The parable of the tenants

JESUS said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: “Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’ They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?” They answered him, “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times.” Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes? Therefore, I say to you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them. And although they were attempting to arrest him, they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.

REFLECTION TO A PEOPLE THAT WILL PRODUCE ITS FRUIT.

The parable of the Wicked Tenants, as it stands in Matthew, is clearly an allegory, that is, a kind of code with each major element in the parable symbolizing something outside of the story. The tenants of the vineyard, those responsible for the harvest, are the authorities entrusted by God with leading Israel to fruitful obedience, but who fail to carry out their charge. The slaves, who are sent again and again, only to be rejected and abused, stand for the prophets calling the people to faithfulness. The owner’s son is, of course, Jesus himself (the stone rejected by the builders), who is thrown outside of the vineyard and killed (cf Heb 13:12). On the basic level, the parable is an allegory about the disobedience of the people of Israel, especially their leaders, and the consequent turn of God toward a new people, the followers of Jesus Christ. This is no basis for congratulations, however. The Christian Church is now in the position of being tenants, and the parable begins all over again. Now the Church is responsible for the harvest of the vineyard and is challenged to be a people that will produce the fruits of the Kingdom.

What kind of “fruits” do you offer to God for all the graces you have received?