THE WORD
2 Pt 1,2-7 / Mk 12,1-12
Jesus began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower.
Then he leased it to tenant farmers and le on a journey. “At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenant to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard.
But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent them another servant. And that one they beat over the head and treated shamefully. He sent yet another whom they killed. So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed. He had one other to send, a beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’
“But those tenant said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What (then) will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, put the tenant to death, and give the vineyard to others.
“Have you not read this scripture passage: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord had this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?’”
IN OTHER WORDS
This parable can make one easily say of the tenants, “What a bunch of greedy ingrates!” It is difficult to learn and accept the lesson that Jesus Christ, the Word-made- flesh and God-with-us, wants to impart. It takes humility to recognize a favor and say, “Thank you for helping me out.”
Today, I ask, “Has God not given me a vineyard of gifts: intelligence, talents, loving family and friends, associates, even total strangers at times and situations, all bearers of blessings in my life? I give myself now, the opportunity to examine this vineyard and how my all-loving Creator God has carefully “put a fence around it, dug a hole for the winepress and built a watch tower” to protect it.
I remember how my widowed mother, despite her meager means, decided to transfer my sister and me from the public school in our small barrio to the Holy Ghost School run by the MissionaryS isters Servants of the Holy Spirit (SSPS) in Tayum, Abra where I eventually received my college diploma. Afterwards, I had big dreams of making it good in the USA or Canada and was ready to fly. Missionary service, I thought, could wait a while, perhaps three years or more. Thankfully, my mother’s friend, a sincere and courageous SSPS sister, took me to task, saying, “You are not going to make God wait!” The rest is history.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for Your power within me enabling me to recognize Your unending grace without which I cannot overcome my selfish desires and weaknesses. Make me constantly aware that You are the Giver and Owner of all that I am. Grant me a thankful and generous heart, ready to serve and to share your gifts with others in love. Amen.
- Fr. Ancille Elveña, SSpS | Manila
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
