This is a Gospel parable that surely resonates with every parent. Our Lord asks us to consider the behavior of two sons but I’d like to focus on that first son.
His father directs him to go into the vineyard to work. He responds, “I will not,” but in the end, he goes. He had reconsidered. He had second thoughts that emerged from the goodness within him. Down deep he understood what was right. Grace was at work in him which broke down the walls of pride and selfishness. He would love and respect his father.
He reminds me of another son in in another parable of Our Lord…the Prodigal Son. He ran off with his inheritance but lost it all. His father surely pleaded with him to stay, but he insisted: “No way!” Destitute, he came to his senses. He had second thoughts. He reconsidered. In the end he did what was right. Grace again, at work, so that he too might respect and love his father.
What’s the lesson? The lesson is that we can change our no’s into yeses. No matter how many times we sin; how many times we say “no” to the Lord; how many times we fail in our Christian duty; change is possible.
Many people don’t believe they can change. Many don’t believe others can change. But I have seen many people emerge transformed from failures and addictive behaviors who seemed beyond hope. They changed because at one point, they reconsidered, convinced that every moment was another chance to turn their life around.
We see this in the saints, like St. Augustine and St. Francis of Assisi, but there is a saint who is not so well known. He lived in the 17th century and his name was Camillus de Lellis. He has an irascible temper. He was a brawler, addicted to gambling. His behavior drove him into utter poverty. Destitute, he sought to reform his life by joining the Franciscan Order. The community took him in but he so disrupted community life that he was dismissed. Camillus then managed to secure a job in a hospital, but he was expelled because he fought with his co-workers and gambled with the patients. Out on the street again, he decided to return to the military service but it wasn’t long before he was dishonorably discharged for causing chaos in the ranks by his violent temper and gambling habits. Everyone thought him a hopeless case!
Yet ever so slowly, encouraged by others who saw good in him, he returned to hospital work. By this time Camillus was being guided, molded by those who realized Camillus possessed a great heart and zeal. His ministry to the sick proved so influential, he was ordained a priest and eventually founded a religious community that devoted itself to the care of the sick. I wonder if considering his past, St. Camillus is the patron of Bingo and Church Raffles?
With God’s grace we can change, others can change. Our Lord shocked his listeners when he said that “tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the Kingdom of God” How so? It was because they were willing to do what the religious leaders were not willing to do…reconsider the direction of their lives, to change their ways.
Do we really believe that we can change? With God’s grace we can. Do we really believe that others can change? With God’s grace they can! Camillus de Lellis would say “Look at me…if I can, anyone can, with the help of God’s grace!”
