Responsible Stewardship of Resources
October 4, 2020: Matthew 21:33-43

By: The Rt. Rev. Vicente Salvador Ballesteros

The Gospel speaks of the Parable of the Vineyard or the Parable of the Wicked Tenants.  Its summary somehow presents in allegory the history of salvation.  The landowner represents God and the vineyard is the people of Israel.  The tenants are the religious and political leaders who constantly, not only rejected but worse maltreated the servants, the prophets, sent by God.  The son of the owner of the vineyard is of course Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  He is truly the stone that the builders rejected that has become the cornerstone. 

The parable highlights the importance of stewardship.  It reminds us all that we have a mission to fulfill as God’s stewards. Our life as they say is not a vacation but a vocation.  We are responsible for all the blessings, gifts and talents that God has given us.  From all of it, the Gospel emphasizes that we must produce or bear fruits.   In time, we all must give an accounting of our lives to the Lord.

The need to bear fruit is necessary; for in a way it is like the return of investments.  Even in our relationships, we have got to be fruitful, especially in regards to us being God’s disciples or stewards.  Unfortunately, aside for the wicked tenants’ failing to bear good fruits, they were also guilty of coveting what would have rightly belonged to the owner of the vineyard.  And, in their desire to have it all, they decided to kill the son of the owner of the vineyard.

We must pass on God’s gifts, whether those gifts are our Christian faith, talents or wealth.   To fail to do so is ultimately to lose it/them.  “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to people that will yield a rich harvest.”