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Today’s gospel is about the tenants of a vineyard refusing to give the harvest owed to the landlord. I am one of those tenants. Now, it’s tempting to say, “That isn’t me,” but the deeper reflection is to find the ways it is saying something about how I respond to God’s gifts in my life.
Can I see myself being given all that I have, to tend and grow and offer back to God? These gifts—my family, my work, my talents, my possessions—are in my care, not for myself, but to be offered back as a gift. I owe my deep gratitude and the fruits of all my labor back to God “the landowner.” But I get caught up in my own selfishness and pride. In what ways do I feel entitled to all that I possess?
In this parable, Jesus is the son sent and rejected. I am being asked to further set aside my focus on self-interest and turn my focus to Jesus. Jesus, even after being rejected and set aside, reconciles all of humanity to God. In what ways can I welcome Jesus today?