Reflections
October 2, 2011, 8:00am
MANILA, Philippines — 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
He leased it to tenants. The Filipino word for tenant is katiwala.
The root word is tiwala or trust. A tenant is a person who is entrusted
with something. He is not the owner but has to take very good care of
the trust given him. He has to give an accounting of the stewardship.
Accountants are said to report everything, down to the last penny. The
tenant is grateful and devoted to the person who has trusted him. The
other has faith in the tenant who reciprocates by being true to the
faith he was gifted with.
We are mere tenants of this earth, our families, and our life. They
are not ours. We have to take good care of them and live with gratitude
to the God who has blessed us with all his creation.
Once in a while we would borrow things that we did not have from our
neighbors. My father would see to it we used them with care and returned
them in better condition than when we borrowed them. This is why my
family still maintains good relations with those neighbors of ours even
if we now live in different towns.
Gift a friend with a good book today.
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