Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish

FR MICHAEL BOAKYE YEBOAH

CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF KUMASI, GHANA

PROCESS IT

            One’s Christian life should be geared towards transcendence. By transcendence, I mean processing one’s life towards quality imitation of Christ. When one allows grace to mill his/her life, the result is likely to be a quality one. Transcendental spirituality makes use of the monastic spiritual method of picking, grinding, fermenting, and squeezing to get a refined product. A good wine goes through this process.

            When an idea or a thought comes to you, find time to “grind”, “ferment”, and “squeeze” before you allow the mouth to speak. If one does not process his/her thoughts, (s)he can make some mistakes and examples of such we read in today’s gospel passage about the two sons’ modes of answering their father’s request.

            One can say that the two sons lacked initial quality processing ability. They acted more on their instincts rather than using their minds to process what was requested of them; and their hearts to ponder in order to give a quality answer to their father.

            The two were poor with their initial answers because I would like to think that they did not think them through. I always advise my formatees to use their minds to think through what they hear and use their hearts to ponder on them carefully, then while applying self-control they could speak what had gone through their “mills” of quality processing.

            Jesus was really apt with this thought-provoking story we read in today’s gospel passage. To bring home an important message to the chief priests and the elders of the people, Jesus told them a story. In the story, a man had two sons he wanted to assign with tasks in his vineyard. When the man instructed his first son to go to his vineyard and work, the first son responded in the negative but later changed his mind and went. But for the second son, though his response was in the positive, he failed to act on his positive response.

            The second son may be used to represent those who embrace their Christian calling in the “nominal way”. I employ the word “nominal” to mean “a type of person who represents something without providing any quantitative value.” The elders and the chief priests that Jesus told the story to, felt insulted because they were referred to as “nominal”. To Jesus though they represented “a people consecrated to God” and yet hardly could people find quantitative value of a life saturated with sacred elements. In another place Jesus will refer to them as “whitewashed tombs.” Externally, their lives were decorated with a lot of “Yes elements” to the sacred calling of God but inside them they did not act on their “Yes” to God.

            Some of us cannot take ourselves out of the second son’s circles. We were born into the Catholic faith, and we were baptized as infants. We went to Catholic schools, and we call ourselves Catholics and yet we may lack quantitative sacred values in our lives. This tendency seems to be creeping into the lives of those who even answer the sacred calling to be priesthood and consecrated life.

            There are people who seem to say that some priests and religious have lost their sacred values and if some remain, they are nominal in nature. Those involved in their formation should pay attention to this because it is not enough for one to say “Yes” to God and embrace the sacred vocations of the priesthood or the consecrated life. The person should add quantitative value to his/her sacred calling.

            We have all met people whose practice is far away from their almost sanctimonious piety of their professed beliefs.

            The first son who aid “No” to his father, but latter changed his mind can represent “the converted group.” Scripture and church history offers us rich examples. For example, St. Paul’s life was full of some initial “No’s” to the call of God but when he was converted to the Christian way, he became an icon of the “converted group”, so also one can say of the life of St. Augustine.

            This story teaches us that promises can never take the place of performance, and fine words are never a substitute for fine deeds. The son who said he would go, and did not, had all the outward marks of courtesy. In his answer, he called his father “sir” with all respect. But a courtesy which never gets beyond words is a totally illusory thing. True courtesy is obedience, willingly and graciously given.

            We should learn from this story that the Christian way is in performance and not promise, and that the mark of a Christian is obedience graciously and courteously given. Let us follow our promises with action. OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP PRAY FOR US.