Homily: Second Friday of Lent
Second Friday of Lent (Mt. 21:33-43, 45-46) “God’s Gift, Our Response”
The parables of Jesus usually are meant to be open ended. We can take them in a variety of ways. This parable seems to be pointed. The religious leaders who Jesus speaks to realize who he is speaking to (them).
The setting of the story revolves around an agricultural enterprise. All the people listening would understand. The vineyard has everything that is needed to be successful.
Most vineyards would have a hedge or a fence around them. The purpose was to keep out thieves. There was a wine press. This would have consisted of two troughs. They would have been made of stone or brick. At harvest time the grapes would have been placed in an upper trough and then they would have been squeezed. The grape juice would travel through a tube to the lower trough where it would be drained into containers. After that it would have been taken to be fermented into wine. Every vineyard had a tower which served two purposes. Workers would live there, and they would also keep watch from the tower to keep the grapes safe. The vigil would begin when the grapes became ripe.
The owners of vineyards would entrust their crops to servants who would take care of the vineyards. A good owner would make sure that all the equipment and facilities that were needed were in place so there would be a successful harvest.
The parable tells us something about our human existence. We can be given and many times we have been given all we need to live in this world, but the world is only placed in our care by our God. We can exploit what we have been given. We can forget who the owner of our planet is. But there will come a day of reckoning.
We can’t help but remember, as we read this parable, about the abundance that we have in this world. Do we squeeze all the life out of the earth, or do we make sure we pass on a healthy environment to the next generation? We have a choice to make. God gives us freedom. He has confidence that we will take care of what we have been entrusted with. The question always is, will that be the case?
- Is the world meant to be exploited? How is our world being damaged today?
- Have I misused my freedom? In what way?
Dear Parishioner,
This Sunday we will be having one of the scrutinizes for our RCIA candidates at Mass. We pray over those who will receive Easter sacraments. This rite should cause us to thing about our own situation. What are we trying to accomplish during Lent?
The candidates promise to reject what is contrary to the Gospels. Before we can turn away from sin, we need to know what the sin is. During this period of Lent, we examine our conscience.
We might say it is like looking over a house we are considering buying. When we are thinking about buying a home, we look at the foundation, we check the roof, we look at the wiring, we see if the windows are tight. We take great care to see that everything is in order.
Is everything in order in our life. If we have sinned, we must go through the process of reconciliation. We need to make amends, express sorrow, seek absolution. Our Lenten penance will last only a few more weeks. Do we have our house in order?
May Our Lady of Peace pray for our troubled world.
Fr. Mark