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.” Matthew 21:33-43
In the passage today the landowner is God who cares for the vineyard by providing spiritual nourishment and structure for the vineyard. The tenants are the spiritual leadership instructed to provide leadership and guidance for the vineyard to bear fruit for the landowner. The servants are the messengers sent by God to harvest the vineyard, the people of Israel. The spiritual leadership does not follow the commands from God and turns away, stones or kills the messengers. God then made a new covenant so those who turn away and do not follow God’s commands are supplanted by those who do nourish the vineyard to produce fruit for the harvest. The vineyard is now the Church. We are now all tenants, servants, and the vineyard with the responsibility to lead, instruct, pray, and display the love and grace that God has bestowed on us through Christ’s sacrifice. All of us are to spread to others the fruit of salvation.
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