Householder

Today’s Gospel Text: "Hear another parable. There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country. 34 When the season of fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants, to get his fruit; 35 and the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and they did the same to them. 37 Afterward he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.' 39 And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" 41 They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons." 42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures: 'The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? 43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it."

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 But when they tried to arrest him, they feared the multitudes, because they held him to be a prophet. Matt 21:33-43, 45-46

Reflection: How do we want to treat God? Do we want to treat him like a master or do we treat him like an outcast or a criminal or a villain or a landlord or a taskmaster, etc. etc?

We who are capable of double speak and double standards treat God in every way negative than how in reality we are supposed to treat him.

We may say we love him and our actions can prove us wrong, we may claim to serve him and yet in all probability may be serving our own interests, if anyone insults God we will even defend him, but as per the Christian doctrine it may be no defense of God, of whom we believe can defend himself and yet chooses not to, many a time.

We may be even spiritual and deep within, many a time, hypocritical, but the worse is when people want to remain where they are, in their hypocrisy.

Out of the many attributes of God taught by Jesus, who came to reveal to us the reality about ourselves and God is this attribute of God as a householder and we as mere stewards or tenants.

This means even though he is a Father to us or a Shepherd to us, the primary attribute always remains and in the light of the primary attribute we see the great love of God, viz. that he still comes to us in order to reach us at our level, in our particular situation as Father, Shepherd or Savior.

This means that if we don’t accept this relationship which God wants to establish, by introducing himself as Father, good Shepherd, Savior then we need to at least accept his reign, as the master and householder who will ultimately call everyone to render an account.

The parable makes this truth absolutely clear and what is more the parable also brings to light the hostility with which we relate to God and his servants.

Even among the spiritual category of men, if anyone thinks that they have never rejected God or hurt his anointed ones or done harm to them, then they need to ask God’s Holy Spirit to convict them of their blindness.

Prayer:  Jesus Lord and Master of the universe, you deserve all praise and glory, more so for revealing to us the Father's glory. 

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

Servant or Citizen?

Today’s Gospel Text:  As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12 He said therefore, "A nobleman went into a far country to receive a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten pounds, and said to them, 'Trade with these till I come.' 14 But his citizens hated him and sent an embassy after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to reign over us.' 15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by trading. 16 The first came before him, saying, 'Lord, your pound has made ten pounds more.' 17 And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.' 18 And the second came, saying, 'Lord, your pound has made five pounds.' 19 And he said to him, 'And you are to be over five cities.' 20 Then another came, saying, 'Lord, here is your pound, which I kept laid away in a napkin; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.' 22 He said to him, 'I will condemn you out of your own mouth, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money into the bank, and at my coming I should have collected it with interest?' 24 And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the pound from him, and give it to him who has the ten pounds.' 25 (And they said to him, 'Lord, he has ten pounds!') 26 'I tell you, that to every one who has will more be given; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them before me.'"

28 And when he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. Luke 19:11-28

Reflection: In this parable that Jesus talks about we could be so focused on the talents or the pounds and miss out on a very important truth which seem to come across as passing. 

We could confuse the message of this parable with the parable that Matthew mentions in the 25^th chapter of his gospel, which explicitly talks about the servants and the talents given to them by the master.

Here in this parable, as if in passing but significantly, Jesus mentions about the citizens who hated the noble man.

Jesus does not give us any reason for their hate but reveals a very important fact in the parable: you are either a servant of Jesus or a citizen receiving all the ordinary benefits of the kingdom and yet could be hating the king.

If the scripture reveals to us that we are sinners, one of the qualities of sin is to be hostile towards the God whom Jesus has revealed and this hostility is even manifest in the many gods created by people and by those who do not believe in him.

Each individual in this world, if he has not opted to be the servant of Christ, is a citizen of the kingdom. For God himself accepts them as citizen and makes his sun shine on them and the rain to water their needs. (Mt. 5:45)

Do you not know that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? Rom 2:4

The above is besides the hostility of the servants who do not value the pound given by the master and which belongs to the master and do not make much of it.

The important thing is to ask ourselves where we belong: Whether we are servants or citizens, if citizens then we need to change and opt to be servants.

If are servants or opted to be one then it is necessary for us to ask ourselves what we are going to do with the wealth that Christ has entrusted to each one of us as his servants; i.e. the gospel.

Prayer:  Lord, I thank you for opening my eyes to understand my place in your kingdom, help me Lord to constantly opt to be your servant and to carry your word to all whom I meet.

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

Stages of Receiving

Today’s Gospel Text: And when a great crowd came together and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: 5 "A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the path, and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew, and yielded a hundredfold." As he said this, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." 9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 And as for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience. Luke 8:4-15

Reflection: Perhaps, one of the best and greatest parable, not just meant for the disciples but for the whole world. Every individual must listen to this parable and understand the dynamics of the kingdom.

The fact that this parable was addressed to a great gathering of crowd is an indication of the importance of this parable. It was as if Jesus was waiting for an appropriate moment to communicate this important parable of life to the people.

What is so important about this parable which each one in this world needs to know?

The enemy at work at various stages of our Christian walk!

Whether we like it or not, the enemy is constantly at work. He is not going to bombard us or use the sword against us or kill us or put us to the slaughter. Though he may make use of people to do it but it is not the primary way in which he works.

The parable teaches us that we are already in a state of deception and the seed of God’s word which is the truth is being kept away from us by the enemy. 

He will use every trick in the book in order to prevent us from knowing the truth about ourselves and the saving grace offered by God through the great sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

The parable gives us an insight of some of the tricks used by the enemy, at various stages in our Christian walk. What happens to those who have not heard is anybody’s guess.

In the first place the enemy instigates us to mock at the word and trod the seed of God’s word under our feet and then he comes and takes it away like the bird of the air.

In the second instance, he comes a little later by enticing the receiver of the word with the temptation of life. In the third instance, when the crosses of life strikes and the enemy entices us with the green pastures on the other side, we get carried away through envy and the cares of life. 

Finally, there are those who are honest towards God and believe in carrying his goodness. These are the good soil who receive God’s word and persevere with the fruit of all patience and do not give up.

Prayer: Lord, be my help in the various stages of my life with you. So that at each stage I may not give up and more so do it in all sincerity, honesty and perseverance to produce the fruit of your kingdom.  

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

Treasure Trove

Today’s Gospel Text:  "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Matt 13:44-46

Reflection: Let’s understand the first of the two parables, which compares the Kingdom of heaven to a treasure hidden in a field.

From what is said in comparison, we see the kingdom of heaven as not something that we have or posses. It is not something that we can arrive at or build on our own wisdom.

It is something that has to be discovered or found; how can we discover and find what is covered?

What the parable does talk about is that this Kingdom is to be found, not in ourselves, as deceivers would have us believe, by even wrongly quoting a text of the Bible; “For lo, the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:21 Douay-Rheims

But it is a kingdom which is first found external to ourselves and then made ones own.  Once discovered, we realize that it is something that we are capable of perceiving as being of a far greater value than all our strivings and efforts.

It is something, that once we see it or behold, it will fill us with a joy to give up everything in order to possess it. In other words it gives us joy and yet is greater than our joy, lest we remain satisfied with our joy and lose out on that treasure of the kingdom.

It is something that will lead us to a concrete action, or a praxis of first wanting to have it, by giving up all that we have seen as important in our lives; whether wealth or fame or power or possessions or vast field of expertise or knowledge or idea or ideologies or spiritualities or experiences or our pet projects or innovations.

May be for the many of us reading this, it is a challenge to check whether we fit in with this aspect of the truth, that the parable reveals.

It’s high time we ask God’s help, to enable us to discover this great treasure of the kingdom of God. Pray, to be totally enamored by it and allowing it to take total control of our lives, so as to compel us into giving up everything for this greatest of treasure: Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Lord, I pray that I may have you as my sole treasure, my portion and cup, and when I find you, I may do as you will.  

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

Delve into God

Today’s Gospel Text: Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field." 37 He answered, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of man; 38 the field is the world, and the good seed means the sons of the kingdom; the weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. 41 The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42 and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. Matt 13:36-43

Reflection: We know what humans are all about and yet they are so mysterious. Each individual is a mystery to be discovered. We could even spend our life time discovering each other and yet find that there are certain aspects which will remain a mystery to us.

The Gospel text of today reveals the mysterious nature of God. He is hidden and yet in his generosity and mercy towards us reveals himself to us.

We can safely say this about Jesus our Lord and God: The more he revealed himself to us the more we threatened his existence when he walked on earth among us, ultimately crucifying him to a most ignoble and miserable death.

In the many parables, he teaches us the mysterious nature of God offered to us and yet it does not completely reveal the complete mystery of God.

We can look at it from a bitter point of view or we can view this from a more positive point of view. A child wanting bread can be either refused by his father or given money to explore the mystery of buying bread, rather than the child having the bread itself .

Likewise God, reveals to us, so that we may explore into that mystery which saves us, because we are now dependent on him and grow in dependency on him who alone can save us from the unseen powers and principalities of wickedness at work in us, which is far removed from our visible eyes.

Blessed are these humble Dedicated Disciples who having not understood these parables of Jesus, could have said to themselves; “if he speaks in such mysterious language then why should we go to him again and beg of him or perhaps he himself doesn’t know the interpretations to these parables.”

Yet they knew that every revelation of God, in a mysterious way, is an invitation to persevere in understanding the mystery further but with his help and wisdom.

Prayer:  Father, you who has chosen to reveal your Son to us, may we understand all those mysteries that are necessary for our salvation.

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

Kingship Of Jesus

Today’s Gospel Text: Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." 33 He told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened." 34 All this Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet. Matt 13:31-35

Reflection: "Who has seen heaven that you talk of eternal life?" Is the oft heard question, when you tell some one of the kingdom of heaven.

Yet to those who have seen,experienced even a glimpse of it and live in it, for them, it is a reality to worth live for and to be looked forward to.

Is it the same as earthly kingdoms and does it operate in the same way as any earthly kingdoms?

Jesus in explaining the kingdom of heaven by means of the many parables brings out the many facets of such an existence. The many parables bring out the richness of this kingdom.

One great reality that Jesus brings out, through the parables, is that the Kingdom of God is not just a distant reality, which can be attained after death but a reality that can be lived and experienced in this world too. It can be experienced by all of us through him who brings it to us primarily by his very presence, through our invitation of him.

Jesus is the reality of God’s kingdom present in our midst. Just as you cannot talk about a kingdom without a king in place, so also Jesus is the King of the Kingdom of God.

The fact of the Kingdom he came to establish; though having all the rights, yet with no kingship in the many hearts created by him.

In order to win this earthly kingdom, the hearts of the many on earth, he chose to conquer it, not with men and women employed to fight through blood shed and war, but by humbling himself, taking on the form of a slave, dying the most ignoble and miserable death of the cross. Thus he proved his love for us.

To those who surrender their hearts in order that he may reign, they also lift their hearts to the heavenly place, the heavenly values, which he has revealed though these various parables.

Prayer: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Matt 6:10

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

IDENTIFY THE ENEMY

Today’s Gospel Text: Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?' 28 He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' 29 But he said, 'No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"

31 Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." Matt 13:24-32

Reflection:  Surely every good worker of the kingdom will be surprised at the weed among the wheat. They would not know who has put them there, hence they have to ask the master, how the weeds came about.

There are those, in our days, who have heard the masters injunction to his servants and may even plead that the weed remains there because the master has ordered thus to his beloved servants.

Surely, the seeds of false teachings from false prophets, who are the enemies in our midst, will always exist. This doesn’t mean that the enemy who has sown the seed should remain for long and openly with the master and work to burn the bundles of wheat rather than the bundles of weed.

The apostles who had understood this parable did not take life casually, as shepherds to whom Christ had entrusted his flocks to. They made it a point to help the servants identify those are from the enemy and those who were from the master.

I often see some of the enemies hiding behind this scripture with their tails, pleading that they be spared just as the master have spared the weeds to. They assert that if the weed be removed then the wheat would get harmed.

This should never happen in the church of God, which is the bulwark of truth.

   

The Apostles as masters and shepherds always made it a point to warn the church and never failed to act:  “Any one who goes ahead and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God; he who abides in the doctrine has both the Father and the Son. If any one comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into the house or give him any greeting; for he who greets him shares his wicked work. 2 John 9-11

(Rom. 16: 17; Eph. 5: 6-7; 1 Cor. 5: 9-11 are some of the scripture passages where you see the apostles seeking to expose or correct the enemies of the gospel of Christ)

In our days when the enemy has infiltrated the shepherd class, there is an urgent need to be alert against the enemy and expose them if need be.

Prayer: “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou who leadest Joseph like a flock! Thou who art enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth before E'phraim and Benjamin and Manas'seh! Stir up thy might, and come to save us!  Restore us, O God; let thy face shine, that we may be saved! Ps 80:1-3

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

Foolish Fools

Today’s Gospel Text:  Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" 11 And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to him who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says: 'You shall indeed hear but never understand, and you shall indeed see but never perceive.  15 For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn for me to heal them.' 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. Matt 13:10-17

Reflection: To make fool of people or to fool the people is one and the same.

Many experts and trainers do that; they use the gift of their gab to fool people with half truth.

The most surprising part is that people do get fooled and get carried away by the such crooked nobility of apparently sincere men and women.

History is replete with examples of such Characters who have led their own generation astray, only to be condemned by subsequent generations, who walk in the same folly in their own generation.

What do you call such stupidity of men in their own generation, who think their learning and their intellect and study makes them wise.

To prod them on, the world dishes out its wisdom to them, such as these; "failure is a stepping stone to success." How can failure due to absolute stupidity and foolishness be a stepping stone, if not to pride and self-conceit?

How can you explain this phenomenon in men of every age; believe in the lie, more than the truth?

This could be the reason why Jesus presents to them the pure truth of the parable in a covert way. The parable is all truth and there is a mystery about it; a store house of truth which needs to be explored and discovered, What is more, it comes to us in many dimensions, 

Those who dwell on it with God's help are richly blessed into penetrating the mystery and can multiply  their blessings according to their perseverance.

Prayer: Lord, I thank you for your love for us,  that you allow us to enter into the depth of your mysteries and saving grace.

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us