Monday, June 2, 2008

supplements for life

2 Peter 1:-7; In you my God, I place my trust. Mark 12:1-12

Jesus gives the parable of the man who planted a vineyard and then leased it to tenants to care for it.  The man leaves on a long journey then periodically sends servants back to obtain produce from the vineyard.  The tenants beat or kill these servants.

The man finally sends his beloved son, thinking the tenants would listen since the son would remind them of his generosity to them.   The tenants choose to kill the son in hopes to get the inheritance and keep it for themselves.  

The story of the vineyard is the story of the Israelites.  God, the Father, set the Israelites apart, as tenants of the vineyard of whose produce was to enrich the world by the covenant he made with them.  God then sent the prophets to remind the tenants of their task and each time the prophets were beaten, killed, or chased out of town. 

The Father finally sent his son.  The son was killed by the ones he was sent to save.

Jesus then poses a question followed by an answer. 

"What then will the owner of the vineyard do?  He will come, put the tenants to death, and give the vineyard to others." 

We are the others.  We have been given the vineyard set up by the Father through the Son.  We are sent forth to enrich and bring forth bountiful produce so that the world may taste and see the goodness of God. 

St. Peter in the first reading ask us to "make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, knowledge, self-control, endurance, devotion, mutual affection, love"

In greek the word to supplement means to 'lavishly pour out everything that is necessary for a noble performance'.   This is how we tend the vineyard, by allowing our faith to be the noble performance God intended.  Thus, the rich produce will be brought forth and all will taste and see the goodness of the Father.

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