How we respond
Daily
reading: Mark 12:1-12
Monday
February 29, 2016
The
parable in Mark begins, “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a
pit for the wine press, and built a tower.”
There is nothing odd about the beginning of the parable. It is reminiscent of the parable of the
vineyard found in Isaiah 5:1-7.
The
original audience would have known well the system of land owners and farming tenants
and they would have known well that the land owner owns the property and the
tenants do not.
Yes
they work the land and are able to benefit from its produce, but they do not
own it.
Yes
they benefit from its produce, but the yield is so abundant the intent was
never for them to hoard it and keep it to themselves.
In
other words the land owner does not have them working on his vegetable garden
that will feed only his family, but on a vineyard that is the means to
providing financial support for the land owner and for the tenants and their
families.
They
will need to yield enough grapes to make at the very least ends meet and
hopefully to make a profit.
At
this point in the parable, we can ask ourselves what do we do with the gifts
that God has given us? Think in terms of
both spiritual and physical gifts. How
do you use what you have to embody the fruits of the spirit? How do you use what you have to provide a
space for the presence of God to shape and grow your community?
Prayer: Holy
God, thank you for never giving up on me.
Help me to be a good steward of all that you have given to me. May my words and my actions be fruitful in my
community. Amen.
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