Bible Parables S1E12: The Parable Of The Two Sons

This is a live session recording where we delve into the timeless wisdom of The Parable Of The Two Sons and its practical application in our daily lives. This session is part of an ongoing series where we explore how biblical teachings can guide us in living fulfilling lives.
In this session, we will explore the deeper meaning behind the parable and offer practical insights for bringing more compassion and connection into our daily lives.

This session includes a guided reflective meditation which will gently lead you through a journey of inner reflection and healing.

Come prepared to reflect on your own journey, engage with thought-provoking ideas, and leave inspired to create a life filled with purpose and abundance. This session is welcoming to all, regardless of religious background or familiarity with the Bible.

Transcript

The Parable of the Two Sons But what do you think?

A man had two sons,

And he came to the first and said,

Son,

Go work today in my vineyard.

He answered and said,

I will not.

But afterward,

He regretted it and went.

Then he came to the second and said likewise.

And he answered and said,

I go,

Sir.

But he did not go.

Which of the two did the will of his father?

And they said to him,

The first.

Jesus said to them,

Assuredly,

I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.

For John came to you in the way of righteousness,

And you did not believe him.

But tax collectors and harlots believed him.

And when you saw it,

You did not afterward relent and believe him.

And that's the parable of the two sons.

Essentially,

The parable highlights the importance of actions over words and emphasizes true repentance and obedience in God.

So going into the parable line by line to draw out spiritual and practical meanings.

And the parable starts with,

But what do you think?

A man had two sons and he came to the first and said,

Go work today in my vineyard.

And we can imagine the man as our inner spiritual guidance.

We can imagine the man as our conscience or as our higher self.

And what the man is doing is he is inviting us to engage in meaningful work.

The vineyard,

It symbolizes our spiritual field.

It symbolizes the space where we can contribute to the greater good,

Where we can nurture our soul,

Where we can grow in wisdom.

And every day,

Life presents us opportunities to heed this inner call.

Life invites us to align with our purpose.

And the two sons,

We can think of the two sons as the two thought processes we have in our mind.

There's always this voice of the ego which is pulling us towards materialistic things,

Towards our negative aspects.

And then there's the voice in our mind,

The voice of the spirit or we can call it the voice of the wise mind which guides us,

Which gives us intuition,

Which encourages us to move through the day with grace.

So it's a good practice to start our day in stillness,

Simply asking ourselves what my deeper purpose is asking of me today.

Where am I being called to serve?

Where am I being called to grow?

And to simply be open to this call,

Although sometimes it may feel challenging or it may feel inconvenient,

Simply be open to this call because this is our vineyard.

Our vineyard represents all the areas of our life.

He answered and said I will not.

But afterward he regretted it and went.

And the first son's initial refusal,

This can reflect the part of us that resists change,

The part of us that tends to resist responsibility.

Sometimes there's fear,

Sometimes there's doubt or sometimes simply being in our comfort zone,

It keeps us from responding to the call that we are getting from our higher self.

Yet,

Regret,

Regret or a deep sense of knowing,

A deep sense of inner knowing can awaken us,

Can guide us to follow true on what needs to be done.

And spiritual growth,

Spiritual growth,

It tends to come when we realize our reluctance and we choose to act anyway.

We all make these lists,

We all know what we need to do during the day.

And sometimes we just,

We tend to ignore what is on the list.

We don't do it.

But many a times remembering why we are doing and what we need to do certain things for can sort of move us into action to doing what needs to be done.

So in our daily practice we can try to notice when we resist what we know is right.

Not to judge ourselves harshly but try to reflect on what is holding us back to do what needs to be done.

And then summoning the courage to take action.

This may be in the form of making an effort to reach out to someone starting on a project that we have long delayed or simply spending some time in prayer and meditation.

Then he came to the second and said likewise.

And he answered and said I go sir.

But he did not.

The second son The second son kind of embodies a form of self-deception.

Outwardly the second son appears willing,

He appears obedient but inwardly there is no commitment.

This can symbolize those moments in our life when we make promises or we set intentions but we don't follow through with those intentions.

It is a reminder that simply words alone or just having the appearance of spiritual sincerity this is simply empty.

This is empty if there is no genuine action.

And also another way to look at this is to reflect on our people pleasing behavior.

Many a times we say yes.

We say yes to people.

We say yes to tasks.

Even though our schedules are full.

And then we don't deliver simply because we don't have the capacity to deliver.

So this can be also interpreted as a call to keep in check your people pleasing behavior.

So reflect on the areas of your life where your actions do not align with your words or your intentions.

Are there commitments you have made but you have not kept?

And the question that you could ask yourself is how can you integrate more authenticity more integrity into your life?

And a lovely call to action would be to follow up on one promise that you have made today.

No matter how small that promise.

So which of the two did the will of his father?

And they said to him the first.

And here the lesson kind of becomes clear.

It's not about initial resistance.

It's not about initial resistance but it's about the willingness to transform.

To be willing to act from a place of integrity.

To be able to act from a place of from having a genuine heart.

Because our spiritual practice it's about movement,

It's about growth,

It's about returning to the path even if we initially stray.

The first son demonstrates that even if you resist at first choosing to act aligns you with your divine purpose.

And the sentence also speaks of the will of the father.

The will of God we can call it.

And this will can be understood as a divine call for each of us.

A divine call for all of us to align with the highest truth of our being.

To live our life to our fullest potential.

So the will of God,

The will of the father it's not an eternal command but can be thought of more as a inner urging a deep soulful pull to live authentically to live creatively,

To live in harmony with with the principles that govern life.

The beautiful part about life is that everyday gives everyday life gives us an opportunity to start fresh.

We should embrace the power of change.

Embrace the power of second third,

Fourth,

Fifth chances because change is always available to us.

We can change anytime we choose.

And second chances are always available as long as we are willing to try.

So it's understanding that it's okay to have moments of hesitation.

And what truly matters is that in spite of that hesitation,

We are willing to recalibrate.

We are willing to recalibrate and take action.

Practicing compassion for ourselves when we falter.

Celebrate our choices to follow our path.

And Jesus said to them,

Assuredly I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of heaven before you.

The kingdom of God before you.

And this is a powerful reminder that the kingdom of heaven is not reserved for those who appear outwardly righteous but for those who genuinely transform.

The term the kingdom of heaven,

What is the kingdom of heaven?

The simplest way to think of this is the kingdom of heaven can be seen as having peace of mind,

Having serenity.

This can be our kingdom of heaven.

Having loving relationships.

Having a fulfilling job.

Having good health.

Seeing success in our career path.

Finding peace in our spiritual practice.

All these can be thought of as the kingdom of heaven.

And the mention of tax collectors and harlots,

This points to individuals who despite having made mistakes,

They embrace true change.

They are willing to change.

They are willing to do the work that needs to be done.

It's a reminder that spiritual awakening is accessible to everyone regardless of their past.

When the heart is willing to be transformed,

Change is available to us.

Try to release judgment.

Judgment of others,

Especially judgment of ourselves because sometimes we can be our worst critic.

Because true spiritual evolution is about the depth of our inner transformation not on how perfect or on how enlightened we look on the surface.

Every day try to practice radical acceptance of yourself and those around you.

And simply try to remain open to the profound change that can come from genuine dependence and humility.

For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him.

But tax collectors and harlots believed him and when you saw it you did not afterward relent and believe him.

And this simply highlights the importance of an open heart.

The importance of an open and humble heart.

Spiritual truth may challenge us.

Spiritual truth may challenge you but if you are open to learning no matter our background,

No matter where we come from,

If we are open to learning all of us are capable of receiving spiritual gifts.

We should try to be mindful of the ways we try to resist messages that ask us to grow.

Because sometimes many a time spiritual lessons can come from unexpected sources.

And wisdom simply flows to those who are willing to hear and most importantly those who are willing to act.

So stay open to wisdom.

Sometimes it may come in a form you do not expect.

Reflect on teachings from other people or from situations that stretch your perspective.

And more importantly be willing to soften your heart and allow transformation.

Especially when life asks you to trust,

To change,

To believe once again.

And that would be the interpretation of the parable from a more mystical or spiritual perspective.

So the central roles in the parable are of course the father and the two sons.

And then there is the vineyard.

When we read the parable we tend to think of it as a story that has happened somewhere.

But another way to look at it is that all the whole story,

This whole drama is simply happening within our human mind.

It is happening within our being.

I am the father in the parable.

I am the father in the sense that I am the one who gives my life direction.

I am the one who makes my to-do list every day.

And I am the first son who sometimes will say no to things.

Someone will ask me to do something and I will say no to things.

Why do I say no?

Maybe I am not in that space at that moment to have just been able to say a yes.

Maybe there is something on my mind.

Maybe I was having a bad day.

Maybe I am swamped with things.

Maybe my cup is full.

So I say no.

But after saying no my conscience starts tugging at me.

Maybe because I realized that the way I behaved or the way I acted is not right.

Or maybe I feel guilt.

Or maybe I am aware of what the consequences can be of me saying no.

And then sometimes I may be like the second son.

I may say a yes and I may just not go forth with that action.

And this happens to a lot of us in our daily life.

Especially when it comes to family.

Sometimes we will make promises to our family members or to our friends and then we will simply conveniently forget about it.

Or make up some excuse and not move through with it.

So there now I am behaving like the second son.

So this whole drama,

This whole story is happening within me.

The vineyard is my life.

The vineyard is my relationships.

The vineyard is my physical health.

The vineyard is my career.

The vineyard is my education.

The vineyard is my hobbies.

The vineyard is my community.

The vineyard is my spirituality.

The father is the wisest part of myself that I can always tap into and ask for guidance.

And then I have the first son and the second son.

And all this is happening within me.

When we read it as a parable,

It just seems like a story but when we go into it it's just that it holds so much wisdom for us.

It's a call to be aware.

To be aware.

Am I acting like the first son?

Or am I behaving like the second son?

The interesting part of this the interesting part of the whole story is essentially there there is no right and wrong.

These are just two perspectives that have been given to you.

The perfect perspective would have been the perfect son.

When his father came and told him something to do,

He went and did it.

But then that's that's talking of a model society and we all know that we don't necessarily behave in that way.

So this parable can be thought of as a call to awareness.

Who are you behaving like?

The first son?

Or the second son?

Try to integrate into the model of the perfect son.

We are both and we have the freedom to choose.

When I was reading this story for some reason it's the first son probably he did the work out of conscience or maybe out of feeling guilty.

And the word guilt came to mind and I remember this very very famous story especially when this story when it comes to charity.

And there are essentially four types of charity.

The first type of charity is the most perfect type.

Where we recognize that we are all one.

We are all fractals of source.

We are all coming from the same source.

And when I give to another person essentially I am giving to myself is the best type of charity.

When you give to another you are giving because you recognize the interconnectedness of all things.

Then we have the second type of charity where we give with some expectation.

We give expecting respect or we give expecting a thank you in return or we do someone a favor expecting a certain favor back.

That's the second type of charity.

The third type of charity which is not essentially a good type of charity is when we give out of guilt.

We give because we feel guilty.

And then there's the fourth type of charity which you can think of as the most dangerous type of charity.

Where we give because we want to feel good because when we give we feel good inside.

And that's the worst or the most selfish type of charity that we can do.

When we give because we feel good inside.

So that's what came to my mind when the theme of guilt came up in this parable.

So we'll go now into a guided reflective meditation.

This meditation is a call to work in the vineyard of your spirit.

So if you are sitting,

If you are sitting into your chair,

If you are sleeping,

Let go of all effort and feel the surface you are on supporting you.

Let your body relax and let your mind soften.

Let your body relax,

Let your mind soften as you prepare to journey inward.

And take a deep breath in filling your lungs with fresh life-giving air.

Hold the breath gently for the moment,

Feeling the space and expansiveness it creates.

And then slowly release,

Letting go of any tension or any resistance you may be holding.

Deep breath in,

Hold for the moment and then release.

And in this moment set an intention to open your heart and mind to divine wisdom.

Whisper inwardly,

I am ready to receive spiritual insight.

I am open to the transformation of mind and spirit.

And feel the resonance of this intention moving gently through you,

Moving gently through you like a soft wave of light.

And imagine now that you are standing in a lush and vibrant vineyard.

The air is warm,

Fragrant with the scent of ripe fruit and fresh earth.

Rays of golden sunlight filter through the leaves casting playful patterns on the ground.

You can hear the gentle rustle of the breeze,

The sound of birds singing and you can feel the energy of life pulsating all around you.

This vineyard is the sacred landscape of your own soul.

This vineyard is a place of immense potential.

This vineyard is a place of creative power.

Ahead of you,

You see a radiant figure standing in the vineyard.

This is the presence of the Divine,

Your Higher Self or the Universal Spirit appearing in whatever form feels comforting and powerful to you.

The Divine looks at you with eyes full of love.

The Divine looks at you with wisdom and infinite understanding.

You hear a voice gentle yet powerful.

The voice is saying,

Beloved one,

Go work today in my vineyard.

Tend to your mind and heart Nurture your desires and dreams.

Cultivate the seeds of love,

Joy and abundance within you.

Pause for a moment to take in this call.

Feel the Divine's invitation not as a demand but as a loving reminder of your co-creative power,

Your ability to shape your life through your thoughts,

Beliefs and actions.

As you stand in the vineyard,

Reflect on the two suns,

The two responses within your own heart.

There is a part of you like the first sun that may feel resistant to this call.

You may have doubts,

Fears or limiting beliefs that hold you back.

This part of you might think,

I am not ready or I do not believe in my own power.

If this resistance is present,

Gently acknowledge it without judgment.

This resistance is simply a part of your experience.

Take a moment to sit with this feeling,

Breathing deeply into any places where fear or doubt may reside.

Whisper softly to yourself,

I see you and I understand.

Now feel the energy shift within you just as it did for the first sun in the parable.

Feel a sense of awakening,

A realization that you do have the power to choose again.

Imagine yourself saying,

Even if I once resisted,

I now choose to work in the vineyard of my spirit.

I choose to plant seeds of possibility,

Hope and divine intention.

Visualize yourself moving joyfully through the vineyard,

Tending to each plant,

Each desire,

Each dream with love and care.

See the seeds of your positive thoughts taking root and growing strong and feel the joy of participating in this divine act of creation.

Now turn inward once again and contemplate that part of you that like the second sun may have said,

I will go but failed to act.

Where in your life have you promised to make changes or to live by spiritual principles but haven't followed true?

Where have your words and actions been misaligned and without judgment simply notice?

The divine does not condemn you.

It only invites you to greater authenticity.

Breathe in deeply,

Feeling the energy of self-compassion and say to yourself,

I release self-deception and choose to live my truth.

I align my words with my actions,

My beliefs with my behavior.

With your heart open and your spirit renewed,

Feel yourself standing strong in the vineyard.

Declare silently or out loud,

I am a willing participant in the creation of my highest good.

I plant seeds of love,

Joy,

Prosperity and peace within my subconscious mind.

I trust that divine intelligence brings these seeds to fruition and feel the power of these words filling you with light,

Aligning every cell in your body with the frequency of your highest vision.

Visualize the vineyard of your mind thriving,

Full of life,

Abundant.

Take a moment to express deep gratitude to the divine presence that guided you,

That guided you to your higher self,

To the sacred vineyard within you.

Feel the warmth of this gratitude filling your heart.

Whisper inwardly,

Thank you for the gift of this moment.

Thank you for the power to choose.

Thank you for the love that always surrounds me.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And slowly bring your awareness back to the room.

Feel the surface beneath you.

Feel the air on your skin,

The rhythm of your breath.

And when you are ready,

Open your eyes.

Carry the energy of this meditation into your day.

Know that the vineyard of your spirit is always there,

Ready for you.

Tend to it with love and intention.

Move forward empowered,

Enlightened,

Aligned with divine truth.

Prepare to work joyfully in the vineyard of your mind and spirit.

The parable of the two sons and there's learning and there's applying,

There's application,

There's action.

And transformation comes when we start to take action.

So some suggested action that we can take based on this parable.

Firstly,

Try to embrace a consistent spiritual practice.

You're all showing up here today,

You're all showing up on insight time or that in itself is a spiritual practice.

Secondly,

Align words with actions.

Reflect on the areas of your life where you have promised yourself or you have promised others that there would be a certain change or certain action that you would do but you have not followed through with it.

And try to take small steps,

Try to take at least one small step towards living out those intentions.

So if you've been telling yourself that you will start a new habit,

Maybe like journaling or exercising,

Do it today.

Even if you're doing it for the few minutes,

Just start to do it.

Authenticity means acting on your intentions.

So align words with actions.

Thirdly,

Release resistance.

And resistance,

It shows up,

It constantly shows up in our life,

In the variety of things that we are doing.

If you look closely,

You will see resistance.

Try to acknowledge where you have felt this resistance and instead of judging yourself for giving in to resistance,

Release this judgment and start to take positive action.

A good suggestion is that when negative thoughts arise,

Pause,

Breathe and say an affirmation to yourself.

A simple affirmation like I release all resistance.

And then take one step forward,

No matter how small that step is.

Practice self-forgiveness.

Because many a times,

The person that we find hardest to forgive is ourself.

We choose to keep living in guilt,

We choose to keep living in regret.

So the action is to let go of guilt,

Let go of regret over past actions or past inactions and realize that every moment is an opportunity to choose a new path.

Forgive yourself,

Start with a fresh intention and you can do this at any time.

Whenever you decide,

That's when you do it.

And then open yourself to divine guidance.

Many a times,

Divine guidance can come in unexpected forms.

The universe is always guiding us to the highest good.

So,

Open yourself to divine guidance,

Open yourself to intuition.

Try to filter out all that noise.

And finally,

Stay persistent.

Stay persistent and trust the process because transformation,

Spiritual transformation or any kind of transformation,

It simply requires patience and persistence.

So,

Keep working on your inner vineyard even when the results aren't immediate.

So to summarize,

Simply commit to aligning your thoughts,

Words and actions with the highest vision of your life.

Embrace each moment as an opportunity to sow seeds of love,

Seeds of joy,

Seeds of abundance in the vineyard of your spirit while at the same time trusting that the divine is guiding you at every step of the way.

Thank you everyone for being here.

Love,

Light,

Blessings.

Namaste.