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A Prayer God Always Answers
5 min
Gospel
Mt 21:33-43
“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. When the season of fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants, to get his fruit; and the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and they did the same to them. Afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 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.”
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’?
Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it.
Readings are taken from Dynamic Catholic’s Bible: RSV Catholic Edition.
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Transcript
A Prayer God Always Answers
What is it that jumps out at you today? The easy thing to do with a Scripture like this is to focus on all these wicked people, right? And their injustice.
We tend to read the Scriptures, we don't think of ourselves as the wicked people. But we are, you know? We're capable. Anything anybody does in here, you and I are capable of. And so to really pray through a parable like this, we have to pray through it in the mindset, the experience of each person, each character in the parable.
I used to go on these 40-day retreats, 40-day silent retreats. We'd pray through the parable, you know, a dozen times. I'd pray through it once from Jesus's perspective, I'd pray through it once from each person's perspective: the servants, the son, the vineyard holders, the-- all of it. And as we do this, we realize things about ourselves. We realize things that we've done, things that we are capable of doing.
And we see every person in the parable differently. But what jumped out at me today is how it ends. And that is: who's getting the kingdom of God? Obviously of great importance. But Jesus is saying to these people in front of Him, He's saying to them, "The kingdom of God is going to be taken away from you, and it's going to be given to a nation producing the fruits of it ." Now, we believe that nation is the Catholic Church.
Are we producing the fruits of it? Are we producing the fruits of it? Are you and I producing the fruits of it? That's easy to say, "Ah, yeah, but the Vatican this, or the bishop that, or the..." Whatever. Are you producing fruits for the kingdom? And what are they? And how can we produce more fruit? How can we be more fruitful? And it begins always, "Lord, make me more fruitful.
Lord, make me more fruitful ." These are prayers that God always answers. You ask God to make you more fruitful, over and over. Maybe it becomes a mantra today. You take it into the day with you. "Lord, make me more fruitful. Lord, make me more fruitful ." When you're at the stoplight, when you're at the doctor's office, when you're in the grocery line, "Lord, make me more fruitful ." He will.
This is a prayer God always answers. These are the prayers we should pray. Pray the prayers that are easy for God to answer, because they're already in His will. Have a great day, and remember: Be Bold. Be Catholic.
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