Saying Yes to God

A young man went through college dreaming of the day he would be offered an executive position in his father's huge industrial plant. On graduation day, the father took him aside and said, "Son, now you're ready to come into the family business." Immediately, the young man had visions of a big, plush office, a large staff of assistants, and a hefty executive salary. "I'll start work tomorrow, dad," he said enthusiastically. Whereupon, the father said, "Of course, in order to Learn the business, you'll have to start at the bottom. To begin with, your job will be to water the hundreds of plants located in our buildings." The son protested. "I've changed my mind. I'm not coming to work tomorrow." Later, he thought better of his negative reply and decided to please his father. And so he went to work at the job he had been offered. The father hoped for the best, but was concerned that despite his son's good intentions, he wouldn't stay on the job for long. But he stopped worrying when the young man showed him his new business card, which read, "PLANT MANAGER."

In today's Gospel we have the simple little story of how two young men responded to their father's request that they go to work in the family business. Jesus doesn't put on this little quiz to see how smart His listeners are. He is making a crucial point with them about their relationship with God. It is not what you say, not what you promise, not what you teach that matters most. Far better to move from bad intentions to positive action than to remain locked into your good intentions and no action. This is a lesson in repentance. You stumble, you fall, you hedge, you shift, you fail, but God is always there, ready to pick you up -- if only you will repent.

Repentance takes you beyond good intentions. Repentance is the process of actually becoming the person God wants you to be. No need to blame yourself, over-and-over again, for your failures and your misdeeds. The forgiveness, the healing, the New Life is here and it will change everything for you if only you will open yourself up to receive the Grace of a loving God. We come here with good intentions. We resolve to be Christ's women and men as never before. Then we go back out and we hear the cries for help but we just move on, making excuses all the way.

We have come here today as a People who intend to lead a good life. We want to be Christ's women and men. We want to participate in the affairs of the Christian family. We honestly have good intentions about changing our ways. There is a rock-like quality in us down at the center. But, like Peter, we are rocks that move. We fall, we falter, we fail, we make mistakes, we hurt other people (often the people we love most). We talk about Christian love and we mean to love, but oh how we fail! Time after time after time, even in our own families, we fail in love. Maybe someone else's ego is getting in our way! Maybe we've become emotionally drained from the pressures of our day-to-day situation. Maybe we're just overly tired, physically. That's the way it is! In spite of our good intentions, the edges become a little sharp and they begin to rub up against each other, and we wilt!

"Life Is Just a Bowl Of Cherries" is the title of an old song. It brings to mind the story of an elderly widow who owned a small cherry tree orchard on the edge of town ... When the trees were loaded with cherries, a few children from town would begin throwing stones at the branches, causing some of the luscious fruit to fall to the ground. Then they would rush in, gather up the cherries and eat them.

One day, the widow spotted the children coming and she hid behind a tree. When the kids started throwing stones, she came out from behind the tree, grabbed one of them by the arm, marched him into her house, sat him down at the kitchen table, and left the room. Tears welled up in the boy's eyes as he contemplated his fate. He had visions of the widow returning to flog him with a branch of the very same tree he threw stones at.

When the widow returned, however, instead of a branch in her hand, she carried a plate of delicious- looking, bright-red, freshly-picked cherries which she set before the lad at the kitchen table. And never again did those children throw stones at the kindly widow's cherry trees.

In this sense, life is just a bowl of cherries. That simple little story conveys a profound sense of what "being busy in the Father's affairs" really means. It means empathizing, for example. (In the case of the widow, it meant remembering what it was like when she herself was up to some mischief as a child.) It means being an effective role model, for example. (In the case of the widow it meant acting in a manner in which kindness and understanding prevailed over vengeance.) And for all of us who participate in the Christian family business, it means remembering our Supreme Role Model's response to His tormentors as He neared death on the Cross: "Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing" (Lk. 23:34).

For all of us who have every good intention of becoming busy with our Heavenly Father's affairs, it means loving one another as He has loved us.

The self-centered or the other-centered -- which of the two does the Father's Will?

be satisfied 25th sunday A

A man had found a magic lantern and, for years, every time he rubbed it a "Genie" would appear to grant his wish. The man was a real worry-bird and, because of his constant anxious worries, he kept the "Genie" busy all the time. This went on for years -- one wish after another -- until, one day, when the man rubbed his magic lantern for the fifth time that week, the Genie appeared and said: "I am sick and tired of your anxious worry and your constant wishing. I have decided to settle this arrangement we have once and for all. I will grant your next three wishes only. Nothing more. After that, you're on your own."

The man made his first wish immediately. He asked that his wife would disappear so that he could marry a better woman. His wish came true at once. But when friends and relatives discovered she was gone, they began to recall all the wife's good qualities. This saddened the man and he realized he had been hasty. Where would he find a better woman than his wife? So he asked the Genie to bring her back, and immediately his wish was granted. Now he had but one wish left. He fretted and agonized and anxiously worried about that third wish. He was determined not to make another mistake, since he would be unable to correct it. He went everywhere for advice. Some people told him to wish for immortality. But if he got too sick to enjoy life, he reasoned, what good would immortality be? "Maybe," he told himself, "I should wish for good health." But then he asked himself: "What good is health if I don't have much money? And what good is money if I have no friends?" Many years passed and still he worried -- he couldn't decide on health or wealth or power or money or the dozens of other ideas that kept cropping up. Finally, in desperation, he cried out, "Someone tell me what to ask for!" And he heard a gentle voice from within answer: "Ask to be content, no matter what you get."

Be content! There is a sense in which that is the underlying message of the Gospels. Deep down at the center of all of us, there is the longing for wholeness of life: to be complete persons; to get it all together; to have peace of mind and soul; to be free of anxiety and frustration. "My peace," Jesus says, "is My gift to you." In and through Jesus Christ, God gives us peace. Yet this is no ordinary, worldly peace. "I do not give it as the world gives it," Jesus tells us.

Linda, a college freshman, was decidedly discontented with the young men who kept trying to date her. After listening to her complaints about each one of them, her roommate offered to arrange a blind date. "Would you prefer a Southern boy or a Northern boy?" she asked. "What's the difference?" Linda inquired. Her roommate explained, "Southern boys are more romantic. They will take you walking in the moonlight and whisper sweet nothings in your ear. Northern boys are more active. They like to go places and do exciting things." Linda pondered the contrast, then asked, "Could you please find me a Southern boy from as far North as possible?"

We often try to negotiate with life in like manner. We register discontent with our mere human glimpse of the Mystery of God and the Mystery of life that has been revealed to us in and through the Lord Jesus. As far as possible, we want to put our own "spin" on it, so to speak. And sooner or later we discover that we're going down a blind alley -- a way of life which magnifies our discontent in our search for wholeness of life.

For some of us, the search for wholeness of life is an endless cycle of having to go one better than our peers. For others of us, it becomes simply the business of being seen: our good looks, perhaps; or our clothes. We use all kinds of gimmicks to try to find fulfillment but, sooner or later, we are confronted with the truth: the gimmicks don't work!

Face this squarely, and you can begin to acknowledge deep down inside, that God is trying to get through to you with the only genuine source of wholeness of life: the love that is revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Until you come to terms with that reality, you are wasting time and effort. The sources of temporary satisfaction will let you down, ultimately. As it has been beautifully said,

I know that myself exists and I know that God exists, and the whole business of living is getting the two together.1

The story of the laborers in the vineyard in today's Gospel begins with Jesus' statement, "Now the Kingdom of Heaven is like ..." (Mt. 20:1). The owner of the vineyard hires some field workers and agrees to pay them a fair wage. After they have labored for several hours, he hires additional workers. And when the day's work is over, he pays the first workers the agreed upon wage and he pays those who came later the same wage. Whereupon, the first workers who labored longer than the others, register their discontent. "You have treated them the same as us," they grumble. To which the owner replies, "Why be envious because I am generous?" Jesus then concludes the parable, saying, "Thus the last will be first and the first last" (Mt. 20:16).

The Quakers tell the story of one of their number who put up a sign on a vacant piece of ground next to his house. The sign read,

I WILL GIVE THIS LOT TO ANYONE WHO IS REALLY SATISFIED!

A wealthy farmer rode by, read the sign, then went to the owner's house. He said to the Quaker, "I may as well have the land you are offering because I qualify: I am rich. I have everything I need. I am satisfied." "Are thee really satisfied?" the Quaker asked. "Yes, I have everything I need and I am well satisfied," said the rich man. "My friend," said the Quaker, "if thee is satisfied, why does thee want my land?"

In the Gospels, Jesus gives us a sign that reads,

I will give peace of mind and heart and soul, I will give contentment to all persons who acknowledge the Gospel Truth of a loving God who wants them to express their love for Him through their love for one another.

God is Love! The Mystery of God is the Mystery of Love! In God's Wisdom, we are given our best human glimpse into this awesome Mystery in and through our love for one another. And, in God's Wisdom, that is enough for now.

Be satisfied ... Be content! And live accordingly!