Sarah had two sisters. The two sisters both knew that Sarah talked a good game, but when it came to follow through—not so good. So, when their mother got sick and needed their help, it was no surprise that the one who would always drop the ball and fail to do her part was Sarah. She was quick to say “Yes, I can help” or “I can do that” would often at the last minute have to cancel out and get one of the other sisters to fill in. Sarah said all the right things, but when it came to actually doing, she had all the excuses.
Phil was a good guy, but sometimes his personality would get in the way of things. The people closest to him could see that he had a big heart, but his rather stern personality was not always very inviting. Along with this Phil was a quiet person, not the kind of a guy who would be able to keep the conversation going in a social setting. So, his reactions to things might at first seem kind of negative, but then he would come around and actually become a very dependable and supportive person. And once he committed himself to something, you could be assured that he would see it through. And if he sensed that he had hurt a person by his initial response to something, he was humble enough to offer an apology.
Today we meet a father and his two sons. And our setting is, once again, the vineyard. The setting is significant for Matthew, who wrote this Gospel, because now we know that we are dealing with how we are to act and not act as members of God’s family in the Kingdom. One son says yes to the command from his father, but then ends up doing nothing. The other son says no at first, almost in a gruff way, but then reconsiders and does the right thing in the end.
The heart of this parable deals with “doing the will of the father”, both that father in the story and Our Father in Heaven. Because of this the parable would be seen as a commentary on the third petition of the Lord’s Prayer.
One thing that we need to keep in mind here is what we end up doing in the end. “God is interested in what what we will do with our freedom in the long run…Only God has the patience to wait throughout a lifetime for all our instinctual Nos to become one eternal Yes to his love.
Another thing to keep in mind here is that a person who always wants to say to people what they want to hear, or is quick to respond “yes” before reflection, can actually be dealing with an unhealthy desire to please and be approved, and this can divide a person against himself and cannot result in effective commitment.
So, Jesus’ story is helping us to understand that our human will, often made rebellious by sin, and turned in on self, can gradually open up, turn outward, and finally be joined with the life-giving will of God. We also see how patient the Father is with us as we feel our way through the Nos and Yeses of life.
