The month of October is both for missionary activities and the month of the rosary. The 1st week is dedicated to prayer and mass for all those involved in reaching out to people with the aim of spreading the gospel especially towards those who do not yet know Christ. The gospel of today plus the first reading enlighten us that we belong to God and are expected to produce fruit at the right time. Our life, the resources we have and the church as an institution has been leased to us. Many problems facing our country regarding land have got to do with leasing and ownership. Like the landowner in the bible who went for a long journey, most people assume ownership of property and become hostile to true owners. In the history of salvation God chose the Israelites as his vineyard. He took care of them, protected them and freed them from slavery. Instead of appreciating they turned against the same person-God by rejecting his word through the prophets and other messengers. Finally they even killed the very son of God-Jesus Christ. We are beneficiaries of the cruelty of the disrespectful tenants because out of the death of the only son of the landlord (Jesus), we are saved. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone. God expects us to respect his son, but like the unfaithful servants, we eliminate him from our lives. By saying this is the heir, come let us kill him and acquire his inheritance, unknowingly it is us all who have been made heirs of the kingdom of heaven, and adopted brothers to Christ. As we mark this missionary month, God is reminding us that he has leased the word to us so that we may work on it and produce fruit. He expects me and you to evangelize, to preach and become missionary. Have you ever gone out of your self, family, parish, diocese, country...to preach and witness the gospel in any way? Have you spoken to a friend or any person about the word of God or an aspect of faith that they dont know? The church is now the vineyard of the Lord and the priests (bishops), catechists, evangelizers, nuns and lay missionaries are now the servants in the Lords vineyard. The work we are doing is not ours, but the Lords. He does everything yet our presence on the ground is necessary. Dont we at times reject these servants, accuse them justly or unjustly, yet each one of us is supposed to embrace this responsibility? Since Jesus ascended into heaven we are still waiting for his second coming. The time seems long like the 99 years lease expired and renewed! Have we forgotten or lost hope that the owner has to come for the grapes? Jesus planted the seed, watered it with his own sweat and blood. How comes I have some wild grapes in my life? If I may put down on a list the good sweet grapes in my life (good deeds, fruits of Holy Spirit), do these weigh more than the wild grapes (vices, bad habits/deeds)? On the market a lot of good fruits are on sale and no body takes poisonous/inedible wild fruits for sale. Why then do we take them directly to God where he can just see them? We give Him wild grapes by harboring evil thoughts in our hearts or doing evil in secret; exactly where he can reach and discover them! Is this not oppression and injustice to our God as the 1st reading concludes? As human beings we have been given a special task to not only produce fruit but to re-produce. Children born from the union between man and woman are a fruit of Gods work. He will also hold us responsible for every fruit (child) he knows was conceived but at harvest time they were missing. Children cannot today become wild grapes, unwanted, because of our selfish motives and irresponsibility. That which God planted, created and nurtured is always good and indeed very good. If we want to be good tenants and servants, let us do what St. Paul says by learning what is true, honorable, pure, just, pleasing and good to the Lord.
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 20:11:06 +0000
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