October 4, 2026; Matt 21, 33-43; 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The vineyard workers in today’s gospel parable are not bad people. But they live with a significant misconception, and this faulty understanding leads to disaster. The workers have every right to be in the vineyard. They are not trespassing. They have an agreement with the owner to live and work on his property. They are tenant farmers hired to produce a harvest, and they do this well. Through their work and skill, the vineyard produces abundantly. And, here is where we come to the misconception. The vineyard workers begin to think that the vineyard is their property. Because they have lived in the vineyard so long, because they have worked it so faithfully, they begin to believe that the vineyard belongs to them. Because they possess the vineyard, they feel they own the vineyard. This is why, when the owner tries to collect his produce, they treat him and his messengers as intruders.
Jesus gives this parable to us to emphasize how surprisingly easy it is to confuse what has been entrusted to us with what belongs to us. In our lives much has been entrusted to us, but we own very little of what we possess. Children are entrusted to their parents by God, and good parents work day after day to assure that the children are loved, protected and educated. But parents do not own their children. We could all tell stories of parents we know who will not let go, and by holding on frustrate or ruin their children’s lives.
We rightly have pride in America and boast about the real opportunity this country provides for so many to work and obtain financial security. But we do not own this country. It has been entrusted to us by God so that justice and freedom may extend to many. This is why we cannot casually dismiss environmental concerns and use the natural resources of this land as we please. We are tenant farmers, and we must protect the land that has been entrusted to us. This same truth applies to immigration. We need secure borders and clear laws. But this country does not belong to us as our personal property to do with what we desire. That is why we must consider the desires of so many in our world who want immigrate here and share this land with us. They should have the opportunity to become legal citizens, just as our parents, grandparents, and great grandparents did before them.
There is a difference between what we possess and what we own. God owns everything, the world and all that is in it. Our lives, our relationships, our country are all entrusted to us by God. That is why, unlike the workers in today’s parable, we must not confuse what we possess and what own. Our role, rather, is to prove ourselves worthy of God’s trust.