In the gospel of today (Mt 21, 33-43) Jesus tells us of a vineyard leased out to tenants. The vineyard produces its harvest and the owner sends his servants to collect the fruits. The tenants kill the servants so the owner sends his own beloved son who meets with the same fate. What will the owner do? The listeners respond “Kill the tenants!” filled with a sense of rough justice and indignation. But they then add, “And the owner will then lease the vineyard to other tenants who will be able to deliver the fruit of the harvest at the proper time.” The fruit of the vineyard is so precious that the show must go on. So the owner of the vineyard entrusts the harvest to “other tenants.” Who are these other tenants? You guessed it, you and I! It is our turn now. But how can we be trustworthy tenants who can produce the fruit of the harvest at the proper time.
Perhaps it helps us to remind ourselves what is a tenant. A tenant is not the owner and does not own the produce of the vineyard although the tenant can enjoy the benefit of a fruitful harvest. We are tenants in that we are called to collaborate, to be co-labourers, in the Lord’s vineyard. In the Eucharist we offer the bread to be consecrated as “fruit of the earth and work of our hands.” There is a col-laboration with God here, a working together in harmony with the Creator. God has given each one of us certain gifts and talents, he has given us a heart capable to love and a mind which can be creative in searching for solutions to problems. All that we have received including our time and our very lives are urgently needed to participate in building the Kingdom. A mentality prevalent today is that what I have is mine and I can do with it whatever I want. But what do we have that we have not received? It is good to examine if we use what we have in function of the Kingdom. For example our time - sometimes we find “no time” to pray but it is amazing how time flies when we are watching television or surfing the net!
The prophet Isaiah in the first reading (Isaiah 5, 1-7) laments that the vineyard has produced no fruit - “What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done? Why, when I looked for the crop of grapes, did it bring forth sour ones?” Sometimes we can mount the defensive and plead that “Well I am not a bad person. At least I haven’t killed anyone.” If we were living in the 16th century perhaps we could get away with this. In that era, the moral life of the Christian was seen by many as merely to avoid sin. To not do evil. We are now in the 21st century. The focus is not simply to avoid evil but to do good! The second Vatican council spoke of the moral obligation of Christians to do good in the world in a document called Optatam totius when it explained that the followers of Christ are called to assume the challenge and vocation “to bear fruit in charity for the life of the world.” Not simply to avoid bad things but to love. And not merely to think at an individual level but for the life of the world. When we see the great challenges of the world of today who cannot feel moved to respond fully to the call of Jesus to help out?
Sometimes we are too stressed to think much about the Kingdom. In fact, our minds can be so full of anxiety and negative thoughts that we think that our lives will never produce good fruit. It is a reality of our modern lives that sometimes we get very stressed by our work. We idolize it too much. It is well known that countries with a developed economy also have developed high levels of stomach ulcers! Or even in the Western world we can boast of increased levels of technology but also increased levels of depression. Of course our work can contribute to the Kingdom but we must only give to Caesar, or our boss, what belongs to him, but give to God what belongs to God. Many today will make great sacrifices for their work. In pagan times harsh sacrifices were often demanded to appease the false Gods but even today, for the sake of a career, many will sacrifice their maternity and paternity by delaying childbearing or having too few children. Others sacrifice their health, others their marriage.
In the second reading of today (Philippians 4, 6-9) St Paul gives us all some healthy advice for not get too caught up in the rat race and keep things in perspective. A healthy tree produces good fruit so what is needed is a healthy inner life, or life of prayer. We know that our lives are like the iceberg – 10% is visible and above water but the main part, 90% of it, is submerged. Externally we see a small fraction of the expression of a person. The battle is won and lost inside, in the so-called hidden life. Sometimes we are so disturbed by a comment or situation. How different when our stability lies in our inner life, in our relationship and friendship with Jesus. Herein lies our stability. For this reason St Paul advises: “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). What is lacking many times in the busy world of today? Go to the essential. In the days of exploring the high seas, the dreaded disease on long sea voyages was scurvy, a condition that caused the gums to bleed, the teeth to come out and the skin to fall away. What was lacking in the diet? A vital amine, later known as vitamin C. What is lacking in the lives of many Christians today? Vitamin P. What is that? Vitamin Prayer! Man cannot live on work alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. It is only in prayer that we discover that the owner of the vineyard is actually our loving Father telling us, “I love you and I need your help in the vineyard.” We discover a Jesus who does not call us servants but calls us friends. And we get to know this Holy Spirit who is not a spirit of timidity but of love and energy. Phew! We can breathe and relax a bit. All the strength does not need to come from us but from God. This is the secret of bearing fruit. It is our intimate relationship with the Trinity, a simple loving dialogue with them. This is why St Paul tells us to share all our worries with them. We need to speak to God like he is our best friend and most intimate companion. This is the advice of all the praying Saints. St Alphonsus Ligouri says our intimacy with God must be greater than that with our closest friend, and St Teresa of Avila describes prayer as an intimate dialogue with the person who loves us the most. We don’t need to think that “this is impossible for me as I cannot spend all day in the monastery.” Let us listen to the advice of St John Chrysostom - “It is always possible to pray. When we are walking along and even when we are in the marketplace.” So we can pray when we are at work as well and make our work part of our mission, a place where we can sow seeds of the Kingdom. A little Word here and there and we do our bit planting little seeds of love and humility. God will make them grow.
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