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Click here for daily readings Imagine being given a vineyard. A hedge around the vineyard delineates clear boundaries.  A wine press has already been dug. There is a tower that guards and protects. Everything has been intentionally designed to simply harvest good fruit. The only expectation? That the fruits of the labor are shared. All in all, it appears to be a very good gift.  How jarring then to hear in Mark’s Gospel account of the wicked tenants’ response to a gift just like this. Unwilling to offer a portion of their fruit, the tenants’ actions are marked by greed and violence. The story doesn’t end well for them. The owner of the vineyard puts these wicked tenants to death and gives their vineyard to others. Though the parable was told to the chief priests, scribes, and elders who stood before him, Jesus also speaks to us. It is we, through our Baptism, who are the chosen people, the people to whom the vineyard is both gifted and entrusted.  What do we do with such a gift? A vineyard requires much work. Vines must be tamed and trained; soil must be kept healthy; maturing fruit monitored and grapes harvested at the right time; plus, there is always the process of pressing. If the work seems daunting, recall that the setting has been perfectly and divinely designed.  There is a hedge to help us focus: we are only responsible for cultivating what is inside our hedge. The wine press is built from our tools, skills, and gifts. This eases the work and helps us to live in discipline and community. And there is our tower. God himself guards our vineyard, watching over us, ensuring security. We are safe to labor and produce.   Each of us provides a unique contribution to the Lord’s vintage, where the fruit of our labor turns into something good and fragrant and flavorful to be shared. The vineyard is always intended to bear fruit for God.  So may we stay attentive to how, knowingly or unknowingly, we might reject the Lord’s servants, thus rejecting the Lord. Unlike the wicked tenants, let us not close the vineyards of our life off from the world, for they are meant to pour forth offerings of life and spirit and goodness. Channeling the gifts of the vineyard allows us a share in His inheritance, the inheritance that will one day be ours, too. Contact the Author Imagina que te regalan una viña. Un seto la rodea, delimitando claramente sus límites. Ya se ha excavado un lagar. Hay una torre que la vigila y protege. Todo ha sido diseñado intencionalmente para cosechar buenos frutos. ¿La única condición? Que los frutos del trabajo se compartan. En definitiva, parece un regalo maravilloso. Qué impactante resulta, entonces, escuchar en el Evangelio de Marcos la respuesta de los malvados labradores a un regalo como este. Al negar ofrecer una parte de sus frutos, sus acciones están marcadas por la avaricia y la violencia. La historia no termina bien para ellos. El dueño de la viña da muerte a estos malvados labradores y entrega la viña a otros. Aunque la parábola fue contada a los sumos sacerdotes, escribas y ancianos que estaban ante él, Jesús también nos habla a nosotros. Somos nosotros, a través de nuestro Bautismo, el pueblo elegido, el pueblo al que se le ha regalado y confiado la viña. ¿Qué hacemos con semejante regalo? Una viña requiere mucho trabajo. Las vides deben ser cuidadas y podadas; la tierra debe mantenerse sana; los frutos deben ser vigilados y las uvas cosechadas en el momento adecuado; además, siempre está el proceso de la vendimia. Si el trabajo parece abrumador, recordemos que el entorno ha sido diseñado perfecta y divinamente. Hay un seto que nos ayuda a concentrarnos: sólo somos responsables de cultivar lo que está dentro de nuestro seto. El lagar está construido con nuestras herramientas, habilidades y dones. Esto facilita el trabajo y nos ayuda a vivir con disciplina y en comunidad. Y luego tenemos una torre. Dios mismo guarda nuestra viña, velando por nosotros, garantizando nuestra seguridad. Podemos trabajar y producir con tranquilidad. Cada uno de nosotros aporta una contribución única a la cosecha del Señor, donde el fruto de nuestro trabajo se convierte en algo bueno, fragante y sabroso para ser compartido. La viña siempre está destinada a dar fruto para Dios. Que estemos atentos a cómo, consciente o inconscientemente, podríamos rechazar a los siervos del Señor, rechazando así al Señor mismo. A diferencia de los malvados labradores, no cerremos las viñas de nuestra vida al mundo, pues están destinadas a ofrecer frutos de vida, espíritu y bondad. Canalizar los dones de la viña nos permite participar de su herencia, herencia que un día también será la nuestra. Comunicarse con la autora Raine Pyne is a longtime public school educator. She is married to Greg, who is also an educator. They have five sons, three dogs, and one cat, plus hundreds of adolescent students and countless stacks of books. Raine is a former parish catechist and women’s retreat leader. She is a student at the Theology of the Body Institute and a member of the Word on Fire Institute’s Writing Community. She is passionate about learning, language, and the ever deepening journey of faith. Feature Image Credit: Unknown, https://art.diocesan.com/stock-photo/grape-gatherers-12172/ The views and opinions expressed in the Inspiration Daily blog are solely those of the original authors and contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Diocesan, the Diocesan staff, or other contributors to this blog.