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In place of our exhaustion and spiritual fatigue, God will give us rest. All He asks is that we come to Him…that we spend a while thinking about Him, meditating on Him, talking to Him, listening in silence, occupying ourselves with Him—totally and thoroughly lost in the hiding place of His presence.
- Charles (Chuck) Swindoll
(". . . spend a while . . .")
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TB 1:3; 2:1A-8; PS 112:1B-2, 3B-4, 5-6
MK 12:1-12
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.
USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture |
"He still had One to send — the Son Whom He
loved. He sent Him to them as a last resort, thinking, 'They will have to respect My Son.' " —Mark 12:6
God, the Good Master, digs out a vat for tenants who will soon mock His messengers and murder His Son (Mk 12:1-8). The tenant farmers were entrusted to run the vineyard for the Master in His absence. They have been given much, and therefore much will be required of them (Lk
12:48). The Master has the right, in justice, to receive His own fruit from His own property, so He sent a messenger to receive His share of the fruit.
When the tenants beat the first messenger (Mk 12:3), the Master could have sent the police to evict the ungrateful tenants. Instead, He sent His prophets to enrich them, essentially to hoe around them another year (Lk 13:8). These were beaten, mocked, and
even killed. Incredibly, the Master even sent His Son as a "last resort" (Mk 12:6). Doesn't the Master "get it"? Either the Master is incredibly naive or He is loving and merciful far beyond our ability to comprehend.
Jesus told the parable of the tenants for the religious leaders of His day (Mk 12:12). It was intended as a means to urge them to accept Him as God's Son. After being given so many chances to
bear the fruit God sought, how did Jesus' hearers respond to Him? "They left Him and went off" (Mk 12:12).
Jesus seeks kingdom-fruit from us (Mk 12:2). We must repent deeply of the times we have heard Him and walked away (Mk 12:12). Let's be His disciples and bear much fruit (Jn 15:8).
Prayer: Jesus, trim me clean of
barren branches so I may bear an increased yield of fruit for You (Jn 15:2).
Promise: "Happy the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commands." —Ps 112:1
Presentation Ministries
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Theological Gems from Emile Merch's Theology of the Mystical Body - selected by Jim and Tyra Arraj
Book III: Christ
Chapter 14: The Holy Spirit 450. The Spirit finds expression in charity. Christ lives in us and we live in Him.
451. Let us develop in ourselves the consciousness that we belong to the Word and the divine Thought. Then we shall come to some understanding, not in words and concepts, but in growth and life-giving light, of the mystery of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
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