[_01_] Which would be BETTER – to be the person who complies with – says YES –
to the wants-desires of others …or to be the person who rebels against the
requests, the wants, the desires of others?
Perhaps, the parable of the 2 sons who are sent into the vineyard by the
one father –who WANTS-DESIRES that they work – would be an example.
Consider that in this parable, the first son says, “Yes, I will go to
the vineyard… but in fact takes HOLIDAY/PERSONAL DAY ”. The second son, apparently, wakes up later,
demonstrates no immediate inclination to work in the vineyard. However, he
eventually goes and does as his father has asked.
Which one does the will of this father? The second.
[_02_] In our lives, we may, at times, resemble either the
first son or the second son.
At times, we are compliant, at times, we are rebellious.
[_03_] In his book, Love
and Responsibility, John Paul II writes that the DESIRE (internal desire)
is really what we makes me unique as a person.
That is, I may have – you may have – many unique characteristics –
height, weight, blood pressure, age, grade point average, golf-stroke-handicap.
However, what really makes me unique – or you unique – is something
else.
That is, what makes the first son of the parable different from the
second son of the parable?
They share many things, same parents, a physical resemblance. Perhaps,
they are even identical twins. It’s possible.
But, what sets them apart is that each one has a different desire in his
heart.
[_04_] In the Gospel,
this Sunday, we read that Jesus meets many people who are coming to them. And,
we read that he teaches them.
Now, who are these students who are coming to him?
Would, Jesus, the teacher say…oh, these are the students who are into
me? In fact, Jesus COULD say… they are
“so” into me..that I am going to set up some additional office hours,
additional time … just for them, just for the really good students.
But, this is not the case with this Gospel.
In other words, the Lord is not helping a small segment of the total
“student population.
This is not an elite summer honors program .,.. this is more like the
first week of classes when everyone is lost trying to find their building and
classrooms.
[_05_] The Good
News of today’s Gospel is that the Lord offers these extra hours to all of us,
to everyone.
And, Christ, the Son of God offers this so that he might know us better..and
also so that we might know him.
[_06_] John Paul II writes – in Love and
Responsibility – an important reality for all of us to keep in mind in our
relationships with others.
Yes, it is true others want us
to behave in certain ways. Our teachers/parents may want something from us, our
children, our siblings, our neighbors.
Nevertheless, a person is NEVER
the means to an end.[1]
John Paul II writes …” for a
person is a thinking subject, capable of taking decisions …[and therefore must
be respected.]”
While Jesus teaches us – and
asks of us many things, he does not force anything upon us.
John Paul II summarizes the
nature of schooling…whether the classroom is air conditioned for the summer or
heated for the winter … “This is also the purpose of education, both the
education of children and the mutual education of adults. It is just that a
matter of seeking true ends [objectives, purposes] … i.e., real goods as the
ends [purposes] of our actions and of finding
and showing to others the ways to realize them.”[2]
[_07_] Which would be BETTER – to be the person who
complies with – says YES – to the wants-desires of others …or to be the person
who rebels against the requests, the wants, the desires of others?
What is most important in our
lives is that we understand what our true desires are.
Then, we can also pray that our
will and the will of our Father in heaven can be the same…
For what makes us unique are
these desires.
[_08_] John Paul II writes that I can be – at times –
the OBJECT of someone else’s actions.
Someone can ask me – require me – to do something….even go to summer
school!
On the other hand, no one can
want for me, no one can desire for me.
The Lord, in this Gospel, makes
himself available to us – in prayer – in “office hours” so that we might come
to know him, know our true desires, also know be more mindful of our true love. [_fin_]
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