Gospel
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.
God expects those who work for the kingdom, that’s every Christian, to be fruitful. So that when he asks for the produce of our work, converted hearts; the wounded, and the suffering, consoled; the lonely, befriended; those seeking the truth, to be told the good news of Jesus Christ.
How are we doing?
We are called to spread the love and peace of God who is the God of Love and peace. Jesus gives us the peace not like the world gives but his peace that does not depend on this world but on a resilient faith in him.
We will always fail. Saints would fail too. But we are to remember to get up and return to doing the Fathers’ will again. And to realize we can do nothing without God. Jesus has defeated the evil one. The war is won and so the devil tries to reframe truth so we believe lies are truth and truth is lies.
Why would we believe the words of the evil one ever? He is desperate and seeks to convince us that he has power over us. But he is a liar and cannot hurt us unless we believe his lies. Peace comes from being convinced of the love of God for us.
And so, we hold onto our faith and look to Jesus Christ as the source of truth in all things.
Today we are called to be fruitful. So we must correct ourselves and grow the love and peace of Christ in our hearts. Then with joy we cannot help but to speak about him and share his blessings with others …. and love at all times. Then we will be fruitful and the Father will be pleased with what we have produced for him.
Deacon Tony Pynes 
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