MONDAY JUNE 3, 2024
MONDAY OF THE NINETH WEEK OF THE ORDINARY TIME YEAR B
ST CHARLES LWANGA & Comp.,
2 Peter 1:2-7
Mark 12:1-12
EX-RAYING GOD’S PROVIDENCE AGAINST MAN’S RESPONSE
Jesus paints the picture, in the parable of the gospel of today, of the magnitude of God’s providence and mercy. That God prepared a vineyard, “… planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a pit for the wine press, and built a tower, and leased it to tenants,…” And after such elaborate preparations handed over to tenants.
This overwhelming attention, supply, providence and sustenance of God is attested in nature, in our lives, with all our sense faculties, physical endowment, spiritual empowerment and even material strength, intellectual capacity and even giftedness assured.
As Christians sent into the world, we are always reminded that we are salt of the earth and light of the world. We have been planted in the world to give service as Jesus did, to affect the world positively in the mind and ways of Christ. That is the overwhelming providence of God.
But this providence is seen more in the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles as we received the sacraments and become witness of the gospel.
These endowments that Jesus talks about in the context of the vineyard, with the preparation of the vineyard, is to tell us how much we have been blessed as individuals, or as a community, or
societies and most importantly as a Church to bear witness, to testify, to stand on behalf of Christ and to project the life and ideals of Christ in our world.
The issue here after all these is the our response or rather man’s response to these provisions of God committed with the vineyard as tenants. How serious and responsible are we, the tenants? Do we even believe that we are tenants and not owners of the vineyard? We tend to assume the position of owners. We forget that we built nor hold nothing, possess nothing but are only assigned the role of dispensers of the gifts prepared by our Good God.
Jesus is not just speaking to the scribes and Pharisees of old who were actually his focus that period but is speaking to us now in our age
The response of the tenant in the vineyard was to assume the posture of owners and set out killing, maiming and sending out the messengers of God who came to collect the proceeds of the vineyard. Such irresponsible actions and behaviours of the tenants earned them death and elimination from the vineyard at the end because the owner who is God will eventually arise and take over what belongs to him.
That was why Jesus was crucified because of the wrong disposition and irresponsible behavior of the tenants who assumed ownership of the vineyard and acted arrogantly and proudly to maim and throw out the messengers.
So what is the responsible and effective response that is required of us all who are pilgrims, faithful people, and tenants in the vineyard. We are supposed to be humble, submissive, and loving in the administration of the goods of the vineyard of the Lord. We must be careful to understand that all that is in the vineyard belongs to God and not to us. Therefore we must be detached, and respond adequately and rightly by a life of service with the earnest expectation of the last day when the owner will come and we shall give account of our stewardship to him who owns all things.
In serving as expected we need to be detached in the administer of the vineyard, to be humble in service, to be austere in attitude, to be cultured with the expectations of future reward at the coming of the owner of the vineyard, our Good God.
Let us never allow our appetite, our wants, our desire and the fears of the future push us into assuming ownership and exclusive ownership and control of the estate of our God. It must be known that our position as disciples of Christ is nothing more then faithful and wise dispensers of the mysteries and material endowments of our God with the expectation that one day we shall all give account of our stewardship to him who owns all things.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of life, of faith, and for finding us worthy to be your disciples and apostles of our time. As we engage in the works of mercy and love, we beg you to keep us in check, guide our lives and never allow us to deviate from humbly working, faithfully dispensing your mercy and mercifully attending to our tasks in total submission to you as we await your eternal rewards in glory through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Fr Norbert Uchuno
