Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:

“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.’ So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.”

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:

‘The stone that the builders rejected
     has become the cornerstone;
 this was the Lord’s doing,
     and it is amazing in our eyes’?

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.

“DON’T BUY NEW IF SOMETHING OLD WILL DO!”

Those words stood prominently at the top of the clothing and equipment list I used to send to my campers at the summer camp I once co-owned. We didn’t want parents rushing out buying the best and newest gear, only to have it sink to the bottom of the lake or be ruined by tree sap during the adventurous experiences of the Canadian wilderness.

The message was clear: “Use what you already have. It’ll do!”

But don’t forget to use it.

In today’s Gospel, Matthew tells us how this same message was delivered to the tenants of the vineyard. Instead of working hard to cultivate the vineyard they’d been given, they rested on their laurels and complacency. They wanted to reap the rewards without doing the hard work. They wanted someone else to do that for them or get it gifted to them.

What are some gifts that we take for granted? What are some things which we fail to cultivate and nourish? What are some aspects of God’s script for us that we have ‘killed’ by inaction or lack of appreciation?

We each have vineyards that await us, just as did the tenants of today’s Gospel. This annual Lenten journey calls each of us to take stock of the wonderful gifts we already possess, and a reminder to not only use these gifts simply to better ourselves, but also to share them to help others. May we cultivate the fields of our daily lives with the time, talents, and treasure which we already possess.

“Something old will,” indeed, “do!” if we allow ourselves to follow this beautiful script God has provided.

—Patrick Kennedy, a former summer camp director, is the Sr. Advancement Director for the Midwest Jesuits. 

A Prayer for Spring 

God of love, you enter into our spring seasons, into our deepest places of inner dwelling, into the heart of our transformation. You give us glimpses of the truth. May we allow our experience of spring to speak to us of necessary change and growth. Grant us an openness to the continuous process of letting go and moving on that is a part of the human condition. We are grateful that you are our faithful companion on this journey. Amen.

—Fr. Dan McDonald, SJ