Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 12, 1-12
Jesus began to speak to the chief priests, the scribes,
and the elders in parables.
“A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it,
dug a wine press, and built a tower.
Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey.
At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants
to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard.
But they seized him, beat him,
and sent him away empty-handed.
Again he sent them another servant.
And that one they beat over the head and treated shamefully.
He sent yet another whom they killed.
So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed.
He had one other to send, a beloved son.
He sent him to them last of all, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’
But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir.
Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
So they seized him and killed him,
and threw him out of the vineyard.
What then will the owner of the vineyard do?
He will come, put the tenants to death,
and give the vineyard to others.
Have you not read this Scripture passage:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?”
They were seeking to arrest him, but they feared the crowd,
for they realized that he had addressed the parable to them.
So they left him and went away.
Thirst for power
1. The vineyard. Life is the vineyard that God has designed for you and entrusted to you, so that you will bear fruit. God has given you your life to administer and to make it profitable. What your life yields must be beneficial for all of us. The owner of your life is God, but you manage it. The good thing is that the owner is generous and wants you to do well. If you do well, we all benefit from that.
2. The take-over. This happens when you become so possessive that you end up seeing life in an egocentric and narcissistic way. That makes the fruit of the vineyard of your life infested with pests. Bugs like the “mosquito of selfishness” which bites and causes swelling, or the “worm of pride” which ends up dragging you down. Anyway, when you think this life is yours alone, that it’s just for you, and that it all ends in you, well, it will not prosper because it is infested.
3. Wonderful deed. God does great work in you and with you. You are called to produce a great harvest to all. With your life you help us to grow, and your fruit strengthens others. The fruit you can yield with your heart is beautiful, satisfying, and delicious!
Come on! God trusts you; I trust you. Many people trust and need you! Don’t forget that something good is on the way.
God bless you and protect you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
