Daily Reflection Memorial of Saint Charles Lwanga and companions, martyrs

Jesus’ parable paints a grim picture of the eternal struggle of good versus evil. Here a vineyard owner leased his property to tenant farmers. They were expected to work the land, tending the vines and gathering the produce for the owner. For their labor they would be paid and cared for by the owner. However, in the gospels, we sometimes hear of how the tenant farmers became greedy and would try to keep everything for themselves, hording the land and the produce. In a way, the vineyard may remind us of the Garden of Paradise. There Adam and Eve were charged with cultivating the land and they could enjoy all of paradise. But they rebelled. They ignored the giver and horded the gift.

Through all of this, though, notice how the vineyard owner continues to pursue the tenant farmers despite their defiance and disobedience. Jesus teaches that God will not give up on us. God simply will not take no for an answer. God is, as Francis Thompson describes in his epic poem, “The Hound of Heaven,” doggedly pursuing those who flee from the Divine love.