The kingdom of God will be given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.

Friday Second Week of Lent

Reading :Matthew 21:33-46

‘Listen to another parable. There was a landowner, who planted a vineyard,

put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watch tower. Then he

leased it to tenants and went to another country.  When the harvest time

had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce.  But the

tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.

Again, he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them the

same way.  Finally, he sent his son to them, saying, “They will respect my son.”

But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, “This is the heir,

come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.” So, they seized him, threw him

out of the vineyard and killed him.  Now when the owner of the vineyard

comes, what will he do to those tenants? They said to him, ‘He will put those

wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who

will give him the produce of the harvest at the harvest time.

Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scripture:

“The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone, this was the Lord’s doing.

and it is amazing in our eyes?”

Therefore, I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.  The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls. When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard this parable, they realised that he was speaking about them.  They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

Reflection

Throughout history, land has always been important to the people. In the Old Testament we see where God in the Abrahamic Covenant called Abram and said, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation and will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ (Genesis 12: 1-4) Here we see the trust that God is placing in Abram and revealing himself as a faithful God. Abram was true to the trust that was placed in him. (Genesis 15:16)In this parable, Jesus speaks about the trust that the landowner places in his tenants and how they respond to this trust. He has entrusted his prized vineyard to them when he leaves home to attend to his affairs abroad. He has no reason to suspect that they will not take good care of it so that it will bear its precious produce in due season.  However, all is not well when the servants go to collect the produce; the faith that the landowner had in the tenants has been misplaced and their response to both the servants and the masters’ son is difficult to comprehend. The tenants have no respect for the kindness that has been shown to them by the landowner.  Neither do they respect human life. The servants are met with violence and the heir to the kingdom is murdered. The wrath of the land-owner falls upon the wicked tenants and they suffer the loss of their own lives. Jesus uses the parable to remind us that He is the cornerstone, the fulfilment of divine prophecy and the foundation of God’s redemptive plan for the world. He asks us to live in right relationship with him and fulfil the trust that he has placed in us through baptism. We are asked to nourish our faith, to share it with others and to allow it to bear good fruit for the glory of God and the good of humanity. If we do not nourish it by prayer and good works, we are at risk of losing it; we risk falling outside of the kingdom of God and this would sorely grieve the heart of God. Lent offers us a graced opportunity to deepen our understanding of our faith through scripture study and prayer. We may wish to pray with Lectio Divina which involves a slow, contemplative reading of Scripture, allowing for a more profound encounter with God through his Word. This prayer will help to guide our daily lives with the Lord so that we may walk every more closely with him each day.

Like the tenants in the parable, we too are asked to be accountable for the gifts and talents that God has entrusted to us and not hide them in the ground.  (Matthew 25:25) In response to global awareness of famine in Ethiopia in 1985, Bob Geldof the Boomtown Rats star and Ultravox vocalist Midge Ure staged a concert simultaneously at Wembley and the JFF Stadium in Philadelphia on 13th July 1985 to raise funds for the famine relief in Ethiopia.

Another way to express gratitude to God for his goodness to us is to be grateful to all who support us on our journey through life. We receive our ‘daily bread’ (Matthew 6:11) in so many ways and our song should be one of joyful thanksgiving. (Psalm 95:2) I am reminded to ask myself, what is my response to God’s benevolence and to me?  What attitudes or actions do I need to take to express thanks to our creator for all his loving kindness?  The words of St. Luke remind me, ‘From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.’ (Luke 12:48)

As we enter ever more deeply into Lent what actions have you taken to deepen your life of prayer.

Is there a Lectio Divina group on your parish or community where you could break open the Word of God with fellow pilgrims and deepen your knowledge of sacred scripture.

What actions have you taken this week to support one person in need.

Prayer

Lord, you have placed me in your vineyard to serve you.May the light of faith burn ever more brightly in my life;May it draw people to you;  May the joy of knowing you as the landowner of the Kingdom of God be theirs, Amen.