Vineyard

Jesus began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, and leased it to tenants, and went to another country for a long time. When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants in order that they might give him his share of the produce of the vineyard; but the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Next he sent another slave; that one also they beat and insulted and sent away empty-handed. And he sent still a third; this one also they wounded and threw out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ But when the tenants saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance may be ours.’ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Heaven forbid!” But he looked at them and said, “What then does this text mean: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.” When the scribes and chief priests realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to lay hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people. Luke 20:9-19 

Jealousy and envy undo us. We want what we do not have and never think to rejoice in what we have and who is in our lives. Those who are poor ache for wealth and those whose lives are complicated by wealth ache for simplicity. Like children in school, we can be jealous of others' lives which look better and more put together than ours. Yet the time we waste with jealousy and envy, whether we act on those impulses or not, simply demeans us, and keeps us from the enormous abundance and love around us.

Jesus encounters the angry jealousy of the religious leadership. His story of the vineyard only inflames their anger. They understand he is talking about them. And, he is talking about all od us, when we want what is not ours, when we think we deserve more. We are invited to recognise those feelings as a sign of going deeper into our need for love and security, for gratitiude for who we are and what we do have.

Today, I ask God to help me be fully present in every moment and always grateful for what and whom I have been blessed with. May we all live a life of gratitiude, so that we never miss the showers of blessings God intends for each of us.