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.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
One of the gifts that Jesus gave us is our Catholic faith, Jesus gave
this to us through our baptism. Does this gift of faith end with our baptism? No,
Jesus is also expecting us to share this gift of our baptism by living and
sharing our faith.
We read in our gospel this Friday that there was a landowner who leased
his vineyard to some tenants. After a period of time the landowner was now
demanding his share of their produce. But they did not give him his share, the
tenants were ruled by greed that they kept to themselves the fruits of the
vineyard.
The same is true with the gift of faith that Jesus gave us, Jesus expects
us to share the fruits of our faith. Let us not be content with status quo or inaction
let us move and do something so that we could share our faith for this is what
Jesus demands from us.
For example, why don’t we share our faith with the members of our family
by inviting them to go to Holy Mass? Why don’t we share our catholic faith with
them by having a regular time for family reflection about the words of Jesus in
the bible? Or perhaps by praying the Holy Rosary which can certainly strengthen
the unity of the family.
What have we done so far with this gift of faith that Jesus gave us
through the Sacrament of Baptism? Have we shared it already? – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
No comments:
Post a Comment