Who Has The Son Has Everything

A very wealthy man and his son had one passion in life - collecting rare works of fine art. They traveled the world together seeking out art dealers to fill their collection with works by Rembrandt, Picasso and Matisse. When they were not traveling, they were at home enjoying all the pieces they had collected.

When the son turned eighteen, he joined the army and was sent to war. Several months later, the father’s worst fears came true when he received the news that his son had been killed in the line of duty. He was distraught and even his vast art collection could not console him.

One day, a knock came to the door. It was a young man dressed in an army uniform and carrying a package. The man explained that he was with the wealthy man’s son when he was killed. In fact, he had risked his life to carry him to safety when he had been wounded. He assured the father that his son died bravely and that the soldier owed his life to him. He told the father how he and his son often talked about their love for art and the works they had collected. Being an amateur painter himself, the young soldier wanted to give the father a gift and handed the package to him. Unwrapping it, the father was delighted with what he saw. It was a painting of his son. He was impressed by how the young soldier had captured his son’s youth and vitality. Counting it as his most prized possession, he hung it over the mantel of his fireplace. Whenever he had visitors to the house, it was the first piece from his collection that he would show them.

Several years later, the father died, and his vast art collection would be sold at auction. Wealthy art collectors came from all over the world to bid on the rare and valuable paintings. However, the bidding was to begin with the painting of the son that the young man had given him.

The auctioneer opened up the bidding, but the room was silent. “The son. Who will bid on the painting of the son?”, the auctioneer asked.  “No one wants that painting!”, one man called out.  “Bring out the Picassos and the Rembrandts!” But the auctioneer insisted that the bidding begin with the man’s most cherished painting. “Will anyone give me one hundred dollars for the painting of the son?”, he asked.

Finally a man who had served the family as a gardener stood up. “I offer fifty dollars for the painting of the son.” The auctioneer looked around the room to see if anyone else would bid on the painting. The room was silent. “Going once, going twice...sold for fifty dollars to the gardener.”

The auctioneer put down his gavel and began to walk away. “Hey, where are you going?”, someone in the crowd shouted out. The auctioneer returned to the podium and explained that the wealthy man in his will left specific instructions for the auction. The whole collection would go to whomever bid on the painting of the son. No other works of art would be auctioned that day. Whoever got the son got everything.

This simple story teaches us a very basic yet profound truth about our life of faith. God the Father has sent us His Beloved Son. In sending us His Son, He has sent us His very self. He has given us all He has to give. And so, when we receive Jesus, we are receiving the Father. When we welcome Jesus into our lives, we are welcoming the Father. And, like the gardener in the story, whoever has the Son, has everything.

However, very often like the tenants in Jesus’ parable, we reject the Son. We do not want to give Him His rightful place at the center of our hearts. Rather, we want to live life on our own terms. We want to be the ones in control of where we go and what we do. We want to go on making believe that our life is our own and that we can do with it whatever we please.

The fact is that our lives are a gift from God. He has a plan for all of us. That plan is more wonderful than anything we could ever imagine for ourselves. When we welcome Jesus into our life, it is transformed. As Saint Paul describes in the second reading, we live with a new sense of peace because an almighty and all-loving God is in control of our lives. We no longer have to fend for ourselves, but we have a Father who will provide for all our needs. When we have the Son, we have everything.

We should never be afraid of welcoming Jesus into our hearts. Because He is love itself, He can never do us any harm. He will not take us anywhere without giving us first the desire to go there, and He will not ask us to do anything without first giving us the strength to do it. Whatever He may ask us to give up, He will replace with something even better. Nothing in this world can match what Christ is able to do for us.

Jesus the Son of God welcomes us here today. He never rejects anyone who comes to Him with faith and sincerity of heart. Let us also welcome Him into our hearts and into our homes. Let us stop resisting Him and stop trying to live life on our own terms. Rather let us open ourselves up to the love that knows no bounds and the life that knows no end. We will quickly learn that when we have Jesus, we have everything.