EMPTY WE CAME AND EMPTY WE SHALL RETURN. (Homily for May 30, 2016. Monday of the 9th Week in Ordinary time.)


Bible Study:  2nd Peter 1, 2 to 7 and Mark 12, 1 to 12.


In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus told a parable to his accusers, the chief priests and scribes who would eventually ensure his arrest and death. Jesus used this parable to reveal his true identity to them as the Son of God and the stone rejected by the builders which has now become the corner stone.

The moment the chief priests got the message behind the parable, they were caught to conscience because they realised they were the ungrateful tenants who deserved to be destroyed for killing the servants who were sent to collect the fruits of the vineyard.

Going further, we can also see that the parable of the tenants applies also to every one of us as well. A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, and dug a pit for the wine press, and built a tower, and leased it to tenants. What does this mean? God created the earth and filled it with rich mineral and natural resources. God put in everything into the earth to make it capable of sustaining our human life.

Out of his own graciousness, God made us and put us as tenants into the earth he created. We did not bring anything with us while we came to possess the earth and it wasn’t even the case that we were the ones who told him to create us.

But then, the moment we take possession, we forget that we are mere tenants! We forget that we came to this world empty and we can never own anything! We start defining ourselves according to what we think belongs to us, I am a banker, I am an engineer, I am the owner of this or that!

We become so attached to material things that we are ready to kill, wound, maim, destroy either by words, actions or thoughts anyone who tries to take what we think belongs to us. Take for example, how many have died or killed themselves while struggling for land ownership.

We even define our happiness according to how much of these material things we have. We forget completely that we will have to die one day and leave everything behind. We forget that nothing truly belongs to us if it is impossible for us to take it with us while leaving this world.

Like a patient land owner, God keeps sending us his messengers to remind us that we are merely tenants in this world, that we are just caretakers of our money, our talents, our intelligence, our children and even our time! God keeps reminding us that we are only to use what we have and not become possessed by them, but what do we do? We completely neglect his message. We deafen our ears to his words and completely ignore him. We fail to give him the fruits of the land that rightfully belongs to him.

As tenants that we are, how are to pay rents to God who is the rightful owner of all that we see around us? By helping the poor and needy, by giving food and water to the hungry and thirsty, by helping to alleviate the plights of others, by being merciful to others not as privileged as we are, by not being selfish but thinking in terms of others.

We pay rents to God by living according to the commandments he has given to us, by living a life of virtue as St. Peter admonishes us in the first reading. We pay rents to God by adding knowledge to virtue, self-control to knowledge, steadfastness to self-control, godliness to steadfastness, brotherly affection to godliness and above all love.

One way we behave like these ungrateful servants today is in the area of sexual immorality. People now live as if there is no God or rather as if they are gods unto themselves. We dishonour God by our immoral thoughts, words, jokes, music, actions and even dressing. Nakedness in fashion has become the order of the day. If it is not transparent, it is open at the back or made so tight fitting that it reveals all the curves and edges in one’s body.

Self-control is lacking not only among non-Christians but even among those of us who pride ourselves as holy-holy-holy externally. We are not giving God the fruits he deserves as the owner of our bodies and for this we shall be destroyed if we fail to repent.

Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, may I never forget who I am as a tenant in this life that I may always give you the fruits of my stewardship. Amen.


Good morning. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. Happy new week.

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