Fr. Dan Kirby reflects on the Gospel for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jesus' parable of the two sons in Matthew 21. Drawing on Vince Lombardi's legendary three-hour lesson on the Green Bay Sweep, he shows why follow-through is everything in the spiritual life. Fr. Dan points to Christ's self-emptying obedience in Philippians 2 as the model for Christians whose words are confirmed by their actions.
Episode Notes: Fr. Dan Kirby joins the Catholic Morning Show with a Sunday Gospel reflection for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Sunday, September 27, 2026). In Matthew 21:28–32, one son tells his father he'll go work in the vineyard but never does, while the other refuses, then changes his mind and goes.
Fr. Dan opens with a football story: a young John Madden attending a coaching clinic where Vince Lombardi spent three hours on a single play, the famous Green Bay Sweep, stressing that precision and follow-through are everything. Our Lord, Fr. Dan says, isn't asking us to run the sweep, but he is asking us to follow through, putting his teaching into practice at work, at home, and everywhere else.
The model is Christ himself. In the second reading, Philippians 2:1–11, Saint Paul describes how Jesus emptied himself, took the form of a slave, and humbled himself to the point of death on a cross. Jesus didn't just teach follow-through; he lived it. And when we fall short, he is always present to heal, forgive, and strengthen us to try again.
Read this Sunday's readings at USCCB.org.
Heard on the Catholic Morning Show, weekdays at 7 a.m. Central on Iowa Catholic Radio. More at IowaCatholicRadio.com.
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