Reflection for the 3rd Tuesday in Advent
“A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’
The son said in reply, ‘I will not,’ but afterwards he changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did his father’s will?” Mt 21:28-32
In today’s scripture reading, Jesus tells about the parable of two sons. He asked the one son to go into the vineyard to work. He initially said yes, but then didn’t go. He asked the other son. He initially said no, but ultimately went into the vineyard. One son was dishonest. The other son disobedient. Which did the will of the father?
At first it sounds like a trick question, but it’s not. The other son ultimately did the will of the father, though it took him a while to get there. The message: It’s never too late.
In the days before the pandemic, the ‘vineyard’ was an easy place to find. I would volunteer at the local soup kitchen every month or two. I would minister to inmates in prison each week. My church family was large and connected. I enjoyed their company before and after Mass, and enjoyed seeing the pews filled. I liked interacting with people I would meet in my daily routine. The retreat center I manage was bustling with people all looking for respite and renewal, the bookings were solid for six months out. My vineyard was filled with diverse, engaging activity. The Father asked me to go, and my response was “Yes, Lord!” And I went.
Now, the vineyard is difficult to find. It’s not in the usual places. I often feel like the one son that said “Yes” but did nothing. I rationalize that there is no work to do in the vineyard during a pandemic. Or even worse, there isn’t even a vineyard during this time of crisis.
Sometimes I feel like the other son. I initially say “No”. I freak out over everything that I need to consider in the new vineyard. Do I meet in person or Zoom (yuk!)? Is there a room big enough? Mask or no? Inside or out? Anyone at-risk? Can’t this wait! There is so much confusion over how the work is to be done in this new vineyard that I think I can’t possibly do anything, so I shut down. But after some thoughtful consideration, I work through the details. It’s definitely not my comfort zone, but I go anyway to try to do the will of the Father.
Maybe that’s why the other son said “No” in the first place. The vineyard then as now was unstructured, ill-defined, unsafe, and way out of his comfort zone.
At a ropes course team building activity I participated in a few years ago, the facilitator showed a diagram of three concentric circles. The tight inner circle was the ‘comfort zone’. The next circle was the ‘growth zone’. The concept being that if you step out of your comfort zone into your growth zone, you grow. The last circle was the ‘panic zone’. In the training, especially on the higher ropes, you want to step into your growth zone but not cross over into your panic zone.
The panic zone has swallowed up the vineyard. For months, the news has been filled with fearful statements. I’m concerned both for my own health and for the health and well-being of the people around me. In essence, the circle that represents our comfort zone has shrunk. The circle that represents our ‘panic zone’ is now sitting right on top of the ‘growth zone’. All we see is either ‘comfort’ in the safety of our closed-off environments, or ‘panic’ everywhere else.
Maybe it’s time to stretch out that ‘panic zone’ and once again open up some space for the ‘growth zone’. Maybe it’s time to look for ways we can prudently work in the vineyard. It’s not just a place where people do the work of the Father by helping others, it’s a place where people grow emotionally and spiritually, and thereby also do the will of the Father.
Your Father asks you to go to work in the vineyard today. How will you respond?