Acceptiing or Rejecting the Son

 Matthew 21: 33-43, 45-46

The Parable of the Tenants

³³ “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. ³⁴ When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

³⁵ “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. ³⁶ Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. ³⁷ Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

³⁸ “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ ³⁹ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

⁴⁰ “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

⁴¹ “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

⁴³ “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. ⁴⁶ They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet. 

Another poignant parable to help us see who we are and where we are. The messengers of God do not often come so clearly visible as in this story; if they did how would I react?  Would I reject or accept them?  Lent brings the Son into focus; we read the Scriptures with more attention, perhaps even devoting time to read more than usual.  Perhaps we pray the Stations of the Cross for a vivid recollection of the trial, final walk, and crucifixion of Jesus. This is the time of the year especially devoted to fixing our eyes on Jesus.  Let us pray that we see him more clearly,  especially in the people with whom we live and work.  And let us pray for the grace of acceptance for what we see in a new and clearer light..

Bro. Rene