A people producing fruits
Listening the Spirit
Lord, our loving Master,
Thank You for entrusting Your vineyard to us.
Help us to remember that we are servants, not owners.
Teach us to use our gifts, our time, and our responsibilities
not for ourselves, but for the good of others and for Your glory.
Keep us from pride, control, and possessiveness.
Give us humble hearts that are willing to listen,
to accept correction, and to grow together.
May our communities become a fruitful vineyard—
a community of faith, communion, service, generosity, forgiveness, and love.
And when You come to look upon the vineyard You have entrusted to us,
may You find that we have been faithful servants.
Amen.
Listening the Word: Matthew 21:33-43
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."
Reflection
The tenants of the parable in today’s gospel are very selfish and greedy people. They want to keep everything for themselves, not only the fruits, but also the vineyard itself. The result is tragic. They lose everything: fruits, vineyard and even their lives. Such is the destiny of those people who want to live their lives only for themselves, looking after money, power, glory, success, pleasure. In this regard Jesus said: “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”
God created us and gave us the world to live in, but we are neither the owners of the world, nor of our own lives. We are like tenants who are expected to produce fruits. This is a recurrent theme in the gospels, especially in the gospel of St. John, but also in the other gospels. Jesus used the image of trees and fruits to talk about people and their actions. “By their fruit you will recognize them.” “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” Jesus himself cursed the fig tree that was without fruits, and it dried up.
But what are the fruits that we must produce? They are the good actions that we do to others out of love. “I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.” Even the smallest of these actions, like giving a glass of water to one who is thirsty, is a valuable fruit in the eyes of God. These are the fruits that will give us eternal life.
Reflection Questions
1. What fruits am I producing in my life through my actions, especially in the way I treat and serve the people around me?
2. Am I living more like an owner who wants to keep everything for myself, or like a tenant who gratefully uses what God has given me to serve others?
