Gospel: Matthew
21:33-43, 45-46
Jesus said to the
chief priests and the elders of the people: “Hear another parable. There was a
landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in
it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. When
vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his
produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they
killed, and a third they stoned. Again he sent other servants, more numerous
than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. Finally, he sent
his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw
the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and
acquire his inheritance.’ They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and
killed him.
What will the owner
of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?” They answered him, “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. Jesus said to them, “Did you
never read in the Scriptures:The stone that the builders rejected has become
the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our
eyes?
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. When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his
parables, they knew that he was speaking about them. And although they were
attempting to arrest him, they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a
prophet.
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Reflection:
What is our mission
as far as our faith life in this world is concerned? It’s to pay forward or
share whatever we know about our faith. It’s to give life to our faith by not
keeping it to ourselves. And it’s to generously share whatever we know about
our faith. But have we already shared our catholic faith or whatever we know
about our faith and Jesus?
In our gospel for today, Jesus gives us the
parable of the tenants who were entrusted by the landowner of his property.
Before the landowner left them he first ensured that they already have all that
they would be needing to make them productive. And so the landowner left and
when harvest time came the landowner was now demanding his share from the
tenants.
We are the tenants
which Jesus is speaking about in the gospel. The land or property that Jesus has entrusted
to us is no other than our faith. What have we done so far to the gift of faith
that He has entrusted us? Have we already shared it? Or we are still up to know
keeping it to ourselves?
If we want to grow
in faith we have to humbly share it. For it is in sharing our faith that we
would grow in faith. It is in sharing our faith that would make us productive
followers of Jesus. Many are still not properly educated as far as their faith
life is concerned and many are Catholics in name only. And who is to blame for
this lack of education of our catholic faith? We are partly to be blamed
because many of us have not yet shared the gift of faith that Jesus has
entrusted us.
But it’s not yet
late to share our faith for we still have time. Therefore we have to do something, start first
by inviting your family to go to Holy Mass. Then gently teach them with
whatever you know about your catholic faith.
Have courage to do
this for God’s blessings will be upon you. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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