Three fellows who died at the same time were taken up to heaven and presented before the great throne of God. The first one, a carpenter, was asked by God: “Ted, what do you believe?” Ted replied, “I believe that if everyone on earth owns a house and has a bed to sleep at night, the world will be a happier place.” God pondered for a second then said, “Good idea. I’m delighted that you believe in that. Come, sit at my left.” God then asked the second person, a teacher: “Bert, what do you believe?” Bert answered, “I believe that if world leaders would all read the Book of Life and take to heart its lessons, there will be real progress and peace in the world.” Thrilled to hear the words of the educator, God invited him to sit at His right. Last up was a billionaire who owned a chain of stores worldwide. Asked about what he believed, the capitalist responded: “I believe you’re sitting in my chair!”
Ownership is a contentious issue and highly sought after. Owning something means controlling it, having authority over it, and then using it in whichever way the owner wants. As a form of empowerment, it enhances a person’s social status and improves his/her economic condition. Today’s parable talks of ownership — that is, the usurping of vineyard by the tenants from the landowner.
It goes like this: A landowner planted a vineyard, developed it, leased the whole property to tenants, and then left. Harvest time came, the owner sent servants to get his share of the produce. But the tenants killed all the servants. Ever an optimist and generous, the landowner sent his son, but he too was killed. The story ended with Jesus asking the listeners what they thought the landowner should do. “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times,” the audience replied.
Like the other gospel parables, this one is rich in symbolism and representation. Jesus was of course suggesting that the Jewish leaders during His time were the tenants to whom Yahweh the Owner had entrusted His vineyard, the people of Israel (cf. Is. 5: 7). God sent prophets as messengers but they were all killed. He finally sent his Son Jesus who suffered the same fate in the hands of the scribes and Pharisees. Historically, this is the association we could make of today’s parable. Personally, however, the lessons are very relevant.
We are mere tenants or stewards of God’s creation. We do not own what we possess. And so we are supposed to offer back to God all that we have. But this is extremely difficult to do for many of us. Life as we know it is bedeviled with uncertainty, fear, and deprivations. We often grab opportunities when they come, create them when they don’t. And when we do not like the opportunities we have, we alter them if we could to work in our favor.
In the parable, there was no shortage of produce from the vineyard, thanks to the hard work of the tenants, but also to the landowner who accommodated and hired the tenants. But the plentiful harvest and success might have gone to the tenants’ heads. Instead of expressing loyalty and gratitude to the owner, they wanted to take all from him. Obviously, they had darker ambitions.
Another story. Jim was walking to the parking lot after a poor game of golf when a policeman stopped him and asked, “Did you tee off on the sixteenth hole about twenty minutes ago?” “Yes,” the golfer responded. “Did you happen to hook your ball so that it went over the trees?” “Yes, I did.” “Well,” said the policeman very seriously, “Your ball flew out onto the highway and crashed through a driver’s windshield. The car went out of control and hit a fire truck. The fire truck couldn’t make it to the fire, and the building burned down. So, what are you going to do about it?” Jim thought it over and responded, “I think I’ll correct my posture a little bit, tighten my grip and lower my right thumb.”
A self-absorbed person is oftentimes unable to see things beyond self. Driven by personal interests, persons of this kind would not set limit to success and ambition. While this in itself could be commendable in some aspects, it could send us spiraling down to a life of radical individualism and greed. In the parable, the tenants wanted nothing less for themselves than the whole harvest, and they turned murderers to achieve this.
Stewardship is heart hard at work for God. Living on a borrowed life and mere caretakers of things we possess and have achieved, we God’s stewards rely on the Lord’s providential care to survive and thrive. We also work hard so as to become more generous to others and to have something more to share and give back to God.
soysi 
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