26th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Hobart 2026

Welcome to everyone who has joined us to pray this morning.

Yesterday was Grand Final Day. For some people on planes and buses, today will be a day of great rejoicing. For others, it will be a long slow drive back to Brisbane or Fremantle.

On Friday, in anticipation of the Grand Final, we had a ‘footy colours day’ in the office. Everyone was encouraged to wear their team colours. I decided to wear my Rome soccer scarf. On it is written the words: “Cheering is a must for all; success is an honour for the few.”

I rather like that. It reminds us that there is something wonderful about belonging to a team, even when the team does not win. Indeed, some of the most loyal supporters are those who have endured years of disappointment and yet turn up again the following week, full of hope.

Success may be an honour for the few, but the invitation to follow Christ is extended to everyone. In the Christian life, the measure of success is different from the one we witnessed yesterday.

In today’s second reading, Saint Paul pleads with the Christian community at Philippi to be united in love. He asks them to put aside their rivalries and to consider the interests of others before their own.

He then gives them the most extraordinary example of humility in the whole of Scripture: Jesus Christ, who was divine, did not cling to his equality with God, but emptied himself and took the condition of a servant.

Here is the Son of God, who possesses everything, choosing to become the servant of everyone.

There is something profoundly beautiful about that.

We might think that the great achievement of the Christian life is to become important, to be recognised, even to have our name remembered. Yet the saints teach us something quite different.

Saint Francis of Assisi did not spend his life telling people how wonderful Francis was. He wanted them to discover the love of God and his gift of creation.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta did not seek to become famous. She simply wanted to serve Christ in the poorest of the poor.

Their greatness was found in giving themselves away.

And that brings us to the lovely story Jesus tells in today’s Gospel.

A father asks his two sons to go and work in his vineyard.

The first son refuses. Perhaps he has other plans for the day. Perhaps he simply cannot be bothered. But later, something happens within him. He changes his mind and goes.

The second son says yes, but never actually goes into the vineyard.

Jesus asks which of the two did the father’s will.

The answer is obvious.

There is something deeply consoling about this Gospel. The son who eventually did the right thing did not get it right the first time.

And sometimes neither do we.

There are moments when we have said ‘no’ to God. Perhaps we have turned away from someone who needed our help. Maybe we have allowed resentment to grow within us. Perhaps we have been so preoccupied with our own concerns that we have failed to notice the suffering of another.

But, get this: the Lord does not abandon us because of our first answer.

He gives us the grace to change our minds.

That is the wonderful thing about the Christian life. Our past does not have to determine our future. The Lord continues to invite us into his vineyard.

And his vineyard is not somewhere far away.

It is here in Hobart, in our families and in our parishes. It is wherever someone is waiting for a word of encouragement or a hand outstretched in love.

As we prepare for our Archdiocesan Synod, we are being invited to listen more attentively to one another and to discover where Christ is calling us to serve.

We will not always agree. We will not always get things right the first time. But if we allow the humility of Christ to shape our hearts, we can become more truly one in him.

Yesterday, one team had the honour of lifting the premiership cup. Today, the Lord invites every one of us to share in something infinitely greater.

For in the vineyard of the Lord, the prize is not reserved for the few.

It is offered to everyone who hears his voice and responds with love.

And when our earthly journey is complete, we will discover that the greatest honour is not to have been cheered by the crowd, but to hear the divine voice welcoming us home:

“Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter the joy of your Lord.”

Most Rev. Anthony J. Ireland
Archbishop of Hobart
27 September 2026