Ninth Sunday after Trinity

Of course, the traditional Gospel for this Sunday is the famous passage generally known as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. One can emphasize any of the three central characters in the story: 1) the ungrateful and wasteful son who repents and returns home, 2) the merciful, gracious, and forgiving father who celebrates the prodigal's return, or 3) the legalistic and resentful older brother who is jealous and hurt. All three approaches can provide much food for thought.

This year, however, I would like to focus briefly on the parable from the perspective of the Collect of the Day. This collect which goes back at least to the early 600s reads as follows:
Grant to us, Lord, we beseech thee, the spirit to think and do always such things as are right; that we, who cannot do any thing that is good without thee, may by thee be enabled to live according to thy will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

This short prayer is a reminder that we all need the gracious guidance of the Lord. Only He can grant us the spirit to think as well as to do the right things. Apart from His grace, we cannot live according to His will. We might be more like wandering prodigals who need to come to ourselves, repent and return to the heavenly Father, or we might be more like dutiful but resentful and self-righteous sons who need to be more understanding, merciful, and loving. In either case, we need the Lord's help. Only He can give us the transforming grace to think and to do such things as are right. Only He can change our attitudes as well as our actions.