I am always pained by this gospel passage.  It seems to me that the father was a bit naïve, or to self-assured, in deciding to send his son to deal with his tenants.  They already killed on two different occasions.  It doesn't seem like a good idea to risk you own son over a vineyard.

Yet, that is precisely the point.  The Father in heaven sent his only son to save us from sin.  And he gave up his son so that His hope and desire for us to live in unity with him, might be accomplished.   Christ’s rejection, crucifixion and death were a result of humanities rejection of love and truth, just like the tenants in today’s Gospel.

This darkness is contrasted with Christ’s glorious resurrection.  The power of God’s love is revealed in the Accession of Christ, which is the Father calling out to us, through Christ sharing in our humanity, we might share fully in his divinity.

As we reflect on today’s gospel, we need to consider are we the tenants in God’s vineyard today?  Has each of us has been gifted with being able to be in the vineyard of life today? The question for us now is, how will we respond to Christ when he comes to share his life?  Will we welcome him and build our lives on this divine presence, or will we, in our own way crucify him?

Put another way, do we desire to be fruitful for God, or do we live only for ourselves in darkness and sin? While it may be a bit of both, we are urged by the Holy Spirit to desire to love God as he loves us and nothing less.   Love relationships are an all or nothing reality. Today, let us chose love.  

Come, Holy Spirit and enkindle in us the fire of your love!