FRIDAY OF THE 2nd WEEK OF LENT

1.Gen37: 3-4. 12-13a.17b-28a

Gospel: Mt 21:33-43.45-46

"The parable of the tenants"

Dear brothers and sisters, we continue thanking God for the gift of His word today. Today's gospel is all about the parable of the vineyard. According to antiquity, in Galilee there were numerous vineyards and it was quite common for the owners to let their estates to be rented to tenants. Many did it for the sole purpose of collecting rent at the right time.  The question to ask ourselves right now is: Why did Jesus' story about the wicked tenants cause offense to the scribes and Pharisees? It was simply because they felt offended as the story contained both a prophetic message and a warning. Practically this parable of the vineyard speaks to us today also.

Having told the parable, Jesus quotes from the psalms, " It was the stone rejected by the builders that became the key stone," which looks forward to his resurrection. Although he was rejected by the religious and political leaders of the day Jesus rose from the dead and in so doing became the key stone of a new temple the people who believed in Him. He teaches that what is rejected can often turn out to be of crucial importance.

There is a story of a seminarian who in initial stage of  his priesthood formation was rejected on the reasons best known to his formators in the seminary, thus the young man decided to join a seminary in  another Diocese, finally he became a deacon, priest and lastly was consecrated a bishop. What we might be initially inclined to reject can be the means through which God may want to speak to us. Those aspects of our own lives that we may be prone to reject and slow to accept may be the very channels through which the Lord can work most powerfully in our lives.  The experience of Jesus also suggests that God always has a purpose for what is rejected. God is not in the business of rejecting. Although we can reject God, He never reject us.

The parable tells us some important truths about God and the way he deals with His people. First it tells us of God's generosity and trust. The vineyard is well equipped with everything the tenants need. The owner went away and left the vineyard in the hands of the tenants. God, likewise, trusts us enough to give us freedom to run life as we choose.

This parable also tells us of God's patience and justice. Not once, but many times He forgives the tenants their debts. Let us now look at Psalm 103:10-11, we are given a glimpse, as in many other places and scriptures, we' re told that the Lord " has not dealt with us after our sins. He has not rewarded us according to our iniquities for as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far as he removed our transgressions from us."

Then how are we forgiven by God? Well we see that His forgiveness is complete. It's permanent; it's unconditional and this is what I love about it, it's underserved. It is absolutely undeserved. We cannot earn it, we cannot work for it. We can't perform harder to get it. His forgiveness is all of grace.