The Gift of Fruit
Let us begin our reflection, by reflecting on the incredible tenderness of God, portrayed by the landowner in this parable. He prepares a vineyard and puts incredible work into it; including planting, building a fence, digging a winepress, and even building a watchtower to keep it safe.
But then, our Gospel shifts from idyllic garden scene to the fruit to be collected being refused, by way of killing the servants and even the landowner’s son. It is this shift that encourages us, if rather sharply to reflect on the gifts that have been entrusted to us, as the first reading highlights from Isaiah, “then he looked for the crop of grapes, but what it yielded was wild grapes.” As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of St. Francis’ feast day today as well, we acknowledge that everything in our lives is a gift, and we are entrusted to care for our life as such. This includes nurturing and helping them to produce good fruit. Are we doing that? Is what we have been entrusted with, been cared for? We can judge our ways by the fruit it brings. With the gifts we have been given, are we in fact stewarding it, caring for it, preparing with hope for the harvest of grapes, or do we let it go to waste, with weeds or wild grapes? Sometimes we may look at our lives and wonder whether anything is happening. We may not see the fruit immediately. Growth can be slow. Seasons can be difficult. A vineyard does not produce fruit overnight.
But with hope, we continue to keep tending the vineyard, believing that God is still at work, even if the harvest is not yet visible. We are asked to remain faithful. Believing that the rejected becomes the cornerstone, that new life is possible, as long as we continue to keep tending to all that we have been given.
Alexis Abello lives in a small town, where she reflects on her love of the elderly in her work or the beautiful mysteries of Jesus around her. She kindly asks for prayers, as she finds the fruit in her own life.
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