March 1 2024: Bible Verse of the Day – The Parable of the Tenants – Be a Faithful and Fruitful Tenant – The Landowner Who Planted a Vineyard – Matthew 21:33-46, Mark 12:1-12 – Friday of the Second Week of Lent, Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, Monday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
33 Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: “Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. – Matthew 21:33-46, Mark 12:1-12
This parable reminds us that God is the owner of everything, He expects us to produce good fruit, and He will hold us accountable for how we use the resources He has given us. It also warns us that rejecting Jesus will result in judgment.
Catholic Readings For Today
Friday of the Second Week of Lent
Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Monday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time, Year 1
Monday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2
Today’s Teaching About The Parable of the Tenants
God is the Owner of Everything
The landowner represents God, who created and owns everything in the universe.
God Expects Us to Produce Good Fruit
The vineyard represents the world, and the tenants represent us the people. God created us with a purpose and expects us to produce good fruits from the talents he has given us and the environment around us.
God expects us to produce good fruits by knowing Him, loving Him, serving Him, then praising and glorifying Him for the rest of our lives.
God Has Entrusted Us with His Resources
The tenants were given the vineyard to work and produce fruit. In the same way, God has given us talents, abilities, and resources to use for His glory.
God’s Messengers Are Often Rejected
The servants sent by the landowner represent the prophets and messengers of God who were sent to the Israelites to call them to repentance. The tenants mistreated and killed the servants, just as the Israelites rejected and killed the prophets.
We too in this present age and time often mistreat God’s servants especially our clergy and ministers of the Church through backbitings, false accusations, murder, beatings, emotional torture among others.
God’s Ultimate Plan is to Send His Son
The landowner finally sent his own son, thinking that the tenants would respect him. However, the tenants killed him too. This represents how God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from our sins, but many people reject Him and His message.
Jesus proclaims that He is the Cornerstone and anyone who rejects Him or does contrary to His teachings will face His wrath on judgement day.
Those Who Reject Jesus Will Be Judged
The parable ends with the landowner coming to destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. This represents the judgment that will come upon those who reject Jesus and the Holy Gospel, and refuse to produce good fruit for God.
This parable also emphasizes that if you do not use your God given talent to produce good fruit, they will be withdrawn from you and be given to other people who will exploit them and deliver more and more souls to the Lord, and great will be their reward both here on earth and in Heaven.
In summary, this parable teaches us that God is the owner of everything, He expects us to produce good fruit, and He will hold us accountable for how we use the resources He has given us. It also warns us that rejecting Jesus will result in judgment.
A Short Story About the Importance of Being a Faithful and Fruitful Christian
Once upon a time, there was a man named Peter who worked as a tenant on a strawberry farm. The landowner had planted the strawberry farm, and built a wall around it. He then leased it to Peter and went away on a journey.
Peter was a hardworking and faithful tenant. He tended to the strawberries carefully and made sure to harvest the berries at the right time. He knew that the success of the strawberry farm depended on his hard work and dedication.
When the landowner’s servants came to collect the share of the produce, Peter was always ready with his best berries.
He knew that the landowner had entrusted him with the strawberry farm and that he had a responsibility to produce the best berries possible.
One day, the landowner’s son came to inspect the strawberry farm. Peter welcomed him with open arms and showed him around the strawberry farm, explaining how he had taken care of it over the years. The son was pleased with what he saw and told Peter that his father was very happy with him.
However, there were other tenants who were jealous of Peter’s success. They had not taken care of their strawberry farms as well as he had, and their harvests were not as good. They saw Peter as a threat and decided to take matters into their own hands.
One day, when the landowner’s son came to collect his share of the produce, the jealous tenants attacked him and killed him.
The landowner was furious when he heard the news, and he came to the strawberry farm to punish the tenants who had killed his son.
However, when he saw Peter, he was filled with joy. He knew that Peter had been faithful and fruitful, and he rewarded him by making him the new manager of the strawberry farm.
The story teaches us that being a faithful and fruitful servant or tenant is important, not only for our success in life but also for earning God’s trust and favor.
By using our talents and resources wisely and investing in the things that matter, we can achieve great things and leave a positive impact on the world around us. We should always strive to be like Peter, who was faithful and dedicated to his work, even when others were not.
Prayer: Lord God, we thank You for purposefully creating us and giving us talents to serve You. Help us daily to remember for what purpose we were created. Help us also to utilize our talent to serve You and others with love in order to win more souls to You from the evil one. Jesus, I love You. Amen.
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