and prostitutes were never allowed to forget their wrong doing and they would be reminded constantly of their guilt.
So what Jesus said in today's gospel is shocking - that tax collectors and prostitutes are making their way to the kingdom of God first.
So the lowly and the humble are on their way to the kingdom of God, whereas the proud boasters and those who strut around in God's presence are still harping on other people's guilt and shame.
So where do we stand in these two ends and where are we moving towards?
Jesus came into the world to remove our guilt and shame. May we move towards Him in repentance and contrition and help others do the same.