The first reading and Gospel of the mass today, the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, tell us to change for the better. The first reading presents to us the case of a good man who lost his goodness by committing a crime. Such a person would be condemned if he does not repent of his sin. Then, there is the person who has been committing sin and then repents of them. Such a person will be saved. Thus, in the Gospel, Jesus lauds the public sinners of his day because they accepted to repent of their sins. It is also implied that were they to fall again to sin, if they keep on repenting and beginning again, they will end up first, unlike the religious leaders of Israel who kept on sinning in not accepting our Lord as the Messiah and they did not repent ever.
