The Parable of the Tenants

 Today's Reflections

The Parable of the Tenants 

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Mt 21:33-43, 45-46

[Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people,] ³³“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. ³⁴When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. ³⁵But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. ³⁶Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. ³⁷Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’ ³⁹They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?” ⁴¹They 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.” ⁴²Jesus 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’?/ ⁴³Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.” ⁴⁵When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶And although they were attempting to arrest him, they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.

Reflection:

A landowner planted a vineyard. The vineyard is Israel. God clearly favored the people of Israel but also expected them to render the produce due to God. When the sending of the prophets bore no results, God sent his own Son, Jesus.

In the parable, Jesus prophesies his rejection by the leaders of his people. God always does his part, and even more than is necessary. And though people fail him, God will not allow his work to fail. His will be the victory in the end: “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.” We may fail God, but God will not fail. God will even turn failure into success.

Are you responding to God’s graces?