WHEN God entrusts his gifts to us, what must be our proper response? To take care of these gifts and give back what is due to him.
In this Sunday’s gospel (Matthew 21:33-43), Jesus tells us the parable of the landowner who, prior to embarking on a journey, entrusts his vineyard to his tenants. When the vintage time came, he sent his servants to receive his share of the produce, but they were received with hostility by the tenants. They beat one, killed another and stoned another one. The landowner then sent more servants, greater in number than the first group, but even these were treated in the same way. Finally, the landowner resolved to send his son, expecting that the tenants will respect him. But on seeing the son, the tenants killed him, for in doing so, they thought that in killing the heir the property may become theirs.
In the First Reading from Isaiah 5, the prophet tells us that this vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel and, therefore, the landowner is God himself. As the good owner of the vineyard, God took care of the Israelites, his chosen people. He freed them from slavery in Egypt, brought them to the Promised Land, defended them from their enemies and provided all their needs. But despite God’s goodness, the Israelites went into cycles of rebellion and repentance. They disobeyed the commandments of the Lord and worshipped other gods. Tirelessly, God sent them prophets to win them back to his fold. At times, they listened; many times they did not. And like the tenants in the parable, they persecuted and mistreated these prophets.
Finally, God sent his only Son, Jesus, to the world. Jesus did what the Father asked him to do--call people to repentance and do good to them. He preached the good news of God’s love and salvation, forgave sins, healed sicknesses, cast out evil spirits and empowered his apostles and other believers to do as he did. But what did the people do in return? They killed Jesus, nailing him on the cross.
“What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?” Jesus asked. The chief priests and the elders answered, “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times." Hearing this, Jesus declared, “therefore I say to you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”
Israel rejected Jesus, “the stone that the builders rejected but which has become the cornerstone.” Because of this, God’s offer of salvation and blessing was extended to people outside the house of Israel – to us Gentiles by birth. Not to boast about it but to receive it in faith and gratitude knowing that when the time is ripe, Israel will also accept Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, and not long thereafter the end of this age will come.
On the personal level, as Gentiles given the privilege to enjoy the bounty of God’s blessings, what should we do in return? To live lives professing Jesus as our Savior and Lord, and to be good stewards of the vineyard entrusted to our care, bearing fruits of righteousness and love.