Monday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time (June 5, 2017): Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr

Tobit 1:3; 2:1a-8
Ps 112:1b-6
Mark 12:1-12
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/060517.cfm

USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/17_06_05.mp3

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark.

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.

As you read today’s Gospel story, consider: Who are the tenant farmers today?

The vineyard owner is God the Father. The beloved son is Jesus, of course. The farmers, at the time that Jesus first spoke this parable, were the Jews who rejected the Son of God.

But today we can say that these ill-mannered farmers include Christians who are lazy or belligerent about doing the service that the Father has called them to do in the continuation of the mission of Christ. They might do some of the work, but they’re not doing it the way Jesus would do it nor for the same reasons that Jesus would do it.

Through our baptisms, we are all called to be Christ in the world today. Through our spiritual growth and life experiences, we have tasted the fruits of the Holy Spirit, and God is asking us to tend the vineyard so that these fruits will multiply and make a greater difference in the world.

God gives us everything we need to become great farmers. Consider the farming tools that God has given to you. Every talent you have is a gift from the Holy Spirit and is meant to be used in God’s vineyard. So has every bit of education and know-how, and every act of love.

Whenever we assess ourselves, we tend to list what’s bad about us more than what’s good in us. Right? But it’s not prideful to take note of the good fruits we produce — as long as we remember that every good gift originated with God and serves the purposes of God.

Even our life itself is a gift from the Holy Spirit, the Giver of Life, to bear fruit that will nourish the people around us. Every unborn child is a gift of the Holy Spirit, no matter what the circumstances of conception were or how inconvenient or handicapped the life would be. Every diseased or brain-damaged person, who might seem better off dead, is a wonderful gift from the Holy Spirit who can bear good fruit through any circumstances, even though their fruits might be invisible to us.

Do you know how precious you are? By acknowledging your gifts, you give glory to God. By using your gifts, his vineyard thrives.

For example: If you need more patience in dealing with people who are giving you a hard time, give them the gift of love delivered through a charitable deed. You don’t have to actually enjoy tilling the soil! Farmers sweat in the sun. But this is how the gifts of the Spirit produce the fruits of the Spirit that nourish everyone around us with the sweet taste of joy and peace and unconditional love.

You’ve got important work to do in this vineyard. Go do it!

Today’s Prayer:

Beloved Jesus: I want to remain close to You and build my life in You. You offer me all the caring I need to bear abundant fruit. Thank you, Lord! Amen.