Awe, not resentment

A couple of weeks ago, the Gospel told of laborers hired at different hours of the day. Some worked from morning until evening; others arrived much later. Yet each received the same wage.

In his homily, Fr. Pettit made a connection I had never considered: those who worked all day sounded a lot like the older brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son.

I have always been moved by the incredible mercy of the father who runs to meet his wayward son. But if I’m being honest, I’ve also sympathized with the older brother. He stayed. He worked. He was faithful.

And yet the celebration was for the one who came home.

Father suggested that those who have practiced their faith for many years might sometimes feel like those early laborers toward people who come to Christ later. They arrive at a different hour, yet receive the same promise: eternal life with Christ.

That struck me because, as a cradle Catholic, I don’t look at converts with resentment. I am in awe of them.

There is something extraordinarily beautiful about adults who study the Catholic faith and freely choose it, embracing the teachings of the Church and coming to recognize the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Sometimes they see with fresh eyes what others of us have had before us for years.

And perhaps that is what these two parables can teach all of us: The danger of forgetting the magnitude of what we have already received.

Whether we entered the Church as infants, came to the Catholic faith as adults, returned after years away, or are still discovering the depth of what we believe, none of us is finished.
I know I’m not.

I am on a continuous journey of conversion, still discovering the depth of the Eucharist and the beauty of a Church that continually leads me toward Christ. Perhaps we can help one another look again, approach our faith with wonder, and recognize the treasure already in our hands.

Whether we came to the vineyard at dawn or late in the afternoon, the greatest gift is not how long we have been here. It is that the Father has invited us home.